Longstone Primary School Help NI Water spread vital ‘Lag and Tag’ message

The tags are to highlight the need to begin preparations for winter. NI Water has produced the bright tag for customers to loop around the stop valve in their premises. This will ensure they are aware of the location of their stop valve and it will be easily identifiable in the event of a burst pipe.

Jane Jackson, NI Water education manager said: “Last year was a mild winter, so the urgency to ensure property is protected may slip to the bottom of the ‘to do’ list. However, the threat of a cold winter and burst or frozen pipes is very real and cannot be ignored.

“At the height of the winter of 2010/11, over 80% of the water lost from burst pipes was on the customer side, severely impacting on NI Water’s ability to provide water to all its customers.

“The pupils were each given a tag to take home and learnt about the importance of insulating pipes around the home. Simple steps such as lagging water pipes and locating your stop valve can be vital during a freezing winter.”

A stop valve is used to shut off the flow of water in a pipe. Stop valve tags are available to customers by phoning the Waterline number 08457 440088 or emailing [email protected]