Complaints as road is dug up again

Independent UUC representative Leslie Cubitt says the Windyhill Road, which stretches from just outside the town to Coleraine, has just recently been resurfaced but recent work by NI Water has seen the road dug up again. The representative says he has been inundated by complaints from frustrated locals who travel on the road regularly.

"They are digging up roads just resurfaced less than three months ago. This is an awful waste of tax-payers' money. This work is causing disruption and people are sick of it. They think the road works are never going to end," said Mr Cubitt.

An NI Water spokesperson said the work being carried out on the Windyhill and Drumrane Roads was part of the company's continual "monitoring, upgrading and replacing" of assets throughout Northern Ireland and was "based on a variety of factors".

The spokesperson said: "A Distribution Zonal Study for the area was completed in 2008, which identified the need for a pressure upgrade to the main between Ballinrees Water Treatment Works and Moys Service Reservoir. This work would enable the main to operate at a higher pressure and provide greater volumes of water to the supply zone. Work commenced during February 2010 and is scheduled for completion in November 2010.

"The current upgrade work will secure both the strategic water supply and the local water distribution needs of the Limavady area for the foreseeable future.

"NI Water is constantly monitoring, upgrading and replacing assets throughout Northern Ireland based on a variety of factors such as population changes, NIEA Regulations and information provided by Zonal Studies. This ongoing investment and improvement is the reason we are now producing the best ever quality drinking water and why our customers are experiencing less bursts and interruptions to their water supply."