Councils urged to conserve water amid soaring temperatures
Councils are being urged to conserve water and postpone non-essential water intensive activities amid soaring temperatures in Northern Ireland.
An email from NI Water was sent to ‘Emergency Preparedness Groups’, which includes all 11 councils and the PSNI.
Independent Lisburn councillor Gary Hynd said: “I was joking first thing this morning that water shortage warnings couldn’t be far away, turns out the joke was on me.
“Less than a couple of hours later, an email arrived asking organisations to cut back on non-essential water use.
“That should embarrass everyone responsible for governing Northern Ireland.
“This isn’t just about water, it’s another example of how Northern Ireland is being run.
“Years of drift at Stormont have left us with a culture of crisis management instead of long-term planning.
“Too often, the response is simply to ask for more money while fundamental reforms and investment are kicked further down the road.
“The public deserve better than a government that continually reacts to problems instead of preventing them.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has seen the email from NIW emergency planning manager, Richard Shiels to the EPGs.
It reads: “The ongoing period of warm, dry weather continues to drive increased demand across the water network.
“NI Water remains closely monitoring the situation and has implemented measures to reduce our own operational usage where possible.
“However, with higher temperatures forecast to persist, demand is expected to remain elevated in the coming days.
“We would appreciate your support in helping to conserve water during this period by reviewing and, where possible, reducing or postponing non-essential water intensive activities.”