Reservoir warning

PARENTS and young people in Londonderry are being warned by Northern Ireland Water (NI Water) about the dangers of playing near treatment works, reservoirs and construction sites during the summer months.

Hugh Curley, Health & Safety Manager at NI Water, explained: “Understandably, natural curiosity will draw some children to these sites as they seem like exciting places to explore. However, they are not playgrounds and fooling around at them can have dangerous consequences.

“I would urge all parents to explain to their children the dangers of playing in or around these areas. The remoteness of our sites could hamper and delay rescue attempts, should such a need arise.”

He also singled out the temptation of swimming in NI Water reservoirs during warm spells.

“Similarly, I am also asking parents to highlight the dangers of swimming in reservoirs. Calm water can look very inviting on a warm day, but there are many dangers associated with it, for example, low temperatures, underwater hazards and the potential for becoming trapped,” he said.

“The temperatures in these reservoirs are extremely low and could cause the onset of hypothermia at a very early stage, making it very easy for even the strongest of swimmers to get into trouble,” he added.

He urged people in Londonderry to be vigilant as NI Water is also experiencing a growing problem of people vandalising work at its sites.

“This damage can cause major delays in work schedules aimed at providing local communities with a vital service and valuable time and money is wasted repairing the damage,” he said.

Related topics: