Northern Ireland Water has warned that people’s health and the environment are at risk if water and wastewater infrastructure is not invested in.
The state-owned company said funding had not kept pace with the requirements of the country as thousands of new homes are proposed for the coming decade.
Steve Blockwell, head of investment at NI Water, said: “NI Water knows Northern Ireland’s growth ambitions, we know what needs done and we have the plan and the skills to deliver it. However, if funding continues at current levels there will be significant constraints on economic growth, damage to the environment and risk to people’s health.”
Earlier this month NI Water was promised investment as part of the deal called New Decade, New Approach, which promised to transform public services and invest in the economy.
Blockwell said the company welcomed the government’s deal, which included investment for wastewater infrastructure and said: “While we have been able to maintain safe clean drinking water, the huge constraints on our capital budget has meant that wastewater issues have largely been left unaddressed as highlighted in our PC15 Business Plan; our PC21 business planning process has identified ninety-nine areas where new housing and businesses may be unable to get connected to our sewerage system throughout the province.”
The company warned it would not have resources to provide water and wastewater infrastructure for proposed plans for 11,000 new homes without new funding being made available.
The homes are planned for the Ulster area by 2030 but NI Water said investment is needed across its network and additional funding would be required to fulfill the housing commitment.
In September the company’s chairman made an appeal for investment stating the company’s infrastructure was “bursting at the seams”.
The company said the public health risks could include those associated with overflows from manholes in public highways or gardens and driveways; high frequency of discharges from sewers reaching the sea, which could also affect blue flag beach status.