NI Water Announces Hose Pipe Ban

A hose pipe ban is to come into force this weekend, NI Water has announced.

NI Water has said that the continued use of water for non-essential purposes is "likely to result in supply interruption in many areas".

The company's Chief Executive Officer, Sara Venning, said: "We have maximised our water production and need customers help to reduce demand. I am appealing to customers to stop non-essential water use - using hoses and sprinklers is causing demand to exceed the capacity to supply.

"(We) need the help of the public and businesses to reduce the level of demand. In recent days our treatment works have been operating at near maximum levels with over 700 million litres of water being put into the network which is some 25% more than is normal for this time of the year. Despite these steps, demand continues to outstrip supply."

A formal hose pipe ban will come into affect from the weekend in an effort to protect the public against the increased threat of supply interruptions.

Customers in some areas including parts of Belfast and Armagh as well as other rural hand high lying areas have already experienced loss of pressure and intermittent supply failures.

The ban prohibits watering private gardens; or washing private motor cars and the company have said that its introduction will take effect from the weekend.

Ms Venning concluded: "I would like to pay tribute to our staff who have been working through the night to ensure water treatment works are running at full capacity and in addition tankers have been deployed to assist with topping up service reservoirs."

Advice on how to save water has been widely transmitted and is available on the company website.

NI Water's top 10 water saving tips include:

• Take shorter showers - Why not challenge yourself and your family to shower one minute quicker? In a year you could save up to 10,000 litres of water. Take a shower instead of a bath - One bath can use up to 100 litres of water, whereas an efficient shower uses under 50 litres. But remember power showers can use more water than baths.

• Car washing - Avoid washing cars and vans during this time.

• Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth - A running tap can use 6 litres of water per minute.

• Lawns are great survivors - a sprinkler can use as much as 1,000 litres of clean drinking water in a single hour; more than a family of four would use in a whole day. Even when they look dry and brown, they'll spring back with the first heavy rain, so avoid watering them wherever possible. Why not re use that water from the kids' paddling pool and water the garden with it.

• Make full use of your washing machine - Half load programmes on washing machines use more than half the water and energy of a full load, so wait until the machine is full before switching it on.

• Turn off the tap - Simply turning off the tap while washing your hands or shaving can save over six litres of water every minute.

• Fix leaking taps - A dripping tap can waste more than 60 litres of water per week.

• Keep a jug of water in the fridge - Planning ahead means there is no need to run the water until it gets cold.

• Use a bowl for washing vegetables - You can reduce water waste by using a bowl to wash and prepare your vegetables. Then you can use the water to rinse your recycling bin.

• Fill the kettle with only as much water as you need - This will save water and energy.

Customers are advised to check niwater.com if they are experiencing any problems in their area and use the postcode search facility.

(MH/LM)