NI Water has repeated its warning that historic and ongoing under-investment in the sewer and wastewater networks could have a significant adverse impact on growth plans for parts of cities and over 100 towns across Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland’s failing wastewater infrastructure is currently unable to take connections from new houses and businesses in major parts of its cities and over 100 towns which is leading to inadequate environmental protection through increased sewer flooding and pollution.

NI Water’s Head of Investment Management, Stephen Blockwell was updating representatives at several meetings with a number of City councils on the water company’s infrastructure plans going forward and the level of investment needed for their areas.

Explaining the funding situation currently facing NI Water, he said:

“The level to which NI Water can invest in its infrastructure is not the result of the company’s commercials and finances; rather it is set according to what the Executive decides to allocate to NI Water from within its annual Northern Ireland Capital budget and for many years the Executive has not allocated what has been needed. There is no additional capability for increased investment outside of this mechanism and no other water utility in the UK is required to operate in this way.”

Due to historical under-investment over 100 towns across Northern Ireland and major parts of its cities currently have “little or no capacity left in their sewer and wastewater systems”, according to the water company.

Over the next decade towns and cities across the region have plans in place to build thousands of new homes and develop key employment areas. However, “without adequate sewer networks and upgrades to Wastewater Treatment Works, much of this development and economic growth may not be able to happen”, Stephen Blockwell told the Councils.

“Our infrastructure plans over the 2021 – 27 period …..if adequately funded, will begin to make inroads into addressing the sewer and wastewater capacity issues currently hindering new housing and business development. However, it will likely take sustained future investment over at least 2 Price Controls to address these issues.”

Dr Blockwell concluded:  

“Significant and sustained investment is needed for wastewater and water infrastructure across Northern Ireland. NI Water knows all of the Councils’ growth ambitions, we know what needs done in each Council area and we have the plan and the skills to deliver it. However, the Executive needs to allocate adequate levels of capital investment to NI Water. If future levels of capital investment continue at historic or current levels there will be significant constraints on economic growth, damage to the environment and risk to people’s health.”

In August this year NI Water chief executive Sara Venning, warned over "sustained and significant underfunding" for failing wastewater infrastructure Drawing attention to “chronic underfunding” and outlining the critical state of the utility in its Annual Integrated Report for 2019/20, she commented:

“The scale of the problem currently facing NI Water requires major, inescapable investment.”