NI Water forms crisis team to deal with burst pipes fears

Northern Ireland Water has made an urgent appeal to people to check their homes for flooding after reports of burst water mains almost tripled.

It has reported an increase in normal levels of 279% in burst water mains - up 29% from Thursday.

Monitoring systems are also recording a rapid increase in water use, customer and operations director Des Nevin said.

An emergency incident team has been formed to manage the situation as the icy weather starts to thaw.

NI Water said teams were working "round the clock" to fix burst water pipes

NI Water has urged people to:

• Check for bursts on their property.

• Check buildings over the weekend if they are going to be unoccupied.

• Keep the name of an approved plumber handy to ensure any burst can be fixed as soon as possible.

Speaking to BBC News NI, Mr Nevin said that the amount of water being distributed to customers had risen by 60m litres a day, over the last three days.

"We have a few visible bursts that we are going out and getting after but the rest of this it would appear to be leaking underground, whether that be through our infrastructure or customer-side infrastructure," he said.

Mr Nevin said that the "cold snap" which is being experienced could have had an impact with changing ground conditions leading to pipes bursting.

Des Nevin said the south and west of Northern Ireland have been most impacted so far

"The ground has been very hard, the thaw is yet to come and experience shows us that when the thaw happens that this could actually get worse," he added.

NI Water have been working not only to repair leaks but also boost reservoirs which have been dropping.

"We have areas in the province that are fine, we have others that are more impacted and therefore what we are trying to do is move water from the areas that are least impacted to the areas that are most impacted."

The south and west are those that have been most affected, according to Mr Nevin.

"What we are endeavouring to do here is get ahead of the game as best we can, so we don't find ourselves in the situation where customers suffer and they are out of supply," he added.

NI Water advised anyone who spots a burst pipe, whether it is a trickle of water or a gushing pipe, to let them know either via the website or on Facebook and Twitter.

They also have a dedicated Leakline number, 0800 028 2011, open 24 hours a day, every day.

Calls are free of charge.

The company issued advice for people during the thaw:

• If you are out of water, first check with your neighbours. If they have water, it is likely that the problem is with your internal pipework. Call a plumber to have the problem fixed.

• If your neighbours are without water, it could be a burst water main. Call Waterline on 03457 440088 to report the problem.

• If you spot a leak or a burst pipe call Waterline so NI Water can fix it.

• NI Water is appealing to property owners to be extra vigilant checking out buildings or properties that may have been closed.