NI Water has now completed its draft Water Resource & Supply Resilience Plan. The draft Plan is an important document for NI Water, as it shows how the company will manage and develop water resources to make sure there is enough water to meet future supply needs. 

The draft Plan takes into account changes in population, housing, water usage and incorporates any predicted changes to our climate.  This includes how water supplies would be maintained during critical periods such as severe winters, drought and includes a drought plan. 

NI Water has made significant changes in how the plan was developed from the previous version which was launched in 2020. These include:

• A longer-term planning horizon from 25 to 50 years.
• Changing future weather patterns require increased resilience to more frequent and extreme events.  For example, this includes planning for more extreme drought events, typically what would be expected to occur once every 200 years.
• Increased focus on environmental sustainability in support of carbon Net Zero targets

The draft Plan aims to build on work on other areas, ensuring continued high levels of leakage detection, sustained investment in water mains and water efficiency initiatives.

A Strategic Environmental Assessment has also been developed for the draft Plan. This assessment looks at the potential impact of our Plan on the environment.

As part of the consultation process, we are seeking your views on the new draft Plan and associated documents through the completion of an online survey which can be accessed here.

The consultation will run for nine weeks to 24 March 2024. The consultation responses will be reviewed by the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), prior to sending them to NI Water for comment.

NI Water devised the draft WR&SR Plan with input from key stakeholders, including the Department for Infrastructure, the Utility Regulator, the Drinking Water Inspectorate, Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Consumer Council NI.