Future water supply plan announced by NI Water
08 April 2025 10:24
NI Water has announced that the latest Water Resource & Supply Resilience Plan (WR&SRP) is complete following public consultation. It is now available at https://www.niwater.com/managing-northern-irelands-water-resources/.
The WR&SRP is not only important for NI Water but also Northern Ireland PLC, 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 WR&SRP considers population, housing, water usage and incorporates any predicted changes to our climate. This includes highlighting how water supplies would be maintained during critical periods such as severe winters and droughts and having a plan for drought.
NI Water has significantly changed the WR&SRP since its 2020 version. Some of these changes include:
- A longer-term planning horizon from 25 to 50 years.
- Changing future weather patterns requires increased resilience to more frequent and extreme events. This includes planning for extreme drought events that are estimated to occur once every 200 years.
- Increased focus on environmental sustainability in support of carbon Net Zero targets.
The company has made significant improvements in water resilience for customers since the last WR&SRP was launched. The new WR&SRP aims to build on this work, ensuring continued high levels of leakage detection, sustained investment in water mains and water efficiency initiatives. With the appropriate investment, the WR&SRP serves as a blueprint and pathway to enable a secure, reliable water supply for Northern Ireland, ensuring that the region's infrastructure can withstand challenges into the future.
NI Water devised the WR&SRP 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.
The WR&SRP and its supporting documents can be accessed via NI Water’s website at https://www.niwater.com/managing-northern-irelands-water-resources/.
ENDS
Media enquiries to the NI Water Press Office via email to press.office@niwater.com
Notes to editors
- The WR&SRP is based on best practice and technical guidance in the industry.
- A Strategic Environmental Assessment Statement has also been developed for the WR&SRP. The purpose of the Statement is to document any changes to the information provided in the draft WR&SRP and Environmental Report.
- The Water and Sewerage Services Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, came into effect in March 2016 and permits NI Water to combine the Water Resource Management Plan and the Drought Plan in a Water Resource & Supply Resilience Plan.
- NI Water has not excluded any information from the WR&SRP for either commercial confidentiality or for national security interests under Article 71(10) of the Water & Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006.