NI Water has been challenged over its own underinvestment in the north west as the company blamed Stormont for a budget shortfall of close to £1billion.
Dr Gary Curran, Director of Engineering & Sustainability and Dr Stephen Blockwell, Head of Investment Management, Engineering & Sustainability Directorate delivered a presentation to Derry City & Strabane Council on Tuesday.
A map was displayed to highlight capacity constraints right across the city on both the east bank and west bank, and right out to Eglinton.
A number of areas are in need of “completely new infrastructure” including a £400m development close to the border that will deliver 2,500 homes, known as The Cashel.
Councillors were told that within the city area there are 63 storm overflows and 52 (83%) are deemed ‘unsatisfactory’ meaning they released more sewage than they are designed to.
Untreated sewage of around 1.5million tonnes is released into the River Foyle with the cost of repairs between £90m-£135m.
At the moment 5,300 – 28% of all impacted properties in NI – units are affected across the Derry and Strabane council area which is the highest in NI.
Of those, 4,000 are in the Skeoge area known as H1 and H2 lands which is dependent on a £15m investment, though costs are expected to rise when it comes to connecting to outdated infrastructure.
A further 931 units are on the Clooney Road and are affected by Strathfoyle Siphons capacity issues which will take £10m to fix, plus £3.5m for an upgrade to Gransha waste water pumping station.
These assets will be “extremely difficult assets to replace across the River Foyle” and have been deferred to the next price control period which runs from 2027-2033.
The speakers were asked if the North West is being prioritised within NI Water’s budget.
Dr Curran said there is “no particular priority” given to geographical areas as it’s looked at in a “Northern Ireland wide perspective”.
SDLP Councillor Rory Farrell stressed there is a need for the north west to be prioritised.
He pointed to a “failure” to invest in infrastructure in the north west, with over 6,300 people on the social housing waiting list.
Delays to developments because of poor NI Water infrastructure is exacerbating the problem, he said.
He pointed out that since 2015 Derry and Strabane has seen the third lowest level of investment from NI Water.
On per head of population, it is the second lowest, with £370 per person, while Antrim and Newtownabbey got £650 per person.
Dr Blockwell responded by saying money cannot be ‘ring-fenced’.
According to Dr Curran, a lack of investment from the Infrastructure Department means that for the next three to four years of its capital programme, NI Water will be “unable to build out any enhancements in our wastewater infrastructure”.
He added that NI Water recognises that failure to invest will result in “continued deterioration of water quality” and “non-compliance of regulatory standards and requirements”.
Any funding will simply be focused on “maintaining existing assets” and on protecting drinking water, he told councillors.
He added: “As time goes on and we do less work on the wastewater infrastructure, the base maintenance requirements will actually increase and eat into that even more, so it’s quite a difficult picture for us to work with at the minute.
“We’re looking at ways and means of trying to minimise the impact but, in essence, we’ve lost just shy of a billion pounds of funding to put into that wastewater recovery programme.”
People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin said that when he previously raised the issue of pollution in the River Foyle, following Belfast Telegraph reporting, it was described as a ‘stunt’.
He questioned NI Water on the fact it was previously given an exemption back in 2007 when it comes to breaking the law and releasing untreated sewage into NI water bodies because of the state of wastewater infrastructure at that time.
There was an understanding that Stormont would deliver “substantial capital investment” over time, the meeting heard.
He also asked if £19.5m expected to be allocated from the recent October Monitoring Round could be spent on The Cashel project.
In terms of The Cashel, NI Water would not commit to allocating the additional funding to it as NI Water has to date been unable to secure a site for the pumping station.
Dr Curran said NI Water is “walking a tightrope” between protecting the environment and facilitating economic development.