Water chief quits after thousands left high and dry

Published on Wednesday 5 January 2011 19:05

THE man in charge of one of Northern Ireland's major utilities is to leave his post after thousands of homes were left without water over Christmas.

Northern Ireland Water confirmed last night that chief executive Laurence MacKenzie is to resign. The news comes after Northern Ireland's utility regulator announced an investigation into the handling of the crisis that saw thousands left without running water.

The move was confirmed by regional development minister Conor Murphy, who had promised an external review of the episode.

His department is responsible for the government-owned company Northern Ireland Water (NIW), which was heavily criticised for its handling of the events.

Mr Murphy said the regulator would set the terms of the inquiry and report back to the Stormont Executive by the end of February.

Arctic weather around Christmas gave way to a rapid thaw that caused hundreds of burst pipes in the water supply system, but NIW was criticised for its failure to handle calls for information from thousands of stricken families.

In a statement, Mr Murphy said: "At the executive meeting on 30 December, I was asked to bring forward proposals for an external review of the response of NI Water to the recent 'freeze-thaw' incident.

"I am proposing the NI Authority for Utility Regulation – the regulator – will conduct this review. The regulator is an established independent body which has a statutory duty to regulate water and sewerage services. "

He said the executive would consider these proposals at its meeting this afternoon. The minister said the proposed inquiry would "include terms of reference proposed by the regulator for the review".

He added: "The regulator has advised the earliest it could report to the Executive would be the end of February, but it will, where feasible, identify any short-term recommendations for the company to consider and improve performance, should such conditions recur."