40,000 Left Without Water in Northern Ireland

LONDON -- Anger is mounting in Northern Ireland where some 40,000 people have been left without running water for up to eight days after pipes shattered following a deep freeze and a rapid thaw.

Tens of thousands of homes and businesses across 74 towns and cities have been cut off, forcing residents to join long queues for bottled water. And Northern Ireland Water, the private company that oversees the service, said the situation would likely continue into the new year.

"Having clean drinking water is a very important aspect of life, and we are trying to get that system back up and working as fast as we can," Liam Mulholland, customer services director for NI Water, told reporters, adding that reservoir levels had also dropped dangerously low. "This may go on for another short period, but we are doing our best to keep it as short as possible to get those reservoir levels up and provide water to our customers."

Mulholland said the crisis had been made worse by pipes bursting in properties left vacant over the holidays, making it difficult for engineers to trace and repair leaks. Asked by a reporter why Scotland -- which has suffered a similar freeze and thaw -- hadn't suffered similar cuts to supplies, he replied, "Scotland has had investment, whereas we haven't."

That argument doesn't cut it with many local residents, who have slammed the company's response.

"This is really now a public health emergency," Peter Maguire, a doctor from Newry, southwest of Belfast, who has gone eight days without water, told The Belfast Telegraph. "NI Water has been shambolic. Young families have been left without drinking water and not able to flush toilets. This is unacceptable."

South Belfast parliamentarian Alasdair McDonnell warned that NI Water's failures could result in a disease outbreak.

"People in South Belfast are at their wits' end having been without water now for several days, and many are currently having to cope with the nightmare of sewage in their home with little help or reassurances from NI Water," he told the Telegraph. "Residents also have the added frustration of not being able to get through to speak to anyone in NI Water or get any information on whether or not their water is being fixed, as the agency's website is down."

Northern Ireland's environment minister, Edwin Poots, lambasted the company for what he called its shoddy preparation for the thaw.

"Everybody knew that whenever the thaw came that there was going to be big problems with water, so I think that there was a lack of preparation by NI Water, particularly in the issue of communication," he told the BBC. "In terms of communicating those problems with the community, they failed and failed very miserably."

Many towns and cities have now opened leisure and recreation centers to the public so local residents can shower and use bathroom facilities.