Alliance South Belfast MLA Anna Lo has organised water tanks to take supplies to several sheltered housing developments in South Belfast that have no water. The water tanks will provide water to residents in Benmore Court at 10am on Thursday. The water tanks will then go to Malton Fold housing association at 10:30am on Thursday, and Elgin Court after 11am. Anna and Lagan Bank Council candidate Catherine Curran have also condemned the slow response to NI Water to this crisis and their lack of preparation for it.
Anna Lo MLA said: “This crisis has been badly handled by NI Water. This situation is completely unacceptable. There should have been more preparation for the loss of water but NI Water does not seem to have put many resources in place to deal with these problems. Their response has been completely useless.They have tried to make water available from certain locations but you have to queue for a long time to receive a small amount. Many are finding it difficult to transport heavy bottles of water also.
The vulnerable in our society have not been taken into account. That is why I have organised for this delivery of water to these sheltered housing developments. Elderly residents and those with a disability have not been given any support by the authorities which is a disgraceful situation. I have however seen the actions of good Samaritans who have been helping their neighbours during this chaos.”
Catherine Curran said: “I have been shocked at the poor response from NI Water. We have been receiving calls from constituents who are getting no information from NI Water, there just seems to be no communication as to what is happening. Having visited with elderly residents today, many were extremely upset and feel they have been overlooked.
“The scenes I have seen at the water collection points are something that you would associate with an underdeveloped country. Belfast is one of the world’s best cities but the failure by NI Water to deal with this crisis has undermined our country’s reputation.”
ENDS