PLATFORM
Sara Venning, CEO, NI Water
TEN years ago I joined Northern Ireland Water and every day since I have regarded it as a privilege to lead a team who play a key role in looking after our greatest natural resource.
The old proverb ‘we never know the value of water until the well runs dry’ is like a broken record playing in my head.
The board and management team at Northern Ireland Water know that the strategies and operational decisions which we make today will have a profound impact on future generations.
The granddaughter of the famous explorer and scientist Jacques Cousteau, Alexandra, also an environmentalist, summed up the importance of water, "Water is our most precious and interconnected natural resource. It sustains all ecosystems, communities and economies. It’s vital to health, safety and the environments in which we live and work. Simply put, water is life”.
Ten years ago our challenges were organisational and operational. Our mission was to focus on operational excellence. Through commitment and dedication our teams have worked hard and in difficult circumstances to create a modern, customer driven organisation. I am immensely proud of our people who ’Deliver what matters’ across Northern Ireland 24/7.
Over the years we have improved water quality and nursed our drainage infrastructure. NI Water is a leaner and more efficient organisation than before and we are delivering record levels of customer service and the lowest ever levels of supply interruptions.
We tackle leakage with a dogged determination, recognising the uphill battle that the combination of ageing infrastructure and consistent under investment bring.
Each day 875,000 homes and business enjoy our clean drinking water and return their used water to us for recycling – a staggering 1billion litres daily which we transport through 41,000km of watermains and sewers.
That is a network which is equal to walking from one end of the earth to the other.
We are central to the maintenance of a flourishing environment, a healthy and thriving population and a growing economy.
Yesterday we launched our 25-year strategy. We want to prevent the mistakes of the past and avoid building up shock costs for future generations.
Our Board is aware that they have a huge responsibility to create a sustainable, green and carbon neutral future.
It has been an open secret that historical failure to adequately invest in our water and sewage infrastructure is leading to real time problems in the network.
For example, 90 per cent of NI’s used water is treated at 271 treatment works. Due to historic under funding many are at, or close to, full capacity.
This has implications for house building, office/hotel development and economic growth in many of our towns. In Belfast alone the expenditure required to deal with wastewater, flooding and drainage amounts to £1billion.
NI Water wants every town and city in Northern Ireland to maximise their potential for growth.
The purpose of our strategic plan is to help central government better prepare for the necessary investment in a functioning, far-sighted and adequately funded water strategy.
It is imperative that changes are made to how NI Water is governed and financed so that our strategic objectives can be achieved. This is an operational imperative - not a political one.
To progress matters we are urging the Department for Infrastructure and the Department of Finance to develop options on how to provide sustainable financing solutions and good governance for NI Water by engaging with industry experts.
Every country talks about the need to have energy and food security, but we also need water security to safeguard our future.
There is an urgency to take decisions which will deliver the necessary new infrastructure for our water systems. Future generations will not forgive us if we don’t rise to this challenge now.
