INCREASED fly-tipping during lockdown has put Northern Ireland's beauty spots at greater risk of wildfires as the dry weather turns warmer.
NI Water has warned of "a greater risk of wildfires developing in the countryside due to the burning of vegetation or waste and littering and dumping of waste materials".
Rebecca Allen of NI Water said they were not just a risk to human life, wildlife, property and the environment, but also drinking water supply.
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"Many areas which might be prone to wildfires like the Mourne Mountains, and areas which are unfortunately subject to fly-tipping are also in our drinking water catchments," she said.
Catchments are where water collects into rivers, lakes and streams, with 24 used by the body to supply drinking water across the north.
"Wildfires within these catchments not only pose a terrible risk to all life but removes the primary layer of vegetation, leaving the burned bare soil exposed to erosion which then makes its way into the reservoirs which supply the water to be treated to become our drinking water.
"The great erosion caused by wildfire increases carbon and other polluting chemicals significantly in raw water in the area, where sediment is accumulated in streams, lakes and reservoirs.
"This makes it especially difficult and more expensive to treat at our facilities to the stringent standards required by the Drinking Water Regulations."
She reminded the public to "never fly-tip waste material, extinguish cigarettes and other flammable materials properly, never throw cigarette ends out of car windows and avoid using open fires".
