BURST water mains in Belfast city centre could cost pubs and restaurants tens of thousands of pounds after many were forced to close early during one of the busiest trading days of the year.
Businesses including the Crown Bar on Great Victoria Street had to close yesterday afternoon after they were left without water when several mains burst.
The Grand Opera House and Europa Bus Station were also left without water. NI Water said most businesses had their supply restored by 6.30pm. Some businesses were able to reopen although all supplies were not expected to be reconnected until midnight.
A lane on Cromac Street was closed for several hours to allow engineers to carry out emergency repairs.
Colin Neill, Chief Executive of Hospitality Ulster, said he understood the bursts could not have been predicted but was concerned that businesses were not told how long repairs might take.
"Bursts happen and we understand that but it's frustrating that no one from NI Water or Transport NI would give us a timeframe (for repairs)," he said.
"Businesses needed to know whether they should have staff on standby or send them home."
Mr Neill said the run-up to Christmas was the "most critical time of year for the hospitality sector".
"Small businesses work on very tight margins and this was one of the last few days before Christmas," he said.
A spokeswoman for NI Water said: "Restoring customers' supply has been our first priority throughout this incident".
"It can be difficult to provide restoration times as a number of factors need to be taken into consideration, including locating the bursts, ground conditions and traffic management plans. The latter is particularly the case in a built up city centre," she said.
"We have made proactive contact with customers throughout this incident in order to provide as much information as possible.
"Unfortunately, burst water mains are by their nature unplanned and NI Water would like to thank the public for their patience during this time. We appreciate how busy the businesses are at this time of year and we apologise for the inconvenience."
A spokeswoman for the Department of Infrastructure said: "Transport NI works with NI Water to minimise disruption and provides updates to the public via Trafficwatch".
