Photo: Charles McQuillan
Les pénuries d'eau potable impactent des milliers de ménages. L'Écosse fait livrer 160,000 litres d'eau en bouteille et les médecins s'inquiètent pour la santé publique.
Les températures inhabituellement froides, puis le dégel soudain ont endommagé les aqueducs, les citernes d'eau et les égouts, ce qui fait que le 29 décembre 2010, 40,000 maisons étaient sans eau ni toilettes.
Les camions citernes font la navette entre les centres de distribution et les citoyens de l'Irlande du Nord se préparent à passer une autre nuit sans eau pour boire ni pour faire fonctionner les toilettes. Environ 400 personnes font la queue au centre communautaire, et elles veulent plus que de l'eau.
"Ceux à la tête de la compagnie devraient se faire harakiri." dit John Crossan, qui n'a plus d'eau chez lui depuis une semaine. "Certaines têtes devraient tomber." réenchérit Glyn Roberts "Pourquoi est-ce que l'Irlande du Nord est la seule région de la Grande-Bretagne qui est dans cet état depuis le dégel?"
Les médecins s'inquiètent pour la santé publique: "Ceci devient une urgence sérieuse" dit le Docteur John McMahon, un médecin de médecine générale qui est sans eau dans sa maison depuis 7 jours. Peter Maguire, un autre médecin, est d'accord avec lui: "Nous avons besoin d'eau et nous en avons pour protéger la santé du public. Les jeunes familles n'ont pas été capable de faire fonctionner leur toilette et se laver, encore moins se procurer de l'eau potable."
L'eau potable est fournie par Northern Ireland Water, et sa réaction à la crise est très critiquée. Dix-sept centres d'urgence ont été érigé pour aider les gens, mais c'est quand même pénible. Les centres d'achat et les boutiques ont été submergés par la demande de leur clientèle en eau embouteillée. Beaucoup de chaînes d'épicerie ont écoulé leur stock et attendent impatiemment des livraisons de leurs fournisseurs.
Un porte-parole de la Northern Ireland Water a annoncé que tous les congés de ses employés sont cancellés et tous ses gens sont au travail. La tête de la compagnie dit: "Nous injectons plus d'eau dans les systèmes de distribution qu'avant, mais c'est encore pire que jamais. La majorité des fuites semblent être dans les propriétés privées, alors on conseille à nos clients de vérifier leurs tuyaux." Mais la compagnie ne peut pas dire quand les maisons et les industries auront de l'eau à nouveau. "Nous tentons à minimiser les dommages le plus que possible: nous disons que cela prendra encore quelques jours. Nous avons des employés sur le terrain à tous les jours. Toute la province en souffre. L'énormité de la situation est sans pareil." dit le chef du service au client Liam Mulholland.
Le ministre de l'environnement de l'Irlande du Nord Edwin Poots a aussi tomber sur la tomate de la compagnie: "Tout le monde savait que quand le dégel arriverait, nous étions pour avoir de gros problèmes avec l'eau, alors je pense qu'il y a un manque de préparation de la part de Northern Ireland Water, surtout quand il s'agit de communications."
Les centres communautaires ont ouvert leurs portes le soir pour distribuer de l'eau, et excepté pour 2 centres, les douches sont aussi disponibles. Certains centres étaient ouvert jusqu'à 22:00 heures.
Une résidente de Belfast dit qu'elle a rempli un contenant de son jardin avec de la neige pour faire fonctionner les toilettes, ajoutant qu'initialement, le centre de distribution d'eau le plus près était à 5 milles de chez elle. "Nous avons une auto, ce n'est pas trop mal, mais pas tout le monde ici a une auto. J'ai acheté de la vaisselle en carton pour éviter de devoir laver la vaisselle, et nous mangeons des sandwichs ce soir au lieu de faire cuire des patates. C'est l'une des choses que l'on apprécie davantage quand on en est privé."
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"Northen Ireland water shortage hits thousands of households
Scotland sends 160,000 litres of bottled water as GPs warn of public health emergency
As tankers shuttled between distribution centres and thousands of people in Northern Ireland steeled themselves for another night without drinking water or flushing toilets, some in the 400-strong queue that snaked out of the Avoniel leisure centre in north Belfast were beginning to thirst for more than just water.
"Those at the top of that company should fall on their swords for this," said John Crossan, who had been without water for almost a week. "Heads will have to roll for this," agreed Glyn Roberts from the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association. "Why on earth is Northern Ireland the only part of the UK where there has been this massive disruption since the thaw?"
Up to 40,000 homes were today (December 29 2010) reported to be without water in Northern Ireland. A sudden thaw after arctic conditions has burst thousands of pipes and let reservoirs run dry.
Doctors are worried about the effect on public health. "This is becoming a really serious emergency," said Dr John McMahon, a GP who had been without water in his home in Rostrevor for seven days. Peter Maguire, another County Down doctor, was of the same mind. "This really is now a public health emergency," said the Newry GP. "We need water and we need it for the sake of public health. People with young families have not been able to flush toilets and wash themselves, never mind get access to drinking water."
What did he make of Northern Ireland Water's response to the crisis? "Shambolic." As the Scottish government offered to provide 160,000 litres of bottled water today, Northern Ireland's deputy first minister, Martin McGuinness, said he felt "absolutely let down" by Northern Ireland Water. Seventeen emergency water stations have now been set up across the north, from Derry in the north-west to Rostrevor in the south-east, but people are still struggling to cope. Supermarkets and shops have been swamped with customers trying to buy bottled water. A spokesperson for Sainsbury's said its stores in Forestside in south Belfast, Sprucefield near Lisburn and its west Belfast store had all run out of bottled water.
Geoff McKay, manager of Dunne's Stores in Belfast's Park Centre, also said there has been a huge demand for water. "We have one and two litre bottles still in stock, but there is not an awful lot left. Hopefully we will be getting six-packs but I'm not sure when they will be delivered." Tesco's store in Royal Avenue, Belfast's main shopping street, said it ran out of bottled water on Tuesday afternoon.
Among the casualties of the thaw and the water supply problems that followed was a children's fun farm in County Tyrone. Barrontop Fun Farm near Donemana said their animal shed, gift shop and toilet had been flooded. The farm had already lost business due to the snow, with 800 cancellations during December.
A spokesperson for Northern Ireland Water said today that all annual leave for its staff had now been cancelled and all employees are at work. The head of the company's networks said: "We're putting more water into the distribution systems than we have before, but the situation is worse than I have ever seen it. The vast majority of the leaks seem to be on private property, so we're urging customers to keep an eye out for leaking taps." But the company could not confirm last night if they will have households and businesses reconnected by tomorrow. "We are hoping to minimise it as far as possible – the term we are using is a few more days," said the company's head of customer services, Liam Mulholland. "We have people on the ground in every area. This has affected the whole province. The scale of the situation is unprecedented," he added.
Northern Ireland's environment minister, Edwin Poots, also rounded on the water company. "Everyone knew that whenever the thaw came there was going to be big problems with water, so I think that there was a lack of preparation by Northern Ireland Water, particularly in the issue of communication."
Poots and fellow ministers in the power-sharing coalition were having crisis talks with the company today. McGuinness also suggested that customers cut off from their water supplies could be entitled to compensation. "I think there will be a willingness on behalf of the executive to ensure that the most deserving cases are supported financially," he said.
Belfast city council opened all its leisure centres tonight to distribute water. In all but two, people were also being given the option of using the showers. Some of the centres outside of Belfast, including Coleraine and Ballycastle, were open until 10pm. In the meantime, people were doing what they could to get by.
One Belfast resident said she had filled a garden container with snow to use for flushing the toilet, adding that the nearest drinking water distribution centre had initially been five miles away. "That's fine for us, because we have a car, but not everyone does," she said. "I've bought paper plates to save on washing up and we're having sandwiches tonight so that we can save the water we would have used for potatoes," she said. "It's one of those things: you don't appreciate it until you don't have it.""
Excerpts from article written by Henry McDonald published in The Guardian here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/dec/29/northern-ireland-water-crisis-health
It's not like the climate scientists did not warn us!
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