Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmons
Funding, innovative thinking and working in partnership hold the key to delivering a better water and wastewater infrastructure to meet the needs of our growing population, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmons has said.
Speaking in the Assembly today, Minister Kimmins said:
“The need to modernise our ageing wastewater system is a top priority for me. We are paying for years of neglect as a result of British Government austerity and underfunding, which has created significant challenges to upgrade wastewater infrastructure – but that does not mean we cannot take steps now to improve things for the future.
“Funding, innovative thinking and working in partnership will hold the key to tackling this issue. That formed the basis of the previous Minister’s three-pronged approach; and I intend to build on it.
“In terms of funding, NI Water was recently allocated an additional £19.5million, to unlock wastewater capacity enabling 2,300 new homes to be built and connected in Antrim, Derry and Tyrone. This is part of their £0.5billion allocation for this year, which is just under 40% of the total non-ring-fenced budget available for my entire Department. I will continue to work with Executive colleagues to further increase wastewater investment.
“There is no quick fix or easy solution, which is why innovative thinking and collaborative working are so important. That is why I am exploring options for developer contributions, and I have also tasked my officials to work at a strategic level with the Department for Communities and the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to establish better ways of working together to increase housing provision.
“It was also heartening to read recently that construction here is at the highest it’s been in 15 years; and that surveyors’ expectations for overall construction workloads in the north are more positive than seen previously.”
Adding that innovative, nature-based solutions can also form part of the solution, the Minister said:
“Later this year, I will be introducing a Water, Flooding and Sustainable Drainage Bill to the Assembly. We need to look to nature itself and integrate nature-based solutions into our water and wastewater management if we are to future-proof the system. This will help improve the water quality of our rivers and loughs; help improve the performance of our sewerage systems; provide electricity cost saving opportunities for pumping and treating wastewater; reduce the volume of storm overflows into waterways; and help to reduce the risk of flooding.”
The Minister concluded:
“I am committed to finding practical and innovative solutions to not only unlock capacity, but to deliver a better water and wastewater infrastructure to meet the needs of our growing population.”