Belfast, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- Just 158 homes and businesses in Northern Ireland were without water Tuesday, indicating the crisis that has plagued the province since Christmas may be nearing an end.
Still, 11 schools were closed Tuesday because of disrupted water supplies, up from nine the day before.
The problems began after a rapid thaw December 26 followed record low temperatures, leading frozen water pipes to burst.
At one point last week, some 50,000 homes had no running water, causing difficulties for families as they celebrated the holidays. Some said they hadn't had water since before Christmas, when their pipes first froze.
The state-funded water company, Northern Ireland Water, came under criticism from government officials, who held an emergency meeting on the situation last week. The company's own interim chairman, Padraic White, admitted its response to the crisis was unacceptable.
NI Water, which has been working to repair the pipes and restore supplies, pointed out that the 251 figure reported Tuesday represented a considerable reduction from the 1,000 outages reported January 2 and the 2,600 reported on New Year's Day.
The company cut supplies to some 7,000 homes overnight as repair work continued and reservoirs were refilled.
NI Water said all repairs should be complete by the end of the week, but it warned that more severe weather was in the forecast and asked customers to "protect their properties through cold weather to prevent frozen pipes and bursts."
The company said postal service workers have agreed to help identify leaks as they make deliveries, and a police helicopter fitted with the latest thermal imaging technology was being used to help check water mains in remote areas.
Running water was also restricted in parts of the Republic of Ireland, including the capital, Dublin, and consumers there were being asked to conserve supplies.
© 2012 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
|