RESIDENTS in Lisbellaw had a filthy start to the day last week as brown-coloured water thundered out from their taps.
Instead of expecting clear water to drink, to fill up their kettles and to replenish the water bowls of any household pets, people had to flock to the nearest sold to buy vast quantities of bottled-water.
Those living on Tattygare Road, Tattymacall Road, Birch Grove and Weavers Lane were affected. Reports of contaminated water were also reported in Mount Drum, Garvary and Tempo.
Images on social media were posted with a cup of brown water being captioned as, “no this is not tea” while a bath full of rusty water was also put up online.
“No this is not tea” said a Lisbellaw resident who posted the above image on social media.
NI Water apologised for the poor quality of the water saying the change in colour resulted from a disturbance to a water main that had been having repair work being carried out on it.
A spokeswoman said: “NI Water fully appreciates the impact on customers when their water supply does not appear to look and taste to the usual high standard they would expect.
“Discoloration of water can occur when there has been disturbance to a water main providing water to a property. In this case, essential repairs were undertaken on a trunk main serving this area.
“The supply zone was flushed immediately after the repair and again last Thursday morning (July 20). We apologise for any inconvenience caused.
“The advice to run the tap and let water settle is correct.
“For most situations, the advice resolves the issue. However if it doesn’t, the next step would be to contact NI Water, so that we can investigate further.
“Our number one priority will always be the quality of the drinking water that we provide.
“On the occasions when the initial steps haven’t resolved the issue, we will not hesitate to investigate further and take appropriate action.”
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