A consultation on draft Social and Environmental Guidance for Water and Sewerage Services (2021-27) has opened. The draft Guidance will influence future water and sewerage investment decisions – it is important that the public has an opportunity to submit their views.
The draft Guidance will help inform how water and sewerage services are provided in Northern Ireland from 2021 to 2027 and sets out the key social and environmental priorities that the Department will expect the Utility Regulator to have regard to when carrying out its role of regulating NI Water during this period.
This includes what NI Water needs to do to meet its environmental obligations, continue to make improvements in service delivery and work to operate sustainably, taking account of climate change.
The Department has worked closely with its statutory partners to prepare the draft Guidance including the Consumer Council and Northern Ireland Water to ensure that the draft Guidance reflects consumers’ priorities.
The full draft guidance can be accessed here
Once the consultation closes on Friday 20 December 2019, all responses will be considered. If there is a continued absence of Ministers and taking account of the political context at that stage, the Department will then consider whether to issue final guidance.
Source – Department for Infrastructure