Proposed new developments across at least 23 cities and towns in the Northern Ireland affecting close to 20,000 properties are indefinitely on hold because there is no way to connect to the sewage system without major works.
Plans for homes, including social housing, new or upgraded factories, other businesses, work on schools and public facilities are affected by the effective halt to developments, including in Belfast, Newry, Portadown and Enniskillen, among many other areas.
NI Water, which manages the sewage system, starkly mapped out the pressures facing the system in a meeting with developers last month.
The agency promised before the end of this month to let know all of those planning a development whether it will be likely impossible to move forward because there is no chance of a waste water connection.
Even with further funding over the next number of years, only 4,500 of the 19,000 developments will be able to go ahead, NI Water said. Independent observers are describing the situation as a “crisis”.
A total of 37,000 developments needing a waste water connection, with each house counted separately, are planned over the next several years, with some 18,000 able to connect to the system without the need for any major upgrades and with funding from the developer, according to NI Water.
Details of the crisis were first revealed by the Irish News in July.
An average of approximately 6,500 new homes were built annually over the last 15 years. Only 400 social housing starts are planned for 2024/25, 1,106 fewer than 2023-24.
In documents seen by the Irish News, NI Water said it completed an assessment of the 37,000 units and estimate that approaching 18,000 units “may still be able to connect to the wastewater system, with the majority requiring a developer-funded zero detriment solution such as storm water offsetting, as long as this option remains viable”.
It added: “The remaining 19,000 units are constrained by existing NI Water assets that are currently high polluting. These units are also currently outside the scope of developer-funded solutions and would require a full capital upgrade before further new connections can be made to the wastewater system.
“These units include homes in private and social ownership schemes, commercial and public buildings. The current budget allocation means that at present, NI Water will not be able to make the necessary investments to enable connections for these units.
“The budget allocation means that over the next 3 years there will be limited ability to increase capacity to accommodate new connections in areas that are currently constrained by a lack of wastewater capacity.”
In a statement, the Department for Infrastructure said a decade of cuts has led to the “pressure on connections to the wastewater infrastructure and demand from developers to facilitate upgrades to the sewerage network”.
“Even if fully funded, the independent Utility Regulator’s final determination only allowed for connection of 4,500 properties in the period 2021-2027,” a department spokesperson said on behalf of Minister John O’Dowd.
“The Department has been historically underfunded by over a decade of cuts by the British government. However, this year the minister has provided NI Water with a budget allocation of almost £0.5 billion for 2024/25, representing just under 40% of the total non-ring-fenced budget for the Department for Infrastructure.
“It is for the Board of NI Water to prioritise its funding allocation to ensure that it delivers effective water and sewerage services within budget.
“We all want to see a sustainable water and wastewater infrastructure which benefits everyone across our society. The Minister will continue to raise the need for NI Water to have secure and sustainable funding, with the NI Executive and the British Government, to help deliver the best possible service for customers.”
Under 2006 legislation, developers cannot help pay for major upgrades to the existing system, only for sewer or drain connections for domestic purposes.
Further, temporary or private sewage treatment works are not suitable in most urban areas, NI Water said. The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is responsible for consenting to such works but will not do so unless approved by NI Water.
Chartered civil engineer Brian Pope said there is a “real fear in the construction sector that the current wastewater crisis will result in an industry-wide recession”.
‘Some developers are angry that the NI Executive has not addressed this issue by now after years of underfunding and inaction,” said Mr Pope, a former Alliance representative.
“’This crisis will decimate the social house-building programme. Many councils operate social housing quotas and if private developments don’t go ahead then they won’t include any social housing. Housing waiting lists will get longer.
“It could result in a ‘postcode’ lottery where rich private developers only fund upgrades in areas where they can generate a profit but social and affordable housing in the most deprived areas are left behind.
“This is a dreadful situation for anyone hoping to buy a new home, move into a social house or build a new factory.
“NI Water are reporting a £185 million shortfall in funding in 2024/25 and a total capital funding gap of £1 billion in PC21 over the period 2021-2027. And they have already refused a sewer connection to 19,000 new properties, that’s nearly 50% of all applications.
“In the short term the Department for Infrastructure must bring forward urgent legislation to allow private developers fund some of the drainage upgrades. A strategy to solve the long-term funding problem must also be included in the Programme of Government this year.
“This is an economic car-crash for our industry.”
