§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in view of the inadequacy of the piped water supply in Northern Ireland during the summer months, whether he will take steps to reassess the priorities for capital development programmes during the next three years so as to direct increased financial resources towards water conservation, purification and supply; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. David HowellThe current capital development programme for the supply of water in Northern Ireland provides for the expenditure of about £21 million over 107W the next three years. Action has already been taken to bring into the programme this year a major new scheme for augmenting water supplies. Other schemes are being urgently examined.
§ Mr. Kilfedderasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will publish the statistics of the consumption of water in Northern Ireland during the last five years, showing domestic and industrial uses separately and the progress made in improving the supply; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. David HowellThe following table shows consumption of water over the last five years in Northern Ireland expressed in millions of gallons per day:
In the five-year period water authorities carried out over 600 schemes for improving the supply, at a cost of about £28½ million.
Domestic Use Industrial and Other Use Total 1968 67 23 90 1969 68 24 92 1970 70 28 98 1971 72 30 102 1972 75 32 107