Northern Ireland water crisis will continue into next week.

(From Guardian Unlimited)

Northern Ireland's water crisis will continue into next week, the state company blamed for the supply problems warned today.

Officials at Northern Ireland Water blamed a lack of investment in infrastructure for the shortages now affecting 34,000 people.

The utility firm said 18,000 homes in the city were running dry, with a further 5,000 in the east of Northern Ireland and up to 9,000 in the west still affected.

At a press conference today at its Belfast headquarters, Trevor Haslett, Northern Ireland Water's director of engineering, said the region's ageing water pipes were the reason why it had been hit harder than other parts of the UK.

"Although we have invested over the past three years around GBP150m in our water mains, that is still only replacing 1% of the system," he said. "In other areas of the UK including Scotland it's 1.9%, so just about half of our pipes are being renewed in comparison to the rest …