Article 247 - The Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (as amended by the Water and Sewerage Service Act (Northern Ireland) 2016)

Building over a water main is not allowed under any circumstances

• If an existing watermain traverses your site please read Guidance Note BNW-A236 in the first instance, it specifies how close you may build near NIW assets.
• Contact NIW and request that the main be traced and marked. Following this, exploratory excavations should be carried out to determine exact line and level of existing pipework, plus confirm type/class and outside diameter of pipe.
• If your proposal cannot be altered to suit compliance with GN BNW-A236 and you wish to have the watermain relocated, you should submit a completed A247 Application for consideration and assessment.
• Where a diversion is possible, approval is granted and the Developer wishes to proceed with the work, the Developer will be expected to pay full costs (including NIW company overheads) before work can be programmed.
• The Developer will also be expected to carry out all excavation and reinstatement work associated with the diversion at their own expense, unless stated otherwise in the approval letter.
• Please note in some circumstances NIW assets cannot be relocated and a refusal letter will be issued, this will include reason(s) why approval could not be granted and outline the Right of Appeal.

Technical Assessment:

• Note: The technical assessment can take up to 30 working days to complete, however there may be constraints associated with the complexity of the infrastructure/services belonging to other Utilities/topography of the site. In those cases, NIW staff will liaise closely with the Applicant and agree a timeframe.
• Following approval and subsequent payment NIW will endeavor to complete the works within 60 working days or by agreement if constraints exist. Please note that scheduling of final tie-in connections to existing ‘live’ mains will be subject to Customer Impact Assessments and approval by Water Operational staff, plus if any Streetworks is required approval by Transport NI.

If you have any queries please contact the Developer Services at:

Developer Services - Servicing Team Northern Ireland Water
Ballykeel Office
188 Larne Road
Ballykeel
Ballymena
Co Antrim BT42 3HA

Telephone: 03458 770 003
Email: developerservices[AT]niwater[DOT]com