Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 8 February 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Future Funding of Domestic Water Services

Scottish Water, Welsh Water and the Commission for Energy Regulation

1:30 pm

Mr. Chris Jones:

We have a large number of routes for interacting with customers. For example, the Deputy mentioned a burst mains or something like that. What we would generally expect to happen would be that we would see that through the telemetry monitoring of our systems. We would see a change in flow or pressure and we would hope to pick that up before customers are aware of it. We would use a variety of communication techniques to let them know, but, in particular, we would send a text message to all the customers in that area. In our system we can quickly work through from the hydraulic model, if there is a burst there, where our customers will be impacted and send information directly to them by text, social media or whatever way they have registered to let them know about such issues. That is in the immediate area. If we have planned works, which often are around aged water infrastructure, pipes, sewers or whatever, so working in someone's street, then we will go to a lot of effort to ensure that we have communicated face-to-face, by letter, and also with community events, drop-in centres and so on, so that the community knows and has had an input into how we are planning that work to minimise disruption. It is also, crucially, so that they understand why this is very necessary investment, why it is necessary to put them through that disruption, in order to provide a better service for the long term. Going on to the sewer issue, that would be-----