A conference will be held in Northern Ireland next month to consider the lessons learned and the way forward from the unprecedented 2010 Freeze/Thaw incident that dominated national news for days over the Christmas period and led to the resignation of the Northern Ireland Water Chief Executive Officer. 

Reports on the incident have since been published by the Economic Regulator, Office of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister and the Northern Ireland Consumer Council. The Regulator recognised that NIW’s “Front line operational teams worked effectively in very challenging weather conditions,” but found the “emergency response led by NIW wholly inadequate.”*

John Wylie from the Met Office; Jim Marshall, Policy Adviser at Water UK and Kathy Graham, Head of Water at the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland are just some of the speakers who will explore what happened in depth alongside some of the staff who managed the event first hand, to examine why the response was inadequate and what could be done better in the future. 

A leading international practitioner and trainer in risk and crisis management will open the conference and delegates will hear from Paul Fenton, Resilience Manager at Southern Water and David Essex, Water Strategy Manager at Severn Trent Water about how such events have been planned for and managed in other areas. 

Operational aspects of the event will be explored and an independent journalist will give the media’s view on what happened under a ‘customer communications’ session. In the final session ‘Looking Forward’, the interim CEO of Northern Ireland  Water Trevor Haslett will set out his plans for restoring confidence in the service provided and there will be a senior speaker from DRD who will outline the structure and governance framework.

“Given the strength and relevance of this programme, I would urge anyone within the sector who has an interest in this incident and the response to it to attend. Delegates should gain a much deeper understanding of the situation and future outlook.” said the Institute of Water’s Chief Executive, Lynn Cooper.

“The Conference will provide delegates with the opportunity to ask speakers questions and to meet many of them face-to-face. It really is a great networking and learning opportunity.”

The event “When the Well Runs Dry: Lessons from the Freeze Thaw 2010” will be held at the Hilton Hotel in Templepatrick from 19 – 20 May.
Conference fees for members are £195 for the full Conference including accommodation and £115 for a day rate.
Conference fees for non-members are £250 for the full Conference including accommodation and £145 for a day rate.
Please contact Carmel Bradley to make a booking. Tel: 02871310372 or e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

*Quote from Statement by Conor Murphy MP, MLA Minister for Regional Development. Tuesday 8 March. Source: www.drdni.gov.uk 

For more press or event information please contact Lyndsey Gilmartin, on 0191 422 0088 or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it