If your water supply fails the problem may be a burst pipe somewhere in your home, or there may be a leak in the mains system. Call NI Water if you think it's a problem with the mains. For information about burst pipes, visit our Looking after your pipes in cold weather page.
If you are a Housing Executive tenant you can report repairs in the normal way.
Report a repair online
How does it affect my heating system?
Different types of heating system need looking after in different ways in the event of a water supply failure. Check what type of system you have and follow the advice below.
Any heating system with a cold water storage tank and hot water cylinder: Check if you have a heating system which uses a cold water storage tank (usually in the attic). If the water supply is cut off but your cold water storage tank is full, it’s still safe to run your central heating. However you should not use your hot water.
A system with a cold water storage tank will give a limited amount of water after the supply is cut off, but you risk running the storage tank dry. If that happens, it will create an airlock when the water comes back on again. If your cold water storage tank has run dry, do not use your central heating or your hot water. This could cause your hot water cylinder to collapse.
Combi-boiler: If you have a combi boiler (where your hot water is heated directly from the gas boiler and you don’t have a hot water cylinder) you can use your heating. You must not use any hot water from the taps.
Economy 7: If you have Economy 7, turn the immersion heaters off. There should be two switches in your hot press.
Solid fuel central heating system: If you have a back boiler on your fire where your fire heats water or radiators in your home, do not light your fire while the water is off. Once the water supply has been restored, light only a small fire at first.
Important general information: Don’t use your washing machine, your dishwasher or the chilled water dispenser sometimes found in American style fridge freezers.
We strongly recommend that you don’t use your immersion heater because you can burn it out if it’s not completely covered by water.
