Around 7,750 water customers remain without supply in Northern Ireland due to an on-going industrial dispute, with warnings that more homes could see their taps run dry.
Some beleaguered householders have been forced to boil snow and river water during the industrial action.
Government-owned supply company Northern Ireland Water outlined the scale of the problem ahead of renewed talks with union bosses on Tuesday aimed at bringing the four-week protest to an end.
Out-of-hours repair services are not being carried out as normal due to the continuing work-to-rule action by staff over proposed changes to their pension scheme.
Counties Fermanagh, Tyrone and Londonderry are the areas worst affected by supply problems, with customers having to collect water from temporary tanks, with some even being forced to boil snow.
The dispute centres on NI Water’s bid to roll out public sector pension reforms that have already been implemented in other state organisations in the region.
Staff are resisting the moves, claiming their monthly pension contributions are set to soar.
Last night union leaders tabled a new set of proposals aimed at finding a resolution. NI Water said it needed to clarify some of the measures outlined before responding.
A new round of negotiations is scheduled for later today.
A spokesman for NI Water said 7,750 properties still remained without supply and warned that other customers may experience disruption later today.
The latest issue is due to problems at Lough Bradan Water Treatment Works in Tyrone.
The company spokesman said NI Water had received 273 ‘no water’ calls since midnight.
“NI Water fully recognises this is a frustrating experience for our customers, and can assure them we are doing everything possible to restore water supplies,” he said.
“NI Water would like to once again thank our customers for their continued patience whilst this problem is being resolved.
“We appeal to customers to use water wisely and help conserve the remaining water supplies.
“NI Water has mobilised all resources at its disposal to deal with this latest incident, however, due to the limited resources available to us, as a result of industrial action, our response has been restricted.”
Eilish Doyle - whose home in the Sperrin Mountains, one of the most remote areas, was without water for six days - likened her situation to that of a “third world country”.
The mother-of-three said: “I had to go out and collect snow from the roof of the cars and boil it for tea and cooking, because that’s the cleanest place you can take snow. You can’t take it from the ground because you don’t know what was on the ground. “It has been horrendous.
PA