Debate contribution: Water, Sustainable Drainage and Flood Management Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 16 September 2025.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

16 September 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Water, Sustainable Drainage and Flood Management Bill: Second Stage

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5111169

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I beg to move

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

The Water, Sustainable Drainage and Flood Management Bill, which I am bringing to Second Stage today, is an important step in meeting the challenges that my Department and NI Water face in continuing to deliver high-quality water services, and I greatly appreciate the opportunity to put the Bill before you today. The Bill is a key part of my three-pronged approach to addressing the challenges with our waste water infrastructure: to secure more funding from my Executive colleagues; to legislate for sustainable urban drainage to slow the flow of storm water, which is overwhelming the system; and to explore developer contributions. Following June monitoring, I allocated £11 million to NI Water to unlock 3,000 houses in the Derry area. Since my predecessor, John O'Dowd, and I came into office, we have provided ring-fenced allocations to enable the unlocking of waste water capacity for over 5,000 properties across the North. That is already greater than the 4,300 properties that NI Water had originally planned to connect, if fully funded, by the end of the current price control (PC) period in 2028, and it is only 2025. In total, my capital budget allocation to NI Water for this year is 90% of what, it identified, it could spend this year. Our consultation on developer contributions has now closed, and officials are preparing options for my consideration. I have consistently said that innovative thinking and working in partnership hold the key to unlocking our waste water constraints. The recent announcement of the connection of 400 properties in my area in Newry shows what can be achieved when we challenge traditional thinking and focus on smarter, more sustainable solutions. That lies at the heart of my three-pronged approach, as does the Bill. First, I wish to set out the context of the policies that the Bill will allow us to pursue once it is enacted. I am eager to hear Members' thoughts on the proposals, and I am happy to answer any questions that they may have. In March 2022, my Department launched a 12-week consultation on a range of policy proposals to update our existing legislation for the future provision of water, sustainable drainage and flood management services. The policy proposals were intended to enable improvements to NI Water's processes and to enable new and improved ways of reducing and mitigating flood risk. They will strengthen resilience during extreme weather events such as drought and help to facilitate more environmentally friendly solutions to managing water. The effects of a changing climate are evident the world over, and it would be naive of us to assume that we are in any way immune to that. In recent years, we have seen warmer and drier summers and sporadic, unpredictable weather conditions. It is therefore vital that we have legislation in place to allow us to meet the challenges in how we manage, use and treat our water resources, future-proof the system and get on a path to integrating natural drainage systems into our waste water infrastructure more. My Department originally consulted the public and stakeholders on a range of policy areas that included powers for NI Water to implement wider water shortage measures; arrangements to encourage developers to use sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) as the preferred drainage solution in new developments; and allowing NI Water to adopt certain privately owned drainage infrastructure constructed prior to 1 October 1973. They also included enhancing powers for NI Water to deal with drain and sewer miscommunications; allowing NI Water to register article 161 agreements in the Statutory Charges Register; and giving homeowner flood protection measures a statutory basis. Also included were enabling future amendment of the drainage environmental impact assessments and floods directive regulations as required; providing NI Water with a new power of entry to enable it to carry out works beyond the laying of pipes, including the construction of SuDS; and compensation arrangements with landowners in exchange for their land in order to facilitate the storage of floodwaters. Whilst the responses to the policy proposals were overwhelmingly positive, I have noted some concerns about the proposals to provide NI Water with a new power of entry to enable it to carry out works beyond the laying of pipes, which I have already mentioned as regards including the construction of SuDS and the proposal on compensation arrangements with landowners in exchange for their lands facilitating storage of floodwaters. I have given those concerns due consideration and decided that both proposals will be revisited at a later date. I will not therefore seek to take those two policy proposals forward in the context of the Bill. The consultation received 30 responses and closed on 3 June 2022. I publicly acknowledge the contribution of the individuals and organisations who took the time to inform our policy development. Consultees were widely supportive of the seven remaining policy proposals. The first proposal will allow for the expansion of the list of activities that NI Water may prohibit or restrict as part of a temporary hosepipe ban or temporary use ban. That will make available to NI Water a comprehensive list of water-conserving measures from which it may select to prohibit all or any, as necessity dictates. The powers that will be made available to NI Water under the proposed legislation are comparable to those in other jurisdictions. Approval of that policy proposal among respondents was high, although concerns were voiced regarding the welfare of fish and animals if the filling of domestic ponds were to be included in the proposed measures. Given those concerns, I have decided that the filling of domestic ponds should not be included in the proposed list of prohibited activities to be included under that proposal. It was also proposed that my Department should be given the power to issue future arrangements and guidance on the design, approval and maintenance of sustainable drainage systems to make SuDS the preferred means of dealing with surface water. Again, that was met with overall support. I will therefore provide my Department with the powers to make regulations in relation to the design, approval, operation and maintenance of SuDS. In tandem with the Bill, I will launch a public consultation on nature-based SuDS in new housing developments on Monday 22 September 2025. The consultation will seek views on the development and implementation of new policies and regulatory arrangements to ensure that nature-based SuDS, such as grass swales, rain gardens and detention ponds, are provided in new housing developments. Another proposal is to allow NI Water to adopt and maintain sections of privately owned drainage infrastructure constructed prior to 1 October 1973, where such sections are critical to the effective operation of its network. Fixing and adopting old drainage infrastructure where it is critical to the operation of NI Water's network would ensure that failing drainage no longer caused damage to the environment or harm biodiversity, and I am therefore providing NI Water with the power to adopt pre-1973, private drainage infrastructure that is critical to the effective operation of the sewerage network. The next proposal will provide NI Water with the power to enter premises to fix drainage miscommunications and recover the cost from the landowner in instances where the landowner refuses entry and refuses to repair the miscommunication themselves. It is not currently possible for NI Water to register article 161 agreements on the Statutory Charges Register. Those are agreements between a developer and NI Water for the adoption of certain infrastructure. I will therefore provide NI Water with the power to register article 161 adoption agreements and bonds in the Statutory Charges Register. That will enable solicitors and conveyancers to access the records of any ongoing obligations that lie with a piece of land at a single point. Following discussions with the Office of the Legislative Counsel (OLC) and the registrar of titles, I am confident that allowing that power is the optimum solution to providing a more streamlined and transparent process to assist the conveyancing process in the North. Responses to the proposal to enable the Department to introduce powers for a substantive homeowner flood protection grant scheme to residents whose properties are susceptible to flooding were very positive. My predecessor, John O'Dowd, specifically instructed officials to ensure that applicants are not prevented from availing themselves of the homeowner flood protection grants if there are plans for a future flood alleviation scheme. I intend to carry that important policy forward. I recognise the importance of helping people to protect their homes from flooding. Whilst we cannot prevent all flooding, we can reduce the impacts with appropriate improvements and development. That is exactly why, in July, I announced an increase in the threshold for the homeowner flood protection grant scheme from £10,000 to £13,700 to take into account inflationary increases. The eligibility criteria will also be improved to streamline the application process. I will therefore provide my Department with the power to develop a substantive scheme so that the current pilot scheme will have a sound legislative basis. Further consultation and new regulations will be required for a new scheme. My final proposal is to provide powers for my Department to amend, update or revoke the Drainage (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 and the Water Environment (Floods Directive) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2009. The powers are being taken to replace the powers that my Department had before the UK left the EU. I am not planning any such amendments at present; rather, the powers will be used as and when necessity dictates and will follow the normal consultation process. Any future regulations will be made by draft affirmative resolution, which will allow for full scrutiny by the Assembly. The majority of the Bill's provisions require commencement orders to introduce them, following Royal Assent. I will be happy to address any questions that Members may have.

1,648 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:13 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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