Thugs wreck water base

BY MAURICE FITZMAURICE A HUGE section of Belfast could have been left without water and scores of homes evacuated after vandals went on a wrecking spree, it was warned last night. Thugs demolished a block wall to gain access to a service reservoir building on the edge of Poleglass in West Belfast before causing significant damage to the facility. Heavy manhole covers were dropped around 20 to 30ft on to large underground pipes which supply the west of the city with water. A source told the Mirror if the pipes had ruptured, a large part, or possibly all, of West Belfast could have been left without running water for days while repairs were carried out. The reservoir, which processes 12 million litres of water a day, is where the rescource gathers after treatment before being directed into local pipes. However, it receives some treatment at the facility with huge tanks of chlorine gas on site. The source added: “These tanks are the size of a lorry and if they had have ruptured that would be the Fire Service called in and homes evacuated. It would have been no joke. “As for the pipes, these are serious pipes and they were dropping these big manhole covers down on to them. They need to realise what would have happened if they’d have ruptured. “There’s a double-fence perimiter around this place, double steel doors to keep people out, so whoever’s done this has made some effort to get in.” Sinn Fein councillor Stephen Magennis visited NI Water staff at the site yesterday along with Michael George from the Colin Safer Neighbourhood Project. Mr Magennis said: “This is crazy and it needs to stop. This can’t be allowed to go on. It’s going to hurt this community if it continues.”