The Mourne Wall, Slievenaglogh - geograph

The Belfast Water Commissioners was a public body in Ireland and later Northern Ireland,From the body's formation until 1922, the island of Ireland was part of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

. Following Ireland's independence as the

Irish Free State The Irish Free State ( ga, Saorstát Éireann, , ; 6 December 192229 December 1937) was a state established in December 1922 under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of December 1921. The treaty ended the three-year Irish War of Independence between th ...

in 1922, the Water Commissioners existed in Northern Ireland, part of the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

. established by the Belfast Water Act 1840, to improve the supply of water to the expanding city of Belfast. By 1852, the city was suffering a shortfall in supply of almost one million gallons per day.Short History of Belfast’s Mourne Water Supply.
William R Darby, EARC, 2 November 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2018. In 1889 the body's name was changed to Belfast City and District Water Commissioners in recognition of the expanding boundaries of Belfast and resulting increased demand for water. Major infrastructure completed for the Belfast City and District Water Commissioners includes the

Mourne Conduit The Mourne Conduit was a water main which ran from the Silent Valley Reservoir to Carryduff, near Belfast and was built between 1893 and 1901 for the Belfast City and District Water Commissioners. This was supplemented by additional pipelines twi ...

, the

Mourne Wall The Mourne Wall ( ga, Balla an Mhúrn) was constructed to enclose a catchment area of the Silent Valley Reservoir in the Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland. The high stone wall, which was built to keep livestock from contaminating water supplie ...

Silent Valley Reservoir The Silent Valley Reservoir is a reservoir located in the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, County Down in Northern Ireland. It supplies most of the water for County Down, surrounding counties and most of Belfast. It is owned and maintained by Northe ...

, the

Binnian Tunnel The Binnian Tunnel (2.5 miles long) was constructed between 1947 and 1950/51 and is located under the Mourne Mountains in County Down, Northern Ireland. The main purpose of the tunnel is to divert water from the Annalong Valley to the Silent ...

and

Ben Crom Reservoir Ben Crom Reservoir is a reservoir located in the Mourne Mountains near Kilkeel, County Down, Northern Ireland. Along with Silent Valley Reservoir, which is situated further down the Kilkeel River valley, it supplies water for County Down, surrou ...

. The Water Commissioners' responsibilities were transferred to the Department of the Environment's Water Executive in 1974 and are now managed by

Northern Ireland Water Northern Ireland Water Limited ( ga, Uisce Thuaisceart Éireann; Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Wattèr'') is a water company in Northern Ireland. Formerly an executive agency within Northern Ireland Executive, it became a government-owned co ...

History

The Belfast Water Commissioners was a public body established by the Belfast Water Act 1840, to improve the supply of water to the expanding city of Belfast. By 1852, the city was suffering a shortfall in supply of almost one million gallons per day. In 1889, the expansion of Belfast's boundaries and increased demand for water lead to the change of name to Belfast City and District Water Commissioners or BC&DWC. In 1891, the Commissioners appointed local civil engineer,

Luke Livingston Macassey Luke Livingstone Macassey (1843 – 9 May 1908) was an Irish civil engineer and barrister, notable for his contributions to public health by improving the water supply in the north of Ireland (today Northern Ireland). In 1874 he was appointed co ...

to identify water resources to sustain Belfast. Macassey ruled out

Lough Neagh Lough Neagh ( ) is a freshwater lake in Northern Ireland and is the largest lake in the island of Ireland, the United Kingdom and the British Isles. It has a surface area of and supplies 40% of Northern Ireland's water. Its main inflows come ...

which as the largest lake in the British Isles would have been an abundant source of water, however water quality was a concern and its altitude meant that water would have to be pumped to Belfast. Other sources in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, and

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

were rejected: * Mcauley's Lake in

Ballynahinch Ballynahinch may refer to: Northern Ireland * Ballynahinch, County Armagh, a townland *Ballynahinch, County Down, a town Republic of Ireland *Ballynahinch (barony), in County Galway *Ballynahinch, County Galway, a townland in County Galway * Bally ...

- Altitude favourable, however too small a body of water to justify investment and quality not high. *

Slieve Croob __NOTOC__ Slieve Croob () is a mountain with a height of in the middle of County Down, Northern Ireland. It is the heart of a mountainous area known as the Dromara Hills, north of the Mourne Mountains. It is designated an Area of Outstanding Nat ...

- Risk of disputes with

mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

owners ruled out this source * Bryansford in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

- Like Ballynahinch, too small a quantity of water to justify investment * Upper Bann area near

Banbridge Banbridge ( , ) is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the River Bann and the A1 road (Northern Ireland), A1 road and is named after a bridge built over the River Bann in 1712. It is situated in the Civil parishes in Ireland, c ...

* Clady, Glenravel and

Glenarm Glenarm () is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies on the North Channel coast north of the town of Larne and the village of Ballygalley, and south of the village of Carnlough. It is situated in the civil parish of Tickmacrevan a ...

, County Antrim Macassey ultimately recommended on the

Mourne Mountains The Mourne Mountains ( ; ga, Beanna Boirche), also called the Mournes or Mountains of Mourne, are a granite mountain range in County Down in the south-east of Northern Ireland. They include the highest mountains in Northern Ireland, the high ...

in Down. Upon deciding on the site, water commissioners agreed on securing a catchment area. Private Acts of Parliament (in 1893, 1897 and 1899) allowed the purchase of the Mournes land and related access permits and water rights. At the time the catchment was capable of providing some of water per day, however because this was more than was required at that point, a three phase scheme was developed. The first stage was to divert water from the Kilkeel and Annalong rivers through the

to a reservoir near

Carryduff Carryduff ()Northern Ireland Placenames Project
is a small ...

. These water pipes and tunnels were capable of supplying of water per day. Work was completed in 1901. The second stage was to build a storage reservoir, the

across the Kilkeel River, to supply another of water per day. Design work on this phase began in 1910, but procurement of the work was delayed by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. A contract was eventually awarded in 1923 to S. Pearson & Son and work continued until 1933. The commissioners were responsible for the construction of the

which encloses the catchment area.

began to restore in this strcuutre in 2017. In 1938, the commissioners purchased a building now known as the Water Office due to the need for more office space. It was purchased by

Marks & Spencer Marks and Spencer Group plc (commonly abbreviated to M&S and colloquially known as Marks's or Marks & Sparks) is a major British multinational retailer with headquarters in Paddington, London that specialises in selling clothing, beauty, home ...

in 1983 and became part of its extended city centre store.

Irish Boundary Commission

The

Irish Boundary Commission The Irish Boundary Commission () met in 1924–25 to decide on the precise delineation of the border between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, which ended the Irish War of Independence, provided for such a c ...

was established in 1924 to decide on the delineation of the border between the

and Northern Ireland. The BC&DWC made representations to that body, objecting to any movement of the border north from the existing County Down boundary on the following grounds: #That the existing boundary of Carlingford Lough was a natural boundary and therefore preferable to an artificial boundary. #A movement of the border northwards, but not ecompassing the Mourne Mountains, would make the Silent Valley and related infrastructure more vulnerable to attack and would necessitate continuous protection. #A boundary to the north of the Commissioner's facilities in the Mourne Mountains would place the source of water in a different jurisdiction from the areas served which would involve the risk of "interference with the undertaking, restrictions in the use of the water ndincreased taxation" #The latter would have financial implications for the BC&DWC, for example their ability to raise finance. The border was ultimately unchanged, leaving the Mourne catchment area and water infrastructure within Northern Ireland.

Successor organisations

The powers vested in the Belfast City and District Water Commissioners were transferred to the Minister of Development on 1 October 1973. Provision of water and sewerage services became the responsibility of the Water Service by 1 January 1974, itself a division of the

Department of the Environment An environmental ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for the environment and/or natural resources. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of the Environment, ...

. In 1996, the Water Executive became an executive agency and was rebranded as the Northern Ireland Water Service and, in 1999, responsibility for water transferred to the Department for Regional Development. The Northern Ireland Water Service became

in April 2007.

Relevant legislation

*Belfast Water Act, 1840 *Commissioner' Clauses Act, 1847 *Waterworks' Clauses Act, 1847 *Waterworks' Clauses Act, 1863 *Belfast Water Act, 1865 *Belfast Water Act, 1874 *Belfast Water Act, 1879 *Belfast Water Act, 1884 *Belfast Water Act, 1889 *Belfast Water Act, 1893 *The Belfast City and District Water Commissioners (Postponement of Elections) Order (Northern Ireland) 1940 *The Belfast Water Order (Northern Ireland) 1948 *The Belfast Water Order (Northern Ireland) 1953 *The Belfast Water Order (Northern Ireland) 1965 *The Belfast Water Order (Northern Ireland) 1967 *The Belfast Water Order (Northern Ireland) 1972 *The Water and Sewerage Services Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1973

References

Notes

Citations

External links

* {{commons category-inline, Belfast City and District Water Commissioners 1840 establishments in Ireland Water supply and sanitation in Ireland Organisations based in Belfast History of Belfast