AS THE dry conditions persisted mid-week, Northern Ireland's farmers were reminded of the province's water abstraction regulations.

The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs stated that NI's rivers, lakes and wetlands were key features of the landscape, supporting diverse and internationally important habitats of plant and animal life.

As such, the Water Abstraction and Impoundment Licensing Regulations, which came fully into force in February 2007, were being rigorously applied.

But with the dry weather looking set to continue, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency has streamlined its procedures to more rapidly respond to farmers, small businesses and local councils who have an urgent need of water at this time. Where the protection of a crop needs irrigation, animals require drinking water, or a new recreational area needs sprinklers to be established, NIEA said it would do its best to assist.

A spokesperson from Scottish Water delivered a message to Scottish farmers: “For those farms on the public network we will continue to do all we can to maintain their supplies, as per all our customers. We are continuing to ask customers to use water wisely during this period of dry and warm weather this summer.

“For farmers that are served via private water supplies and have concerns, we would advise them to contact the Environmental Health department of their local authority in the first instance,” added the spokesman.