NI Water says County Down Top Towns are in the Easter Bunny bad books
NI Water is hopping ahead of the Easter holidays to flush out the worst offending towns for sewer blockages across Northern Ireland, with County Down ranking second place out of all six counties with Downpatrick heading the Down list.
And topping the charts for County Down in the Top of the Plops is Downpatrick.
NI Water has identified County Down with 2,144 blockages out of a total of 11,019 across all 6 counties in 2024 (an above average og 19.46%).
The large number of blockages can be prevented and are a huge demand of the already limited resources available to NI Water. Every citizen can play their part in putting an end to this problem.
The top three ‘hotspots’ for blockages in County Down in 2024 included BT30 in Downpatrick with 332 blockages, BT23 in Newtownards with 328 blockages and BT35 in Newry with 233 blockages.
The top three blockage ‘hotspots’ across all six counties experienced 5,004 blockages which is almost half of all 11,019 blockages in 2024.
The most common items blocking all pipes in 2024 include wipes and sanitary items as well as fats, oils and grease.
NI Water’s Head of Environmental Regulation Angela Halpenny said: “NI Water fights a daily battle with blocked sewers. This often increases in frequency over holiday periods when people are spending more time at home or may be cooking up traditional roasts and enjoying home baking.
“As Easter approaches, we are ‘flushing’ out the worst offenders in a bid to reduce blockages. xa0If your town is on the list, check are your flushing habits adding to the problem.”
Top three areas in each County for blockages in 2024:
| County | Total number of blockages in 2024 | Top postcodes areas for blockages in 2024 |
| County Antrim | 3736 total blockages | BT28: Lisburn = 230 BT36: Newtownabbey = 226 BT38: Carrickfergus = 215 |
| County Down | 2144 total blockages | BT30: Downpatrick = 332 BT23: Newtownards = 328 BT35: Newry = 233 |
| County Derry | 1792 total blockages | BT47: Derry~Londonderry = 597 BT48: Derry~Londonderry = 487 BT49: Limavady = 210 |
| County Armagh | 1338 total blockages | BT66: Craigavon = 330 BT62: Craigavon = 295 BT60: Armagh = 180 |
| County Tyrone | 1178 total blockages | BT71: Dungannon = 227 BT82: Strabane = 214 BT78: Omagh = 194 |
| County Fermanagh | 831 total blockages | BT74: Enniskillen = 419 BT92: Enniskillen = 155 BT94: Enniskillen = 132 |
| Totals: | 11,019 | 5,004 |
Angela Halfpenny added: “We have all seen the disgusting effects of an overflowing manhole in the street or worse, an overflowing toilet in a home. We hope that our customers get behind us and start adopting better ‘bin it’ habits.xa0
“It is well publicised that out-of-sewer flooding can cause pollution in our watercourses and seriously damage the environment.xa0xa0
“It is very frustrating that many of these incidents could be prevented if we all worked together to stop using our sewers as a bin.xa0
“No amount of investment in our sewer system will stop blocked pipes if people continue to flush wipes (including flushable), sanitary items and fats, oils and grease down the toilet or sink. xa0
“Legally it is an offence for property owners to inappropriately flush such items.”
Further information on NI Water’s campaign is available online at:
www.niwater.com/bag-it-and-bin-it/
What NOT to put down the toilet:
- All wipes (baby, personal cleansing, toilet and household cleaning) – even if the pack says ‘flushable’.
- sanitary items (sanitary towels, tampons, liners, applicators and backing strips)
- cotton wool, disposable nappies and nappy liners, and ear buds.
- condoms, incontinence pads, colostomy bags, used bandages and contact lenses.
The NI Water Easter FOG campaign covers advice and information for domestic and non-domestic customers. Further information is available online at is available online at:
