14 December, 1999
DRD MINISTER TAPS INTO ARTISTIC TALENT
A reservoir of artistic talent was highlighted today when the Regional Development Minister Peter Robinson MP MLA announced the winners of a unique painting competition during a visit to Ballynahinch.
Sophia Copeland, of St Joseph's Primary School, Carryduff, won the aged four to seven category and Beth Banks of Spa Primary School, Ballynahinch, came out on top in the eight to eleven age group of the Aquarius Mourne Water Project Children's Painting Competition.
Children from both schools saw Mr Robinson present the girls with their original paintings mounted and set in beautiful wooden frames, £50 worth of vouchers each and £200 worth of art materials for their schools
Mr Robinson said: "The competition was designed to raise awareness of the importance of water and highlight the £32 million Aquarius Mourne Water Project which is currently underway. It involves the replacement of 42 kilometeres of the 100 year old Mourne Conduit, which carries water to 300,000 customers from the Silent Valley to Belfast and parts of County Down.
"I would like to congratulate everyone who took part - the standard of artistic talent displayed was exceptional and it is very encouraging to see the high regard our younger generation have for the importance of looking after this most important resource.
"Water is an everyday part of life that is often taken for granted. It is important for us to remember where the water we use comes from and what we can do to conserve it."
The Minister presented all the children at the event with a 'Hippo Bag', specially designed by Water Service for insertion into toilet cisterns to reduce the volume of water used when flushing by five per cent in each household.
"There are many other ways to look after our water source. Simple measures like turning off a dripping tap saves thousands of litres of water each year. Making sure the dishwasher or washing machine are loaded to capacity also cuts down the amount of water we use, said the Minister."
NOTES FOR EDITORS:
- The Aquarius Mourne Water Project is the replacement of 42 kms of the 100-year-old Mourne conduit over a three-year period at a cost of £32 million. The Conduit carries water from the Silent Valley to Belfast and parts of County Down and supplies over 300,000 customers.
- The first phase of the Project involves the replacement of 20 kilometres of the Conduit between the Castlewellan and Carryduff areas at a cost of £16 million. Work commenced in May 1999 and is being carried out under a partnership arrangement between Water Service and Farrans (Construction) Ltd.
- A children's painting competition sponsored by Farrans was launched in September to help raise the profile of the project among the local community. A total of 27 local primary schools were invited to participate and 129 entries were received. The winning paintings can be viewed on the Aquarius website at www.aquarius-project.co.uk.
The Hippo is a polythene bag which can be fitted into water cisterns to reduce the volume of water flushed down the toilet. They can obtained by contacting Water Service Customer Service Units (Telephone 0345 440088) For further information contact the Department of Regional Development press office on (01232) 540004/7.