Northern Ireland without Fresh Water, frozen pipes burst

Many are looking at cooler climates to put data centers in to allow more hours of free cooling.  One downside of a cool climate is freezing weather.  Who cares?  What if your pipes are frozen and burst?

MSNBC has an article on Belfast Ireland’s lack of fresh water.

Thousands without fresh water in N. Ireland

Water crisis stretches into ninth day after frozen pipes burst following cold spell

Image: People queue to fill bottles and tanks with water

Peter Muhly  /  AFP - Getty Images

Some 40,000 people are struggling to cope without water supplies in Northern Ireland, where frozen pipes have burst leaving some without fresh water for nine days. People have been forced to join long queues for bottled water.

BELFAST — Northern Ireland's government will hold an emergency meeting to address the country's mounting water crisis as tens of thousands of people remained without water for a ninth day.

Engineers are struggling to repair pipes that burst after the recent cold spell's sudden thaw.

Long lines formed Thursday at emergency water points, and Scotland trucked in bottled water for distribution to help families. Doctors are warning that a lack of clean water for drinking and washing could cause a health crisis.

Pressure is mounting on state supplier Northern Ireland Water (NI Water), the company at the center of the crisis, to restore service.

If you think you could truck in water, you may find the government has all the tankers booked.

Government ministers will discuss the possibility of bringing in more water tankers as officials say it could take several days to fix the problem.

And, you may find the rate of tankers you would need is unsustainable if you need multiple days of supply.

I have heard a few stories of data centers shut down when a water main breaks, and one of these days it will be in the news as a major IT data center is shut down due to lack of water.