Water chief to leave job in weeks

Katharine Bryan will leave her post at the end of May

The chief executive of Northern Ireland Water is to leave her post at the end of this month.

Katharine Bryan was understood to have been considering her position following discontent at the company making an error in its forecasted revenue.

The multi-million pounds shortfall sparked concerns of an extra £30 on bills.

Ms Bryan held the post for four years. The board of Northern Ireland Water is now searching for a replacement.

In the interim, the chairman, Chris Mellor, will assume the role of chief executive.

"The future is all about the customer and their expectations of what they should demand from a water company," said Mr Mellor.

"We aim to set the bar high while at the same time meeting our regulatory requirements."

The shortfall is being investigated by the Utility Regulator.

Impact on customer

Stormont's Regional Development Committee has also been investigating the error and its members have criticised both the department and NI Water over the error and how it was handled.

The committee quizzed both the department and Northern Ireland Water executives, including Ms Bryan, who insisted Northern Ireland Water was doing all it could to minimise the impact on households.

As chief executive Ms Bryan has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of the government-owned company.

Last year, she was paid, including salary and bonus, about £180,000.

It is understood that immediately after the error emerged the Regional Development Minister, Conor Murphy, told Mr Mellor that change was required at the top.