Northern Ireland’s under-fire water authorities have fought off resignation calls over the crisis in water supplies.
Senior ministers last night said some at Northern Ireland Water should consider their positions as anger increases over the tens of thousands of people left without supplies.
Members of the board of Northern Ireland Water (NIW) emerged from a special meeting this afternoon to say their priority was to fix the leaks that have crippled the supply system.
They said 4,400 homes have been without water since Monday but they pledged to step up efforts to end the crisis.
Interim chairman Padraic White said chief executive Laurence MacKenzie had not resigned, despite growing pressure, but he said a fully independent review of the episode should take place.
Mr White said the immediate focus was on restoring supplies: “It is easy to create a frenzy but it is not helpful.”
Mr White said 4,400 customers were without water today, down from 7,000 yesterday. He said while reservoirs were gradually refilling across the North, Belfast reservoirs remained in a "most precarious position."
As part of dealing with the crisis, water supplies to 1,000 customers were being rotated today.
Mr White said hundreds of homes in rural areas would be without water next week. But he said progress was being made on dealing with the episode. He said the call centre that had failed to cope with the number of calls from the public was being improved.
Hourly bulletins providing updated information would also be issued to the broadcast media, while newspaper adverts would be used to explain problems to the public, he said.
As temperatures plummeted to record lows, pipes froze and many burst when the rapid thaw followed after Christmas.
Louth County Council today reached agreement for NIW to bring 10 tankers of water - or 100,000 litres - from Dundalk to Newry and Mourne District Council each day until supplies are restored.
“This should have happened when the crisis first broke out and hopefully we will now have in place procedures to deal with similar situations in future,” said Drogheda Mayor Paul Bell. “Such arrangements can only help communities on both sides of the Border, especially given the extremes of weather that we are now told we must expect in future.”
Initially, 10 tanker-loads of water will be transported by NIW from Dundalk each day with the emergency supply arrangement subject to review.
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has arranged for a further delivery of bottled water to help authorities in Northern Ireland meet the needs of households cut off from mains supplies.
Scottish Water has organised for five lorry loads - approximately 120,000 litres - of bottled water to be sent across to Northern Ireland today.
Ministers have branded NIW’s handling of the crisis as “shambolic” and called for somebody to be held to account.
Last night, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: “There has to be accountability and we are not going to under those circumstances stand here and make excuses for a body that has so miserably failed our citizens.”
And First Minister Peter Robinson said: “There has to be an accountability for what has taken place and we don’t think anybody could suggest NIW have covered themselves with any glory over the past days and people must assess their position.
“We are not satisfied with the performance and are absolutely determined that it will not be repeated," he said.
“It has been shambolic at stages, it has been ineffective, it has not been the kind of organisation that has been fit for purpose.”
NIW has pointed to years of underinvestment in the supply network and blamed much of the leakage on private property owners not checking their premises. Millions of extra litres are thought to be gushing out through unidentified leaks.