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3 January 2011
Last updated at 08:30 ET
Several hundred schools in Northern Ireland have been affected by burst pipes and other flooding incidents over the Christmas period.
However NI Education Minister Caitriona Ruane said she was hopeful that the "vast majority" of schools will reopen.
The water crisis has continued to affect thousands of properties with supplies disrupted to 40,000 homes overnight.
However the number of those completely cut off has dropped to less than 500.
Northern Ireland Water, which is responsible for providing water and sewerage services in NI, said it would be at least "three or four more days" before everyone was reconnected.
The company said it was now visiting customers who have contacted it on more than one occasion and asked anyone still without a water supply to contact the call centre on 08457 440088.
The organisation said there remained a considerable demand for water, which appeared to be caused by leaks on customers' private installations.
It re-iterated its appeal to customers to check their premises for any damage to their own plumbing infrastructure and to repair this as soon as possible.
The company said that although there is an improving situation emerging in relation to reservoir levels "it is expected that a limited night time curtailment of supplies" will continue on Monday evening.
It said details of the areas affected will be posted on the NI Water website on Monday afternoon.
Many schools in NI are due to reopen on Tuesday after the Christmas break.
The education minister said the company had been asked to ensure rotations of supply would not happen during school times.
Ms Ruane said the cost of the damage to schools would be "very expensive" and that NI Water had "questions to answer".
Special school Thousands of pounds of equipment were destroyed at one school in Antrim where more than 30 pipes burst a week ago.
Three classrooms and the physiotherapy room at Riverside Special School were badly damaged and water ran down the walls into the interactive whiteboard which will cost £4,000 to replace. Even the baubles on the Christmas tree filled with water.
Thousands were left without supplies over the Christmas break because of burst pipes, caused by the thaw after freezing conditions.
The minister responsible for NI Water, Conor Murphy has defended his position in the face of mounting criticism over its handling of the water crisis.
The Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott had called for his resignation.
NI Water's director of engineering procurement, Trevor Haslett, has said that the company has been "on top of" finding, fixing and repairing leaks during the water crisis.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Mr Haslett defended NI Water's decision not to seek help from Water UK sooner.
Water UK supports water companies and can give help and equipment in crises.
'No requirement' Mr Haslett said that NI Water had "deployed sufficient resources on the ground" since the water crisis began.
"We brought in our own contracting staff and engineers locally," he said.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
"Any additional resources that we required were certainly brought in. We have numerous contractors working for us around the clock."
A full list of areas where the water supply has been turned off is available on the NI Water website, along with a list of locations where temporary water supplies have been set up.
Are you in Northern Ireland? Are you experiencing problems with your water supply? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.
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However NI Education Minister Caitriona Ruane said she was hopeful that the "vast majority" of schools will reopen.
The water crisis has continued to affect thousands of properties with supplies disrupted to 40,000 homes overnight.
However the number of those completely cut off has dropped to less than 500.
Northern Ireland Water, which is responsible for providing water and sewerage services in NI, said it would be at least "three or four more days" before everyone was reconnected.
The company said it was now visiting customers who have contacted it on more than one occasion and asked anyone still without a water supply to contact the call centre on 08457 440088.
The organisation said there remained a considerable demand for water, which appeared to be caused by leaks on customers' private installations.
It re-iterated its appeal to customers to check their premises for any damage to their own plumbing infrastructure and to repair this as soon as possible.
The company said that although there is an improving situation emerging in relation to reservoir levels "it is expected that a limited night time curtailment of supplies" will continue on Monday evening.
It said details of the areas affected will be posted on the NI Water website on Monday afternoon.
Many schools in NI are due to reopen on Tuesday after the Christmas break.
The education minister said the company had been asked to ensure rotations of supply would not happen during school times.
Ms Ruane said the cost of the damage to schools would be "very expensive" and that NI Water had "questions to answer".
Special school Thousands of pounds of equipment were destroyed at one school in Antrim where more than 30 pipes burst a week ago.
Three classrooms and the physiotherapy room at Riverside Special School were badly damaged and water ran down the walls into the interactive whiteboard which will cost £4,000 to replace. Even the baubles on the Christmas tree filled with water.
Thousands were left without supplies over the Christmas break because of burst pipes, caused by the thaw after freezing conditions.
The minister responsible for NI Water, Conor Murphy has defended his position in the face of mounting criticism over its handling of the water crisis.
The Ulster Unionist leader Tom Elliott had called for his resignation.
NI Water's director of engineering procurement, Trevor Haslett, has said that the company has been "on top of" finding, fixing and repairing leaks during the water crisis.
Speaking on BBC Radio Ulster, Mr Haslett defended NI Water's decision not to seek help from Water UK sooner.
Water UK supports water companies and can give help and equipment in crises.
'No requirement' Mr Haslett said that NI Water had "deployed sufficient resources on the ground" since the water crisis began.
"We brought in our own contracting staff and engineers locally," he said.
Continue reading the main story “Start Quote
Any additional resources that we required were certainly brought in.”
End Quote
Trevor Haslett
NI Water director of engineering procurement
"Any additional resources that we required were certainly brought in. We have numerous contractors working for us around the clock."
A full list of areas where the water supply has been turned off is available on the NI Water website, along with a list of locations where temporary water supplies have been set up.
Are you in Northern Ireland? Are you experiencing problems with your water supply? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.
Online Business Consulting | Internet Business Consulting