Vivienne Clarke
Homeowners across the country are being urged to conserve water amid a surge in demand due to the warm weather.
Irish Water said it is dealing with outages in parts of north Dublin, as well as Donegal and parts of Kerry where supply is at “critically low levels”.
The company’s head of operations, Tom Cuddy, has warned that holiday resorts where the population has doubled and trebled in the good weather has led to “exceptional demand” exceeding capacity in some areas.
“With the hot weather demand is up, we have reports from several areas of exceptional demand and it's really exceeding supply capacity in some areas,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.
Irish Water and @countykerry are urging customers to conserve water to ensure a consistent supply for all during this busy time. Water supplies are at critically low levels throughout the county. Learn more https://t.co/530b4aha9e
— Irish Water (@IrishWater) July 18, 2021
“This is an annual pattern through the summer with sources dropping, but also some particular issues just now — we have staycations, holiday resorts where populations have doubled and trebled.
“We also have agricultural areas, at this time of year crops and livestock watering means very high demand and then of course we have some businesses reopening with the Covid restrictions lifting.
“So really for that reason we have to make some interventions — so far they've been relatively modest,” he added.
Mr Cuddy said that Irish Water and the local authorities were monitoring the ongoing situation.
If water could be conserved and excessive use avoided then the situation could be managed in a controlled way, he added.
Customers in Garristown, Ballymadun, Tobergregan, Baldwinstown, Palmerstown and surrounding areas may be impacted by intermittent low water pressure and outages until Monday 19 July. Demand is currently outstripping supply volume available. Find out more https://t.co/D32Ghd98LF.
— Irish Water (@IrishWater) July 18, 2021
“We would like people to be mindful of water conservation and their indoor and outdoor use, avoid extended showers and having taps running when brushing teeth or when rinsing vegetables, watering of lawns,” he said.
“It’s no harm to let the lawn get a tan this time of year, the grass will recover very quickly and things like cleaning patios that can wait until other times of the year. It's really not necessary at this time of year.”
Nighttime water restrictions are currently in place for Longford customers supplied by the Smear Water Treatment Plant, Wexford customers on the Enniscorthy Water Supply and customers in Portlaoise.
Meanwhile, Irish Water has warned that customers in Garristown, Ballymadun, Tobergregan, Baldwinstown, Palmerstown and surrounding areas may be impacted by intermittent low water pressure and outages.
