Uisce Éireann has confirmed that a Water Conservation Order, commonly referred to as a hosepipe ban, is in place for three supplies: Mullingar, Co Westmeath; Milford, Co Donegal; and Kells-Oldcastle, Co Meath.
The orders came into effect at 00:01 on Tuesday, May 6 for six weeks, and will apply only to these locations and not the rest of Ireland.
The Water Conservation Order prohibits the use of garden hosepipes and other non-essential uses of water by domestic users and commercial premises for non-commercial activities, for example watering gardens attached to a business premises.
Uisce Éireann issued the Order due to a sharp drop in water levels at the sources supplying these areas following a dryer-than-average autumn, winter and spring. For example, Lough Owel which supplies the Mullingar Public Water Supply is currently at its lowest level in 50 years. Similarly, Lough Colmcille which supplies Milford in Donegal, and Lough Bane which supplies Kells-Oldcastle in Co Meath are also at historically low levels.
In recent weeks, Uisce Éireann has been putting in place a number of measures to maintain and protect these supplies, including enhanced leakage repair works, pressure management and public water conservation campaigns in an effort to reduce demand to sustainable levels.
Margaret Attridge, Head of Water Operations with Uisce Éireann, said:
“Uisce Éireann’s top priority is to protect our water supply for use in homes, businesses and essential services. The past 12 months have been drier than normal when compared to the long-term average. This means that some water sources which traditionally would have replenished over the winter period have not seen the same levels of recovery and, as a result, we are starting to experience issues with water availability at these sources.”
