Night-time water restrictions are in effect in some parts of the country, while demand on depleting reservoir supplies has hit “record levels” in the Greater Dublin Area following freezing conditions, Úisce Éireann has said.
There was a notable increase in leaks and bursts across the water network during the weekend as frozen pipes began to thaw after last week’s freezing weather, the utility company said.
As the impact of the freezing weather and subsequent thaw continues, it warned there may be further disruption to supplies across the country in the coming days.
Night-time restrictions may be required in some areas to allow reservoir levels to recover, Úisce Éireann said, adding that local updates will be issued where restrictions are required.
In Dublin, the State water authority said there were 25 “significant bursts” and multiple smaller leaks during the weekend which have since been repaired.
“As a result, demand in the Greater Dublin Area has reached record levels which is impacting on reservoir storage,” it said on Sunday.
A number of reservoirs in affected areas have been “depleted” and will take some time to recover, with customers in Kerry in particular urged to conserve water after a reservoir at Dooneen had become “severely depleted”.
Restrictions are in place in Co Galway for those supplied by the Carna Kilkieran Regional Public Water Supply Scheme until Monday morning, while south Leitrim was subject to restrictions on Saturday night. Trim and its surrounding areas in Co Meath, meanwhile, were under restrictions on Friday night.
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Due to low reservoir levels, customers under restrictions were told to expect supply outages overnight in order to maintain a daytime supply.
“The majority of customers should have adequate storage in their attic tanks to provide for essential uses such as flushing toilets for the duration of this restriction,” customers were told in local updates.
Although the “vast majority” of the 40,000 people whose supply was disrupted last weekend now have their water back, Uisce Éireann said it may take longer for normal supply to return to some customers “at the ends of the network or on higher elevations”.
“In areas where supply was slower to return, alternative water supplies have been made available and crews are on the ground working to restore supply as quickly as possible,” it said.
Uisce Éireann is urging the public to report any leaks and to conserve water in the coming days. In particular, it urged members of the public not to leave taps running.
“As the freezing conditions of the past week are replaced by a thaw, we are seeing an increase in leaks and bursts on the network.
“Water services crews have been carrying out works throughout the weekend to repair these and ensure we maintain normal supplies to customers,” said Margaret Attridge, head of water operations.
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