A six-week hosepipe ban will be introduced in three regions starting next Tuesday due to exceptionally low water levels, reports RTE.
The affected areas include Mullingar in Co Westmeath, Milford in Co Donegal, and Kells-Oldcastle in Co Meath.
A Water Conservation Order has been issued to protect essential water supplies, following a steep decline in the water levels of local lakes serving these regions, reports RTE.
This comes after rainfall levels over the past seven months have been well below average.
Met Éireann data shows that total rainfall in the three areas since last October is 28% lower than normal.
That amount of rain is comparable to just five months of typical rainfall across a seven-month span, and it’s the main cause of the current shortages, reports RTE.
According to Uisce Éireann, Lough Owel — which serves the Mullingar Public Water Supply — is now at its lowest point in five decades.
Lough Colmcille in Donegal, serving Milford, and Lough Bane in Co Meath, supplying Kells-Oldcastle, are also seeing record low levels, reports RTE.
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Uisce Éireann is asking customers nationwide to reduce water use as summer begins.
The hosepipe restrictions in Meath, Westmeath, and Donegal will take effect just after midnight on Tuesday, 6 May, and continue until 11.59pm on Monday, 16 June, reports RTE.
The Water Conservation Order bans domestic and non-commercial water use with hosepipes and other non-essential uses in both homes and commercial premises.
This includes watering business premises’ gardens.
Only the three listed locations will be subject to the order, with the rest of the country unaffected for now, reports RTE.
That said, Uisce Éireann is also monitoring 11 other water supplies where protective steps are currently in place.
These areas include parts of Kilkenny, Galway, Limerick, Kerry, and Tipperary.
In recent weeks, the utility company has introduced several actions to stabilise and protect water access in the three zones affected by the new ban, reports RTE.
These include targeted leak repairs, managing water pressure, and public awareness campaigns to reduce demand to manageable 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,” reports RTE.
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