Water Conservation Orders Lifted As Rainfall Increases

Irish Water has announced the water conservation orders have been lifted in the Southern, Eastern and Midlands regions.

The areas that have had their order lifted include: Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Wicklow, Meath, Westmeath, Louth and Dublin.

The Irish Water Board met today and reviewed the data regarding the Water Conservation Order. The data shows a reduction in demand, the availability of water resources and the prevailing weather conditions which means that the conservation order can now be lifted.

Conservation orders lifted in North and Western Regions in August

In August, heavy rainfall occurred in the North and Western Regions, refilling water sources in those areas to a level where specific usage bans were lifted. Supplies in the Southern, Eastern and Midlands regions, however, had not recovered and a new Water Conservation Order to cover the public water supplies in counties Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Wicklow, Meath, Westmeath, Louth and Dublin was issued. This order took effect on 01 September 2018 and was due to conclude at midnight on 30 September 2018.

However, increased rainfall has meant that the Water Conservation Orders can now be lifted. Rainfall rates have returned or are returning to average rates for this time of year at all observational stations in the Southern, Eastern and Midlands regions.

Commenting on the lifting of the Water Conservation Orders, Chartered Engineer and water conservation expert, Kate Gannon, said: "The Water Conservation Orders were vital for reducing significant peaks in demand that Irish Water witnessed in early June 2018. The Orders, combined with the excellent conservation efforts made by homes and businesses across the country, prevented major outages to water supplies in many communities. As rainfall is returning to more average rates, our water sources which were very dry during the summer can recharge more quickly.

"In the Greater Dublin Area, where we were very concerned about the levels in the Poulaphuca reservoir, the rate of decline has decreased significantly and the probability of an outage is now very low. Levels at the Inniscarra dam in Cork, Lough Guitane in Kerry and Lough Owel in Mullingar have all stabilised and are recovering.

"While this is very welcome news, it is essential that people continue to conserve water. We are really grateful for all the efforts people made over the past few months in their homes and businesses. It was really encouraging to see. Conserving water will make our water sources more resilient and help to safeguard our water for the future benefiting communities all across the country."

(MH/CM)