Now hoses are banned throughout the country
Irish Water pull plug on domestic customers
IRISH Water has announced that a nationwide hosepipe ban will come into effect tomorrow.
With Met Éireann confirming there has been little or no rain over the past 30 days, domestic customers will not be allowed to use a hose from 8am on Friday until midnight on July 31.
If anyone does break the ban, they face a fine of up to €125 and Irish Water warned it is considering ‘all legal options’ as customer demand continues to outstrip supply.
The restriction has been in place in the Greater Dublin Area since Monday, and applies to domestic customers and businesses with gardens, such as hotels, pubs and restaurants.
When the good weather arrived, water demand jumped 15% – a level Irish Water says cannot be sustained.
No significant rainfall is being forecasted for at least a week so the water shortage is likely to worsen.
Irish Water said that when it does rain, water will be absorbed by the dry ground and will not reach water sources for at least a week.
The utility is continuing to ask the public to make every effort to conserve water, as shortages may continue for months. The ban may be extended past the end of the month and the agency said the situation is being kept ‘under review’.
Irish Water’s spokeswoman Kate Gannon said: ‘It is essential our water supply resources are conserved to help avoid further restrictions and outages over the coming weeks and months.’