Hosepipe ban could remain until October

Two weeks of rain is needed to replenish supplies

IRISH Water warned that the hosepipe ban could continue into October unless there is substantial rainfall. The country needs two weeks’ worth of rain for water supplies to return to normal, according to the company.

‘Irish Water need circa two weeks of sustained rainfall to replenish supplies,’ a spokeswoman told the Irish Daily Mail.

However, she added that the utility could not offer an exact figure, which she said would depend on levels at each individual water source and on-going demand from consumers.

Managing director, Jerry Grant, warned that the hosepipe ban could continue into October as there is ‘no guarantee’ that water levels will be replenished before then.

‘The soil moisture deficit across the east and south is still up to 75mm, the rainfall amounts have been very small of late,’ he told listeners to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland. ‘There is no guarantee we will get the kinds of rainfall that would take the pressure off.’

He added that they were ‘literally hoping to eke out the supply’ to ensure that there were no shortages next month.

Mr Grant said that just 70 days of useable water remained in the greater Dublin area as levels in the main reservoir at Poulaphouca in Wicklow continued to remain below normal levels.

‘What we are asking the public to do is to conserve water and to continue to conserve it right through the next couple of months while we focus on reducing leakage,’ he said.

Mr Grant said that in order to reverse the deficit ‘substantial winter rains’ were crucial over the coming months. He said the drought had revealed ‘a lack of resilience in our water system’ and ‘strict discipline’ was needed in the coming years in terms of water conservation.

He said that Irish Water would continue to focus on reducing water lost through leaks which remains a major problem, particularly across the greater Dublin area.

While greater Dublin can sus- tainably produce just 610million litres of water a day, 207 million litres are lost daily through leakage along the route.

Mr Grant said that 25% of the pipes in Dublin were made of cast iron and were ‘pretty corroded’. He added that 70km of the 9,000km of pipes in the Dublin area had been ‘earmarked’ for improvements.

Water storage levels dropped this summer after a sustained dry period in which people used more water, causing Irish Water to introduce a hosepipe ban, first in Dublin before expanding it throughout the country.

The utility introduced nighttime restrictions across parts of the capital after assessing areas where gains could be made by reducing water pressure in homes and businesses overnight.

Conserve water for couple of months