Fear of drought returning prompts pleas to conserve water
CONCERN is growing that water supplies could be hit later this summer as the long dry spell continues.
A number of water schemes around Ireland are already showing signs of diminishing water levels amid fears the country is at risk of suffering a repeat of the severe drought conditions of 2018.
Academics have joined calls for the public to conserve water supplies as levels fall at some reservoirs.
Irish Water said the forecast for continued dry conditions has meant that the state company is “exploring all options, including the requirement for water conservation orders — hosepipe bans”.
“In light of the prolonged dry spell and the increased domestic usage since the start of the Covid-19 restrictions, Irish Water are carefully monitoring all our water sources for any signs of drought impact,” said an Irish Water spokesperson.
“Irish Water’s water scarcity group has been meeting since March to monitor all of the raw water levels in the country — that is the water from lakes, rivers, springs and ground sources that feed our water treatment plants.
“Now the increased domestic demand and increase in commercial demand as businesses are reopening is being exacerbated by warm weather and the growth of drought conditions.”
Irish Water operates 900 drinking water schemes and 15 are already at ‘drought status’ and another 23 are at risk of going into drought.
“The weather forecast is for continued dry conditions which will further impact on the situation and, in light of that, we are exploring all options, including the requirement for water conservation orders,” added the spokesperson.
Two weeks ago, Irish Water urged the public to choose hand-washing over power-washing as domestic water usage increased by an average of 20pc with increased numbers of people staying at home in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
Met Eireann’s Evelyn Cusack said that the country needed rain given the dry spring and the current hot spell, with land in many areas being “quite parched”.
It was reported that Ireland has now seen roughly 40pc less rain than five years ago, with a number of reservoirs already at relatively low levels.
Dr David O’Connell, a hydro-geologist and assistant professor at Trinity College Dublin, told the Sunday Independent it is important that the public conserve water supplies. Unless June turns out to be a wet month, there are indicators that drought conditions could return.
He said conditions changed in early May in 2018 that led to the drought that year.
Drought conditions impacted water supplies most severely in the east and it took six months for them to return to normal.
He said it is very important that the serious leakages in the water pipe network are ended with renewal and repair of existing networks.
The nation needed to expand its reservoir capacity and more action is needed towards sustainable exploitation of Ireland’s groundwater supplies, said Dr O’Connell.
Michele Hallahan, a sustainability adviser at Trinity College, Dublin, said: “We are seeing hotter summers as a direct function of climate change.
“We are seeing longer periods of drought and, because of that, Ireland needs to be actively conserving water,” she said.
“It’s ironic that we were used to having too much rain so it is a big mental shift to consciously use water in a very aware way.
“We should be investing in rainwater harvesting. Dispersed small systems would be far more effective than massive infrastructure that places burdens on nature that can’t be supported any more.”
Irish Water urged people to implement conservation measures now which cut usage in homes and gardens.