Drought hits Dundalk water supply

Despite recent rainfall, Irish Water says that the number of schemes in drought around the country has increased from 27 to 37 and the ones in potential drought has grown from 50 to 59 since the start of the Water Conservation Order on 8 June.

The schemes at risk of going into drought in Louth are, the Staleen scheme which serves south Louth and east Meath, the Cavanhill scheme which serves Dundalk and the Carlingford scheme which serves Carlingford and surrounding areas.

Speaking about the water conservation order and the recent rainfall Michael Cunniffe, Irish Water said, “Unfortunately short periods of rainfall, such as those we have experienced last week, are not sufficient to return raw water sources to normal level. A minimum accumulation of 100mm rainfall and a return to normal precipitation levels thereafter would be needed to offset the impact of the unseasonal lack of rainfall since March.

We are keeping the situation under continuous review and are liaising closely with other key agencies such as Met Éireann, the OPW and the EPA amongst others and if the situation improves we will consider lifting the Water Conservation Order. However any change is unlikely in the short term. We would like to thank the public for their cooperation and the efforts they have made to conserve water in their homes and gardens over the last week and to appeal to them to continue supporting us in safeguarding water for essential uses.”

The Water Conservation Order applies to all domestic settings. For gardens, Irish Water encourages the use of recycled water, either gathered outside in a water butt of other container or from basins in the sink or buckets in the shower. Irish Water’s top priority during the current dry period is to protect our water supply for use in homes and businesses and for essential sanitation during the Covid-19 crisis.