Some water treatment plants remain at risk
RATHDRUM, BARNDARRIG AND KIRIKEE ARE IN RISK OF DROUGHT
IRISH Water is reviewing the need for a Water Conservation Order, or ‘hosepipe ban’, in light of recent heavy rainfall.
However, some treatment plants in Wicklow still remain at risk of drought.
The National Water Conservation Order was put in place on June 9 and was expected to remain in place until July 21.
It was issued in a bid to safeguard water supplies for essential purposes, in particular water needed for sanitation purposes during the COVID-19 crisis.
May 2020 was the driest since 1850 and that dry spell of good weather continued into June. When the Water Conservation Order was issued,
27 of Irish Water’s 900 drinking water schemes, were in drought with another 50 at risk of going into drought.
Thereafter the situation deteriorated rapidly with the number of schemes in drought or at risk of drought peaking at 98.
Currently only 22 schemes remain in drought and a further 63 are at risk. Since the Conservation Order was issued, the Rathdrum water treatment plant is no longer in drought.
‘However, it is now classified as at risk of drought. The schemes supplied by the Barndarrig and Kirikee water treatment plants remain at risk of drought.
John O’Donoghue, Regional Operations Manager, said while some areas of the country have had significant rainfall, it has not been equally distributed in all of the areas that are most in need.
‘The Water Services Act requires Irish Water to form the opinion that there is an urgent need for the Water Conservation Order and it can only be applied where and when it is necessary,’ said Mr O’Donoghue.
‘Irish Water needs to form the opinion that ‘a serious deficiency of water available for distribution exists or is likely to exist.’
‘We are now in a position where we need to judge whether the deficiency of water continues to satisfy the criteria set out in the Water Services Act and if this criteria can be applied nationally or whether we can remove the Water Conservation Order for certain parts of the country.
‘It is still essential that members of the public in Wicklow continue to conserve water and form good household habits at this time.
‘Any non-essential use of water should be discouraged, whether we are in a drought or not.
‘We would like to thank the people of Wicklow for their efforts in conserving water in their homes and gardens over the past number of weeks and our large water users who have worked proactively with us to use water more efficiently in their businesses.’