Hot summer won’t trigger water crisis

August 1999

WICKLOW is now reaping the dividend of the wet, wet winter which made the early months of 1999 a complete wash-out. That’s according to the county council, which is reporting for the first time in nearly a decade they have not had to issue water conservation warnings during the summer. Despite the long hot spell in June and July, the county’s water supplies are holding up well, says acting county secretary Michael Nicholson, who added that the levels at Roundwood reservoir were higher than in any recent summer.

‘We would normally have the Dublin local authorities on to us at this stage advising us of the importance of conserving supply. But that has not happened, and it is quite surprising,’ he said. Mr Nicholson said that despite the current status of supplies, the council would still urge householders to use water sensibly.

‘Being wasteful is to the benefit of no-one and we would ask people to always be conscious of this fact,’ he said.