Uisce Éireann calls for water conservation as heatwave sticks around

 Uisce Éireann is appealing to everyone to be mindful of their use of water as the warm dry spell looks set to continue through the weekend and into next week.

This appeal comes as over 20 supplies around the country are officially in drought status across counties Limerick, Kerry, Tipperary, Waterford, Cork, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Donegal, Meath, Westmeath, Carlow, Waterford and Wexford. These include three supplies where Water Conservation Orders have been in place since May 6 – Mullingar, Co Westmeath; Milford, Co Donegal; and Kells-Oldcastle, Co Meath.

While there are no immediate plans to extend the hosepipe bans to other areas, Uisce Éireann is monitoring all supplies closely and taking measures to maintain normal supplies through interventions such as tankering to reservoirs, nighttime restrictions and pressure management.

By taking some simple steps to conserve water at home, in the garden and at work, people can play their part in protecting local water supplies for themselves and their neighbours.

These include:

• Leave the hose and power washer in the shed and use a watering can for the garden. Running a hose for one hour uses the same amount of water as a family need for a full day.

• If you need to wash your car, use a bucket and sponge instead of a hose or powerwasher.

• Don’t let the tap run: Brushing your teeth with the tap running can use up to a staggering 6 litres per minute. Brushing your teeth with the tap off will use a more modest 1 litre of water

• Shower vs. Bath: The average bath uses 80 litres of water compared to an average shower using 49 litres in seven minutes. Switch your bath to a shower for a massive water saving

• Less time: With the average shower using 7 litres of water per minute by turning your five minute shower into four minutes, you could save up to 7 litres of water per day!

• Fully loaded: Always ensure your dishwasher and washing machines are fully loaded. A modern washing machine uses approximately 65 litres of water per cycle while a dishwasher uses 20 litres. By ensuring they are fully loaded, not only will you conserve water but you will also reduce your energy bills

Stephen Burke, Uisce Éireann’s Regional Operations Manager, said that while the current sunny spell is very welcome, it has led to an increase in use of water across the country.

“Levels in many water sources are significantly lower than normal for this time of year following a dryer-than-average autumn, winter and spring. On top of this, the recent spell of warm weather has led to an increase in demand across many of our supplies, putting further pressure on the network and reservoirs.

“We’re doing everything we can to protect and maintain supplies as we go through the summer but we’re also asking the public for their help by doing what they can to reduce their use. If everyone takes a few simple steps to reduce the volume used around the home and garden we can make our water go further and help maintain normal supplies.”

To help people learn more about saving water Uisce Éireann has developed an easy-to-use conservation calculator so they can work out how much water they are currently saving and how they can conserve even more. The calculator is available at www.water.ie/calculator where there are also lots of useful water saving tips.

Members of the public can report any leaks in the public water network by contacting Uisce Éireann 24/7 at 1800 278 278 or on water.ie