Irish Water has issued a hosepipe ban for the Greater Dublin Area as demand for water continues to outstrip supply.
The Water Conservation Order will prohibit the use of water drawn through a hosepipe or similar apparatus for a range of purposes.
These include:
- Watering a garden
- Cleaning a private motor-vehicle using a domestic hosepipe
- Cleaning a private leisure boat using a hosepipe
- Filling or maintaining a domestic swimming or paddling pool - except when using a watering can
- Filling or maintaining a domestic pond using a hosepipe - excluding fish ponds
- Filling or maintaining a domestic ornamental fountain
- Use of water for filling or replenishing an artificial pond, lake or similar application - - excluding fish ponds.
The ban will come into place from this coming Monday July 1st – and will remain in for one month until July 31st.
The utility had said it will keep the situation under review and has warned it may have to extend the order if necessary.
The utility announced the ban following consultations with its legal team.
Anyone found to be in breach of the ban could face a fine of €125.
💧 We are asking everybody - homes and businesses - to support the responsible use of water 💧
Conserve water, avoid unnecessary usage and fix leaks promptly.
Some level of restriction will be unavoidable but we can all help to keep disruption to a minimum.
— Eoghan Murphy (@MurphyEoghan) June 28, 2018
Irish Water has been urging the publicto conserve water throughout the week and has already placed restrictions in several areas of the country - including lowering night time water pressure levels in the Dublin area.
Usage dropped in the Dublin area overnight from 615 megalitres to 607 megalitres a day - but Irish Water warns that is still "far too high."
The restriction only applies to the Greater Dublin Area – however Irish Water is examining over 100 at risk areas around the country, with the potential for more conservation orders to come.
People wondering why Dublin is seeing water shortages and restrictions from @IrishWater check out the rainfall stats for Dublin Airport, just 19.1mm in May and only 4.8mm so far in June. Just 23.9mm compared to 129.9mm in the same period last year!! #drought #heatwave pic.twitter.com/UrtA2jPyy6
— Carlow Weather (@CarlowWeather) June 29, 2018
“We are really grateful for the measures that people have taken to conserve water so far and we hope that placing a Water Conservation Order will make people more mindful of their responsibilities and the impact their water usage is having on their neighbours and communities,” said the utility’s corporate affairs manager Kate Gannon.
“Irish Water is mindful of the impact that a Water Conservation Order might have on businesses and the tourist industry and for that reason the prohibition is mainly limited to domestic users with the exception of gardens.”
“Businesses will also be subject to the hosepipe ban for the purpose of watering gardens but we are also appealing to them to limit all non-essential water use and to avoid using hosepipes or power washers where possible, particularly if it is for cosmetic reasons.”
She said the utility has also been in touch with large commercial users who have committed to conserving water.
