The hosepipe ban and water conservation order which has been in place for the past month has been lifted today after heavy rain has replenished supplies.
The Water Conservation Order was issued by Irish Water on June 9 due to critically low water levels in many water supply schemes.
At the time, 27 water supplies were in drought conditions, and a further 50 were at risk. At the worst of conditions in the past month, the number of schemes at risk of drought peaked at 98.
Today that order has been lifted as of 5pm after recent heavy rainfall and improving river and ground water conditions.
The decision was made by Irish Water after consultation with Met Éireann to discuss the forecast and the OPW and EPA who monitor the levels of lakes and rivers to review and assess their data.
Currently, 17 schemes remain in drought and a further 61 are at risk according to Irish Water, who also said that those numbers are “trending downwards”.
Commenting on the lifting of the hosepipe ban, Managing Director of Irish Water Niall Gleeson said that they are continuing to monitor the “fragile” recovery of affected water sources.
“At is really important that members of the public develop good household habits at this time and conserve water, regardless of rainfall.”
“Any non-essential use of water should be discouraged, whether we are in a drought or not.”
“Should we enter a spell of prolonged warm and dry weather, and if the sources go into drought again, we many need to reconsider and re-impose a Water Conservation Order,” he warned.
