People in Donegal are being asked to take four-minute showers, turn off taps and check for leaks as Irish Water deals with a crisis caused by high demand.
As the warm weather continues, the demand on water supplies is outstripping the supply in several areas around the country with increased demand at 10% above normal or more.
Demand for water right across Co Donegal continues to increase and as a result Irish Water is urging the public to conserve water while the prolonged dry spell that has been predicted by Met Éireann, continues.
Irish Water and Donegal County Council are monitoring all supplies across the county on a daily basis and the three most at-risk schemes that have been identified are the Lough Mourne and Inishowen public water supplies. Customers on these supplies are urged to conserve water wherever possible.
Irish Water’s conservation tips:
Leak free: Check that your home is leak free. Check for running overflows and fix any dripping taps, cisterns or pipes
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
Don’t flush it all away:A third of all water used in the home is flushed down the toilet. Some larger cisterns can continue to work effectively with a smaller flush. Place a displacement device into the cistern (out of the way of moving parts) to save water
Irish Water is drafting Drought Orders to ensure that non-essential water uses are stopped while the crisis lasts.
“We continue to ask the public to notify us of leaks which we always follow up. Public side leaks are dealt with in the first instance by the local authority teams. We have contractors available to assist with private side leaks under the ‘First Fix’ scheme. Where we cannot access private property to repair obvious leaks, we are committed to serving enforcement notices under the legislation to enable us to have these effectively addressed,” a spokesperson said.
Irish Water’s primary concern is for longer term supplies in late summer and autumn. Commenting on the ongoing situation, Irish Water’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Kate Gannon said:
“We are very grateful to the public and to businesses for all efforts to conserve water. We are very encouraged by the leadership shown by our large commercial users in their work to conserve water. Bus Éireann and Irish Rail have all committed to reducing the number of times they wash their fleets.
“We have a long way to go. If the drought is prolonged, water restrictions will become unavoidable if demand does not drop towards normal levels. Every effort someone makes in their home or business impacts their neighbour and community. Irish Water has lots of tips for conserving water in the home, garden and business on water.ie.
“Irish Water is working to support customers to conserve water in the first instance and we will take necessary legal measures available to us to ensure that we minimise risk of supply loss to businesses and communities.”
