A fire on Bray Head, Co. Wicklow, last Friday. The Irish Times has reported that the firefighters in nearby Greystones have been called out 88 times since heatwave conditions began a month ago, including twice to help at Bray Head. SAM BOAL/ROLLINGNEWS .IE
By Anthony Neeson
The big drought is continuing across Ireland with further water restrictions in place in the Greater Dublin area following the recent spell of hot weather.
Homes and businesses currently have reduced water supply between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
After several weeks of drought some welcome showers fell on the country over the weekend, however, there are still low levels of water supply throughout the country. More rain is expected in the coming days but it will not be enough to replenish water supplies.
Thirty-four areas in the Greater Dublin region will experience a reduction in water pressure. However, there are even night time water restrictions in Inis Mór and Inis Oírr on the Aran Islands.
Chartered Engineer and water conservation expert, Kate Gannon, said: “Introducing restrictions was an option that Irish Water hoped could be avoided because of the inevitable impact on homes and businesses. Our water engineers have been working closely with the local authorities to see what measures can be taken that will save the water we need but also try to learn the lessons from outages that were caused following restrictions in the aftermath of Storm Emma.”
She added: “Placing night-time restrictions on homes and businesses is not something Irish Water want to have to do.
As the country continued to experience drought and heatwave conditions, a group of young people had fun and games at a water-activities event last week on the Grand Canal Dock in Dublin. EAMONN FARRELL/ROLLINGNEWS .IE
“The very positive conservation measures that are being taken by the public in Dublin, Kildare, Wicklow and Meath are available to see on our Water Shortages Update page where a graph is tracking usage.
“We are monitoring the situation, but the weather is not changing, the rain is not coming. Something else has to be done to protect water supply and avoid widespread outages in the autumn. A final decision will be taken tomorrow when more detail will be issued regarding the timing and the affected areas.”
A hosepipe ban is in place across Ireland until July 31 preventing householders from watering their garden, car or filling a domestic swimming or paddling pool.
