40 Irish Water treatment plants still suffering shortages despite recent rainfall

Forty water treatment plants are still suffering shortages with overnight restrictions in place in parts of West Cork, Wexford, Donegal and Galway.

Despite recent rain, Irish Water is urging people to keep doing what they can to conserve water.

They said on Monday the number of water supplies impacted by drought conditions has risen, particularly in coastal areas of the south and west.

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Margaret Attridge, Irish Water, said: “While there has been some rainfall in recent days, the soil moisture deficit remains very high which means that this rain will run off or be absorbed by the soil and will have minimal impact on supplies.

“With more dry weather expected over the next few weeks, it is important that everyone continues to reduce our water use where possible.

“We will continue to monitor the levels at all our supplies over the coming weeks and take any actions that may be necessary to maintain supplies, including communicating about localised issues or restrictions as they arise. The list of locations experiencing drought conditions will also be updated regularly on www.water.ie where people can find out about their local water supply.”

In addition to the 40 areas where active interventions are in place, a further 65 supplies are being closely monitored to ensure that normal supply is maintained for the rest of the Summer and into Autumn.

Irish Water says most of their 750 plants continue to meet demand.

Water leakage

But they also admit a lot of water is wasted through leakage.

A spokesperson told us: “Irish Water is committed to reducing the amount of water lost to leaks in Ireland’s public water network, which has suffered from decades of under-investment. And we are making good progress.

“In 2018 the rate of leakage nationally was 46%. By the end of 2021 we reduced leakage to 38% and we are on track to reduce leakage to 25% nationally by 2030.

“To achieve this we are investing a further €250 million each year up to the end of 2030 in fixing leaks to provide a more reliable water supply.”

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

Water saving tips

• Take a shorter shower
• Fix dripping taps or leaking toilets
• Turn off the tap when brushing teeth or shaving to save up to 6 litres of water a minute
• Use a bucket and sponge instead of a hose to wash your car
• Save and reuse water collected from baths, showers, and hand basins in the garden
• Use a rose head watering can instead of a hose and aim for the roots
• Consider installing a water butt to collect rainwater
• Water in the evening when it won’t evaporate
• Plant directly into the ground as much as possible
• Add a layer of plant material, like bark, to your flower bed to prevent evaporation and reduce the need for watering

On the Farm

• Fix troughs
• Save water when cleaning the yard by using dry-cleaning techniques
• On a dairy farm, you can divert clean plate cooler water to a tank and use it for parlour washing
• Rainwater Harvesting
• Avoid contamination of surface waters by reducing or eliminating access to livestock by fencing off watercourses
• Pollution containing animal faeces can affect the water environment, nutrients and soil
• Destroyed bankside vegetation can also contribute to flooding

40 areas experiencing shortages

1. Carlow Raheenleigh WTP (Burren Intake )
2. Carlow Hacketstown WTP
3. Clare Ballymacraven WTP - Lahinch, Ennistymon
4. Clare Carron Abstraction Site (Termon Spring )
5. Cork Clonakilty RWSS WTP (Jones Bridge WTP )
6. Cork Ballinatona Water Treatment Plant - Newmarket
7. Cork Whitechurch WTP
8. Cork Roberts Cove Reservoir
9. Cork Coppeen Pump Station
10. Donegal Lettermacaward WTP
11. Donegal Loughmourne WTP – Meencrumlin
12. Donegal Carrigart
13. Galway Ballinasloe Town WTP
14. Galway Mid Galway WTW – Gurteen, Killimordaly and surrounding areas
15. Galway Carna Kilkieran WTP
16. Galway Ahascragh WTP
17. Galway Inis Oirr WTP
18. Galway Tiernee WTP
19. Kerry Mid-Kerry WTP – Barleymount, Knockavota,Milltown, Agahadoe & outer Killorglin
20. Kerry Miltown WTP
21. Kerry Breanlee WTP – Breanlee, Miltown, Agahadoe
22. Kilkenny Bennettsbridge WTP
23. Kilkenny Clogh Castlecomer WTP (Loon WTP )
24. Laois Swan WTP
25. Limerick Lacka Doon Borehole WTP – Doon
26. Limerick Cooga Spring WTP - Doon
27. Limerick Oola WTP
28. Limerick Hospital Pump Station 1
29. Limerick Skagh Well Pump Station - Croom
30. Louth Clogherhead
31. Mayo Louisburgh
32. Tipperary Coalbrook WTP
33. Tipperary Dualla Borehole
34. Tipperary Kilcash WTP
35. Wexford Wexford Town
36. Wexford Killmallock Bridge WTP
37. Wexford Taylorstown New WTP
38. Wexford Askamore Dunishal
39. Wicklow Rathdrum WTP
40. Wicklow Kirikee WTP

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