Irish Water urges people not to water gardens or take extended showers

Don't waste it.

Irish Water has advised the public to be conscious of their water use during the current hot period and to avoid excess use of water, such as watering lawns and taking long showers. It comes as Ireland is in the grip of a heatwave which has seen temperatures reach highs of 30 degrees in some parts of the country over the weekend, with similar or even higher temperatures expected in the coming days. Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, Head of Operations at Irish Water Tom Cuddy said that while there is a seasonal demand for water at this point of the year, a particular set of circumstances, including the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, has exacerbated the demand.

“With the hot weather, demand is up, we have reports from several areas of exceptional demand and it’s really exceeding supply capacity in some areas," Cuddy said.

“This is an annual pattern through the summer with sources dropping, but also some particular issues just now and we have staycations, holiday resorts where populations have doubled and trebled.

“We also have agricultural areas, at this time of year crops and livestock watering at a very high demand and then, of course, we have some businesses reopening with the Covid restrictions lifting, so really for that reason we have to make some interventions. So far they’ve been relatively modest.”

Irish Water and the local authorities are monitoring the situation and Cuddy said that if we can conserve our water and avoid excessive water use, then Irish Water will be be able to manage the situation in a controlled way.

“We would like people to be mindful of water conservation and their indoor and outdoor use, avoid extended showers and having taps running when brushing teeth or when rinsing vegetables and so on," Cuddy said.

"Watering of lawns, really we feel it’s no harm to let the lawn get a tan this time of year, the grass will recover very quickly and things like cleaning patios that can wait until other times of the year.

"It’s really not necessary at this time of year.”