As the hot weather continues, Irish Water has asked farmers to use “dry-cleaning techniques” to clean yards, in a bid to conserve water.
Since the middle of last week, Irish Water has seen a “noticeable water usage increase”, particularly in seaside resorts and agricultural areas, with demand likely to remain high through July and August.
The vast majority of the country’s 750 water treatment plants continue to meet demand.
However, 12 areas, located mainly in the midlands and southeast of the country, are currently (Monday, July 18) most at risk of drought:
- Bennettsbridge and Clogh, Castlecomer in Co. Kilkenny;
- Coalbrook in Co. Tipperary;
- Clonaklilty, Roberts Cove, Whitechurch and Coppeen in Co. Cork;
- Wexford Town and Bunclody in Co. Wexford;
- Inis Oirr in Co. Galway and Swan in Co. Laois
Irish Water has implemented a range of measures in these areas to protect supplies such as deploying water tankers and/or night time restrictions.
It is also closely monitoring a number of other schemes in counties Donegal; Galway; Cork; Limerick; and Waterford.
Irish Water advice
The utility has offered suggestions to the public, including farmers, on how to reduce water usage during the hot weather.
It noted that farmers can save water when cleaning yards by using “dry-cleaning techniques”.
“Use scrapers and brushes to remove solid waste from yards and pens before hosing. You can also use a small amount of water (for example, one bucket) to pre-soak waste before cleaning,” Irish Water advised.
Farmers were also urged to fix water troughs that may be overflowing and to consider rainwater harvesting in the future.
“If you own a dairy farm, you can divert clean plate cooler water to a tank and use it for parlour washing,” Irish Water added.
Irish Water appealed to the public to report any visible leaks on the public water supply at water.ie or by calling; 1800 278278.
Tom Cuddy, Irish Water’s head of asset operations, thanked the public for their continued support in conserving water.
“We will continue to monitor the levels at all our supplies over the coming weeks and months and take any actions that may be necessary to maintain supplies, including communicating about localised issues as they arise,” he said.