Hosepipe ban for parts of Donegal, Meath and Westmeath due to ‘sharp drop’ in water levels

LAST UPDATE | 2 hrs ago

A HOSEPIPE BAN is to be put in place across parts of Donegal, Meath and Westmeath due to a “sharp drop in water levels”.

Uisce Éireann today confirmed that the water conservation order, commonly referred to as a hosepipe ban, will be in place for supplies in Milford, Co Donegal, Kells-Oldcastle in Co Meath and Mullingar in Westmeath.

The conservation orders will come into effect on Tuesday, 6 May and will last for six weeks. 

However, Uisce Éireann has appealed to all customers to be mindful of their use of water as we enter the summer months.

The Water Conservation Order bans the use of garden hosepipes and other non-essential uses of water by domestic users and commercial premises for non-commercial activities, such as watering gardens. 

Other actions banned includes washing a car with a domestic hosepipe, filling or replenishing an artificial lake or pond, and filling a swimming or paddling pool.

Uisce Éireann said the order has been issued to safeguard these water supplies for “essential purposes”.

“This is necessary due to a sharp drop in water levels at the sources supplying these areas following a dryer-than-average autumn, winter and spring,” said a spokesperson.

The spokesperson pointed to the fact that Lough Owel, which supplies the Mullingar Public Water Supply, is currently at its lowest level in 50 years.

Similarly, Lough Colmcille which supplies Milford in Donegal, and Lough Bane which supplies Kells-Oldcastle in Co Meath, are also at “historically low levels”. 

Uisce Éireann said that in recent weeks, it has been putting number of measures in place to maintain and protect these supplies, including enhanced leakage repair works, pressure management and public water conservation campaigns.

Margaret Attridge, Head of Water Operations with Uisce Éireann, said the past 12 months have been “drier than normal when compared to the long-term average”.

She said this means that some water sources which “traditionally would have replenished over the winter period have not seen the same levels of recovery”.

As a result, Uisce Éireann is starting to experience issues with water availability at these sources. 

Attridge noted that while that hosepipe ban only applies to these three supplies, all customers are asked to be mindful of their use of water so that supplies can be protected.

“As we enter the summer months, warmer weather creates a surge in demand for water, for gardening, leisure and other purposes,” said Attridge.

“However, using a hosepipe for one hour is the equivalent of the daily water usage of an average family and this is generally a non-essential use of water.

“We are asking everyone to play their part in conserving water.”

She said the “key messages are to leave the hose and the pressure washer in the shed”.

She also encouraged people to reuse household water for the garden and to take shorter showers.

Uisce Éireann said that while the majority of Ireland’s close to 700 public water supplies continue to meet the demand for water supply, there are 14 supplies nationwide where measures are being implemented to maintain supplies.

In addition to the three supplies that will soon be placed under conservation orders, these include parts of Kilkenny, Galway, Limerick Kerry and Tipperary.

Note: This piece was updated to confirm that the ban is in place from Tuesday 6 May.