WATER SHORTAGE:WATER SUPPLIES may begin to stabilise this weekend with temperatures rising and the ground thawing.
Restrictions on water use remain in place in a number of local authority areas. Thousands of properties in Fingal, Dublin, Limerick and Westmeath have been without water for days.
Local councils across the country reduced pressure again last night to help reservoirs recover from a 20 per cent surge in demand. The spike was caused by burst pipes, low water flow as a result of frozen ground and householders leaving taps running for prolonged periods.
Following a meeting of the Government’s National Emergency Response Committee yesterday, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said the amount of water being used was decreasing.
However, he said reservoirs remained under pressure and that demand was well above what could be sustained. “We’re renewing our appeals for people to use water sparingly, conserve it and most of all to check for leaks in property, particularly in second properties, and to locate them and get them repaired,” he said.
Gerald Fleming of Met Éireann said temperatures were gradually returning to normal winter levels.
Gerry Galvin of the Department of the Environment said the warmer weather would result in ground defrosting and more water flowing through pipes which would make leaks easier to detect.
“That will enable us to see precisely what is left in the demand and how much is leakage,” he added. “That leakage is being targeted continuously with local authorities working flat out.” He was hopeful water levels “would stabilise over the course of the weekend”.
However, he said it could take three to four months for supplies to recover in some urban areas.
“I would be hopeful that in four to six weeks most of the rest of the country will have recovered from the impact of the freeze. It will very much depend on how quickly leaks can be found.”
Fingal County Council said the majority of homes should have some supply restored tomorrow but that it would continue to throttle supply at night to allow reservoirs to refill.
A council spokeswoman for Fingal said some areas had been without supply for four or five days and that residents of Lanesborough, Melville and upland areas of Howth would probably be without water today.
Limerick County Council said residents of Oola, Craggs and Mount Collins were experiencing breaks in supply. Overnight restrictions were in place in Cork, Kilkenny, Limerick, Clare, Carlow and Wexford.
Dublin City Council was last night using tankers to provide water to residents of Rathgar, Coolock, Finglas, Artane, Santry, Poppintree and Killester.
It said pockets of the northeast city and Finglas were experiencing low pressure or no supply and that areas such as Ballsbridge, Crumlin, Clanbrassil Street, Walkinstown and the north inner city would experience severe water restrictions from 7pm last night until 7am this morning.
Finglas councillor Paul McAuliffe said information from Dublin City Council was scarce and that many residents felt they were being ignored. He said the water shortage had created a very unsanitary situation.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Emer Costello has asked the city manager John Tierney to improve communications to the general public, particularly in the most affected areas.
“The situation is receiving the highest priority and every effort is being made to get a supply to the most affected areas,” she said.
