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LAST UPDATE | 2 Jul 2018
A HOSEPIPE BAN is now in operation in the Greater Dublin Area as Irish Water makes an urgent appeal to the public to conserve water as much as possible.
This means activities such as watering gardens and washing cars are banned.
The ban is set to stay in place until 31 July, although it may need to be extended.
Irish Water has warned that further bans across the country will be announced in the coming week.
It’s expected that parts of Kilkenny, parts of Laois and parts of Limerick county will all be designated for a hosepipe ban in the coming week.
People can be fined or prosecuted for wasting water, but that is not the approach the government plans on taking.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the best approach is to ask people to “do the right thing and be good citizens”.
However, anyone found in breach of the ban could potentially face a fine of €125.
Speaking on Morning Ireland on RTÉ Radio 1 the managing director of Irish Water Jerry Grant said, “The reality is we rely on community and peer pressure because we can’t enforce our way to proper water management.
“At the end of the day enforcement procedures are there and we have the powers to take action when there’s flagrant abuse of water but that’s all we can do.
“All of those powers are there and at the end of the day, we’ll use them when we have to but we don’t have the resources to police water use.
When it was put to Grant that Irish Water is depending on people “snitching on their neighbours”, he said: “Most people are law abiding and there is a strong community pressure here to conserve water because at the end of the day we’re talking about people losing supply of there isn’t responsible behaviour across the board.”
He added that the hosepipe ban was “ultimately about drawing people’s attention to the fact that this is now very critical.
It’s going to go on for weeks and months because the reality is water depletion in our rivers and lakes and our ground water is going to take weeks, and maybe months to recover.
“It’s really important that we conserve the water now and that we maintain that discipline in the months ahead.”
1976 drought
The weather has been dry since late February this year with Met Éireann reporting that the level of rain that has fallen is on par with 1976 when a major drought was in place.
Two status yellow weather warnings remain in place – an advisory warning for the entire country as little or no rain is forecast over the coming weeks and a high temperature warning for Munster, Leinster, Cavan, Monaghan, Galway, Leitrim and Roscommon.
As it stands more than 100 water supplies are at risk due to high consumption.
Irish Water says water must be conserved to safeguard scarce water resources for the remainder of the summer and into the autumn.
The utility has 39 water supplies under night-time water restrictions. It’s also tankering water from larger schemes to top up reservoirs where levels are falling.
Grant said, “We’re working at the edge of what we can do to keep supplies going.
Not too many people have been cut off yet but that is coming unless we can get the demand back down to levels that are sustainable from the sources that we have.
Irish Water has a nationwide update on the water shortages available on its website.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of people were left without water in Kerry last night after a water main burst in the centre of Killarney.
Irish Water and Kerry County Council said they hoped supply would be restored this morning.
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€80 million for the new giant resevoir they are building in Sandyford that could have been started years ago
€500+ million wasted on meters ghat was prioritised instead
Do the math and you’ll see where the real supply isdue is. Its irish water
@The Risen: metering is critical to identifying domestic leaks and charging is essential to incentivise get conservation. Rest of developed world do this because water is a costly commodity. Contrary to belief drinking water does not fall from the sky. The greatest beneficiaries of the current situation are rich people.
@James Gorman: half is leaked before it gets even to the house as stated in Newstalk this morning. How ia metering going to fix that?
@James Gorman: Ten times the amount of treated water is lost through supply side leaks, than is lost through domestic leaks. So, where should the focus be?
Your buddies tried to privatise our water james, it didn’t work. The spoof is over, its only obedient little footsoldiers still beating hogans drum.
@Ricardo: I would imagine the data from meter use can be accumulated to match against total use for an area to identify significant wastage. The alarms on house meters detect continuous night flow and identified 30,000 leaks in first year.
Big thing at moment is no disincentive to conserve so we are in a mess now especially in Dublin.
@James Gorman: The experts weighed in. Meters are needed on the supply side for the major leaks, not houses. As revealed by one at committee, the only reason to meter every house in the country is to commodify water for sale.
its over james, nobody believes the spoof any more.
@James Gorman: It is private in a lot of Europe because predatory investment funds bullied governments into it. It was never about providing a public service. The quality of drinking water in Ireland is higher than in most of Europe. It just tastes disgusting on most of the continent, people drink bottled water instead which is terrible for the environment.
@The Risen: Lidl selling a 7500 litre paddling pool this am for little over 100 euro. Wait til they are being filled later today or tomorrow and people think it’s bad at moment.
@The Risen: ah surely we need rain to fill said reservoir…
@Ricardo: is that not even more reason to charge for water. At least we will then have funds to tackle the public side leaks
@The Risen: who is this one at committee you refer to. Give facts not spin
@minorproblem: nope the army can transport water from the rivers to the treatment plants. The agenda is to create water bills not supply water to the nation.
@James Gorman: We already pay for water through taxation so we are not getting it for free. Money is wasted left, right & centre in this country. The little infrastructure we have is of third world quality
@James Gorman: Meters measure consumption, Ultrasonic Leak Detectors measure Leaks
@Tommy Nail: we the method of taxation needs to be redirected to specifically charge for water then. That way there is an incentive not to waste.
@eastsmer: meters have constant flow detector alarms and leaks don’t stop at night time when no water beign used.Keep up will you.
@Seamus G: Start a government scheme for water butts. Free to each household. Save anyhting up to 3000l a year per household.
New developments, mandate they store rainwater in a separate tank in the attic for the toilets with a mains backup plumbed in and an overflow system. Saves up to 15000 litres a year per household.
New developments, mandate a third tank in the attic for shower and domestic water from rain water with a mains backup and a filtration system, any washing machines, showers and bathroom sinks would be plumbed in using this line.
@James Gorman: I couldn’t agree more. We need to be far more responsible with our water usage, understand how our poor water systems are effecting the environment and implement changes to try and fix them. When is starts to rain again we will be dumping the overflow sewage right back into our sea. We are incapable of conserving water and that’s why there is a ban after a relatively short spell of good weather. There should be a body responsible for fixing our water systems funded by water charges as it will be the only way to get it right. Unfortunately Irish Water was rotten from the core and was never going to be capable of doing it.
@James Gorman: the water that falls from the sky . Is however, Drinkable
@techman: so is urine. You got my point I’m sure.
@James Gorman: domestic v industrial consumption – about 4 v 96 percent.
Wise up man the one thing we should not have to pay for in Ireland is water – charges were the first step to privatization- so a nice German or French JV could take it over.
We are already taxed to the hilt – and the water one given the fact it was rushed through by Enda in European of the Year Kenny’s little licksplittle Hogan was a bridge too far.
Take apples money and fix the broken pipes
Perhaps the no mandate,private, failed utility that is Irish water should fix the leaks and ageing network and this would not be a problem. That’s if it is a problem at all. As to why would you believe them. Not as if they haven’t lied before to the public.
As for informers and rats in the neighbourhood. Good luck with enforcing that
@nelly: still we use water that had been processed and made drinkable for cleaning our cars, watering our flowers. Look at it that way and it’s waste.
Imagine going to the shop and buying water and using it on your flowers, there wouldn’t be a person in Ireland that would do it.
@B9xiRspG: And how do you purpose to use recycled water. To retrofit most households and businesses would cost a fortune. Don’t see Irish water paying for it. Fix the leaks that’s the problem
@nelly: just because someone else might be the cause of a problem doesn’t stop the rest of us being part of the solution. Just stop moaning and try to use less water for now.
@B9xiRspG: well said Jim. People want water for free but don’t use it responsibly when they have it. Water charges would focus the mind and teach importance of conservation to the next generation and raise funds to fix public side leakage that simply comes from an aging network. No conspiracy with IW just a legacy of under funded public infrastructure that need funds now to upgrade
@nelly: We can’t recycle water because it would cost too much so we should just fix the leaks? The mind boggles. Do you have any idea how much it would cost to fix or replace all the leaking pipes in Ireland?
@Joe: yes I do and it costs about what it cost to set up Irish water, bill everybody, give an €80 household registration grant that is now non repayable , pay to put in 10year lifetime lasting meters in areas , advertising expenditure on the need to pay for water and then just everyday expenses.
So hope that answers that for you.
@nelly: Oh right. You got caught out making yourself look silly so you fell back to the tired old anti Irish water rants. You forgot to mention the chestnut about gym membership for staff. Good man.
In reality who the hell is going to enforce this fine? Is there a water inspector or something?
@Ricardo:
They will be depending on people to inform on their neighbours. You would hope that people will do the right thing in any case and conserve water
@Ricardo: Gardai will release the stats when the rain comes back.
@Ricardo: IW can do spot checks on water meters to check water usage apparently
@Tweety McTweeter: Water cheats cheats us all. anyone to inform on financial cheats that have f*cked up our society.
@Sea Graham: So will the water meter tell if you are running the dishwasher or filling the toddlers paddling pool?
@Honeybee: only repeating what reported somewhere else. The hosepipe ban rules are not fit for purpose just like IW. If I wanted to water my garden I can fill containers straight from the tap, use that and I’m not breaking the ban.
@Tweety McTweeter: Sniches get stitches.
If only we had some way of measuring and charging for how much water each house used… How long before SF/AAA/PBP are out complaining about the ban
@I Crow:
Your money would be better spent paying an Apache chief to do a rain dance in the Phoenix park,
@Tweed Cap: or just spent using the water I use so that the “outdoor hot tub from Lidl in my back garden” houses, golf courses and crop farmers of this world could cover their share….
*Waits for comments blaming Irish water for leakage when in reality it would cost multiple billions of tax money to fix an antiquated Victorian water system”
@I Crow: >40% of treated water is lost through broken pipes. Our usage per household is already below the OECD average.
@The Risen: see comment above… We’ve got so many leaking pipes because theyve been relatively un-maintained once the Brits left as we never established a body to do so (nor did we charge for it). Per capita usage is a redundant argument when it comes to hosepipe bans.
@I Crow: well said
@I Crow: yes the 500 million spent trying to stick us with meters would have been a good start, it’s a joke because we are one of 5he wettest countries on the planet with a small population and a parasitic elite who continuously put profit before people and infrastructure. Then the neck to ask people to police people when a bit of sun eventually shines through a chemtrailed sky good luck with that.
@I Crow: If only we could start with the largest consumers of water – the likes of Ballygown
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DVxnOKtW0AM3QHe.jpg:large
It’s comical isint it,
A country where it rains more times that the sun shines and we have no water .
Thank God Irish water were told to take a run and jump.Get your act together and build more reservoirs. We pay enough Taxes.
@Gerry Fallon: Well said, we could do without the same old spiel being thrown around by some here, its a joke here we are running around with buckets with no arses in them accusing each other of wasting while the water just flows out the bottom, meanwhile we continue to expect quangos like I.W to plug the holes….anyone into making a film, Irish Famine Pt. 2 “it wasn’t our fault”
Fortunately we can rely on the free water in the lakes and rivers and falling from the sky.
There was never a fair basis to argue that society should pay a little based on consumption to invest in our water infrastructure and services.
@alphanautica: We already pay for our water. We are now also paying for the bloated quango known as irish Water. Repeating the same spoof FG were feeding the people will not change that fact.
@The Risen:
Can you draw the connection between the antiquated water infrastructure (with all the associated wastage you’re so keen to point out elsewhere in this thread) and the lack of taxpayer investment over decades?
@The Risen: how do u reckon that you already pay for your water. Don’t say taxes. People on Group water schemes pay taxes AND their water privately. Same for people who drill their own wells
@Brendan Flynn: so will everyone get a tax break when Irish water is setup?
@Stephen Devlin: a tax break for what?
Will Golf courses face this ban I wonder?
They use up to a million gallons a week.
WTF would Leo know about being a good citizen?
Can someone please tell me exactly how we pay for our water??
@Brian: 2% on VAT, 3% of Motor Tax
Since early 80′s when Rates were cancelled.
Under the Rates – Rateable Valuation system – you paid for Refuse collection and Water
When FF changed these to general taxes we still got stung for Refuse collection on the double, we will not pay on the double for water.
Especially with water bottling companies not paying a penny for large scale extraction.
@eastsmer: slight correction there it’s actually 5% motor tax!
@eastsmer:
The 3% motor tax take fantasy will soon need a serious makeover as more and more cars of the yield-killing electric variety take to our roads.
Hopefully, Paschal will have a plan to counter.
@Rory J Leonard: it’s 5% motor tax!
So, they will need neighbors etc to video people using hose pipes for these purposes and then someone to actually enforce the ban and issue the fines. Another joke of a measure.
I do hope people have common sense and only use when needed and not to wash car etc but this is another nonsense ban, just add it to the long list that most who dont abide by the rules will continue to ignore, knowing it cant be enforced, chances of a fine are slim to none and no doubt they would get away with not paying it even on the off chance they were proven to be braking the ban and fined successfully.
So the brits have put in a water system that hasn’t been maintained, broadly speaking. The results of that, are being in part felt now during a proper summer. Meanwhile pipes are leaking and have been leaking for years and possibly decades. The good people of Ireland saw fit to do nothing respectively it was also ignored by the elected politicians for decades. Irish water comes in trying to fix it or improve it and thousands of people get their knickers in a twist proclaiming they already pay for it in taxes. This leads to the abolishment of the whole water bill project and people are being offered the paid money back they have paid in. Meanwhile nothing, again broadly speaking, is done to improve the water infra structure in this country. When proponents of the “We pay already for water with our taxes” side, are being asked to provide concrete evidence of their claims by for example citing the Irish statute book or other legal documents corroborating made claim, not one seems able to do so. On the other side companies in this country do pay for their water they are using for decades. In addition most European countries charge for the water coming in and the waste water coming out of the property, apartment, house and so on. My question then is this: What, my dear fellow global population participants who pay already with your taxes for water, do you suggest to be done to fix an outdated water infrastructure system?
“We” didn’t want to pay to fix the water systems during the last boom, “we” were to busy buying houses and cars and having out taxes lowered. After the crash “we” didn’t want to pay for personal use using water meters I “we pay through taxes and we pay enough” it was shouted on “the journals” comment sections.
“But more is wasted in during supply!” You yell – that really doesn’t mean that you should waste water by cooling down with a constant stream from a hose in the garden. (Or leave the tap on in winter to stop the pipes freezing).
Now we still pay through taxes but don’t want to pay more taxes – if you want everything paid for via tax (HSE, college tuition, new roads, more teachers, more nurses, more doctors, new treatments, new housing, better public transport, cheaper child care) then you are gonna have pay more in taxes. We have rights, but also responsibilities.
I would rather pay for my personal use, like other utilities.
Why does the article say washing cars, and watering gardens is banned?
The ban is on housepipes, therefore you can carry the water in a bucket or watering can, and still comply.
At least up here in Leitrim and Sligo we won’t get a ban unless we manage to empty Lough Gill and that isn’t going to happen before the next rain.
Fine isnt half high enough also who is going to report people living in the country who arent over looked .
The restriction are only for the regular Joe, Businesses and Golf Courses are not affected, and seriously, who is going to enforce this ban?!
We should ditch Irish Water and hire water management consultants from Spain or Italy…
Rats out
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