IRISH WATER HAS again made an urgent appeal to people to conserve water, ahead of the hosepipe ban that comes into effect from tomorrow.

In all, 39 water supplies around the country are under night-time water restrictions, with over 100 water supplies at risk due to high consumption.

Drought is causing problems across a number of counties, including Dublin, Galway, Laois, Longford, Kilkenny, Waterford, Limerick, Kerry and Cork.

Irish Water said it expects the vast majority of people to adhere to the hosepipe ban, and that there will be “very few prosecutions while the order is in force”.

The company also said that it has huge concerns for longer term supplies of water throughout the summer and autumn.

Its corporate affairs manager Kate Gannon said:

“When the current hot weather ends we will still need customers to be mindful of their water usage for the months ahead to protect the available water for the remainder of the summer and into the autumn.

Wider water restrictions may become unavoidable if the demand does not drop towards normal levels.

Affected areas

Irish Water earlier this week announced its hosepipe ban in the Greater Dublin Area.

The ban on hosepipes is part of an overall Water Conservation Order which has been placed on the area and is due to be in place until at least 31 July, but may be extended beyond this.

The utility said that it is likely that similar orders will be introduced in other schemes in the coming weeks.

It said that use in the Greater Dublin Area was marginally down over the weekend as many people left the area and businesses were closed, but that usage remained “well above normal” for the capital.

In Galway city, water supply is being restricted at night-time between the hours of 11pm and 7am. Other areas are also dealing with high usage and are facing restriction to supply.

The appeal from Irish Water comes as Ireland remains in the midst of a historic heatwave which is showing no sign of letting up.

Met Éireann said drought conditions are due to continue well into next week, with temperatures set to remain in the mid-20s and little rain forecast.

With reporting from Sean Murray