Hosepipe ban in Nenagh despite water supply from Lough Derg
A WATER Conservation Order has been implemented by Uisce Éireann in Nenagh, even though it is the only major town in all of County Tipperary whose water supply is sourced from Lough Derg on the River Shannon.
The hosepipe ban on the town and surrounds, which came in to force last Saturday and will last until mid-September, has been imposed by Uisce Éireann, in spite of the fact that the company claims there is sufficient water in the Shannon to supply the needs of the greater Dublin and Midland regions.
The company says the ban, prohibiting the use of garden hoses and other non-essential uses of water, has been imposed in a bid to safeguard Tipperary’s water supply for essential purposes.
While imposing the order on Nenagh, Uisce Éireann has consistently argued that there is sufficient water in the Shannon to justify its proposed multi-billion project to pipe huge volumes of water from the river at the Parteen Basin to Dublin and the Midlands.
It is due to seek planning permission for the project before the end of the year and the scheme, which could cost anything from €4 billion to €10 billion, has already been approved in principle by the Government.
Uisce Éireann said the implementation of the hosepipe ban, which applies to all of County Tipperary, follows a long period of dry weather combined with high demand - causing raw water sources throughout the county to come under “severe stress”.
“The data tells us that rainfall in Tipperary in May, June, and July this year to date has been significantly below average when compared to historical rainfall records,” said Uisce Éireann in a statement.
It said there was 194.6mm of rainfall measured in Gurteen weather station during the above period compared to the long-term average of 208.5mm for the same period. “That’s almost 7% less rainfall recorded locally.”
It added that this lack of rainfall means that we are now heading into what are traditionally the warmest, driest months of the year, at a time when demand usually increases.
Uisce Éireann said it is essential that a Water Conservation Order is introduced now in Tipperary to reduce the potential of restrictions and outages over the coming weeks and months.
WARM AND DRY
Fionnuala Callery, Regional Technical Operations Manager for Water at the company, said: “Uisce Éireann’s top priority is to protect the water supplies across Tipperary for use in homes, businesses and essential services.
“While it may often feel like Ireland gets plenty of rain, the data shows the past 12 months have been unseasonably warm and dry. As a result, water sources across Tipperary have not had their usual seasonal recharge, and we are now heading into the height of summer with lower-than-average water levels.
“In response, we have increased our efforts in leakage detection, pipe repair, and overall network management. As demand continues to outstrip supply in some areas, we have taken the extra step of implementing a Water Conservation Order to safeguard the local water supply.”
Ms Callery said it was very clear from Uisce Éireann’s data that warm weather creates a surge in demand for water. Such weather makes the use of hoses more likely for gardening, leisure and other purposes.
“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.
“The introduction of this Order follows a series of measures that Uisce Éireann has put in place to safeguard supplies in recent months, including doubling down on our efforts to find and fix critical leaks in the water network and a public information campaign aimed at raising awareness of the importance of water conservation year-round.
“We will continue to analyse water consumption levels while the Water Conservation Order is in place. It is essential that our water supply is protected if we are to reduce the potential of restrictions and outages over the coming weeks and months.”