Tipp water conservation order lifted

Irish Water can confirm that as of today (25 September) the remaining Water Conservation Orders affecting Tipperary as well as all other counties have now been lifted.
 
The Irish Water Board met and reviewed the data that indicates that the reduction in demand, the availability of water resources and the prevailing weather conditions mean that the justification for the Water Conservation Order no longer applies.
 
In August, significant rain fell in the North and Western regions, replenishing water sources in those areas to the extent that the specific usage prohibitions were lifted. However, at this time supplies in the Southern, Eastern and Midlands regions had not recovered and a new Water Conservation Order to cover the public water supplies in counties Kerry, Limerick, Tipperary, Cork, Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny, Carlow, Laois, Offaly, Wicklow, Meath, Westmeath, Louth and Dublin, was issued. The order took effect on the 1st September 2018 and was due to conclude at midnight on the 30th of September 2018.
 
However, increased rainfall has meant that the Water Conservation Orders can be lifted now. Rainfall rates have returned or are returning to average rates for the time of year at all observational stations in the Southern, Eastern and Midlands regions.
 
Commenting on the lifting of the Water Conservation Orders, Irish Water’s Duane O’Brien said:
 
“The Water Conservation Orders were vital for reducing significant peaks in demand that Irish Water witnessed in early June 2018. The Orders, combined with excellent conservation efforts made by homes and businesses across the county and the significant efforts of operational teams on the ground prevented major outages to water supplies in many communities. As rainfall is returning to more average rates, our water sources which were very dry during the summer can begin to recharge more quickly.”  
 
“While this is very welcome news, it is essential that people continue to conserve water. We are really grateful for all the efforts people made over the past few months in their homes and businesses. It was really encouraging to see. Conserving water will make our water sources more resilient and help to safeguard our water for the future benefiting communities all across Tipperary.”