Irish Water warns of increased drought risk
Irish Water has warned of an increased drought risk despite recent rainfall.
The utility said the number of water schemes in drought has increased from 35 to 38 and the ones in potential drought has grown from 52 to 58 since the water conservation order, or hosepipe ban, was introduced on June 8.
Irish Water’s lead, Neil Smyth, said the short periods of rainfall during the last week are not enough to return raw water sources to normal levels.
“A minimum accumulation of 100mm rainfall and a return to normal precipitation levels thereafter would be needed to offset the impact of the unseasonal lack of rainfall since March,” he said.
“We are keeping the situation under continuous review and are liaising closely with other key agencies and if the situation improves we will consider lifting the water conservation order. However any change is unlikely in the short term.”
In Cork, the Roberts Cove and Kiskeam schemes are in drought, with the Clonakilty scheme and the Newmarket scheme, also known as the Ballinatona scheme, in potential drought.
The utility urged people to continue conserving water.
Meanwhile, the utility has released images to mark the half-way stage of the €40m upgrade of Cork city's Victorian-era water treatment plant on the Lee Road.
The new plant will supply 41m litres of water a day to over 70% of the population of Cork.
Sean Twohig, Irish Water's infrastructure regional lead, said some 1,200-1,500 cubic metres of concrete was poured over a 12 to 15 hour period after the June bank holiday weekend to create the new plant's reservoir, which will store treated water before it's pumped to reservoirs on the north west of the city through a system of rising mains.
Work will continue over the coming months on other buildings on the site.
The Lee Road plant, which was built in 1879, has been listed for some time on the EPA’s Remedial Action List as requiring urgent action on a range of issues.
The sod was turned on the €40m upgrade last November - the first significant investment in the plant since the 1950s.
Contractors J. Murphy & Sons Ltd are expected to be on site for another year.
