Irish Water Warns Further Restrictions Could Be Imposed In Clare

Picture (c) Irish Water

Irish Water is warning that further restrictions could be imposed in Clare, as the dry spells continues to result in increased pressure on the county’s network.

There has been a 20% surge in demand for supply in this county during the heatwave, resulting in night-time restrictions in parts of North Clare.

But the utility remains hopeful that further issues can be avoided, if people are responsible about their water usage, as Clare FM’s Fiona Cahill reports:

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The dry spell has led to a 20% surge in demand for water supply here in Clare, and that coupled with a number of power outages, has resulted in significant pressure on the network.

Irish Water says it’s operating on a knife-edge and faces serious challenges, but it will continue to monitor the situation with the hope that no further restrictions will have to be imposed.

Night-time restrictions have already been put in place in parts of north Clare, in areas including Ennistymon, Lahinch, Liscannor and Fanore, while Ennistymon has also been hit with outages due to a burst water main.

The Ennis area is holding up, but the Shannon and Sixmilebridge areas are at risk of having restrictions introduced, due to a reduction in water levels at the lakes supplying those areas.

A hose pipe ban has been imposed in Dublin for at least a month but Operations Lead for Clare, Duane O’Brien says that can be avoided here if people are responsible about their water usage.

The Cratloe-based General Secretary of the ICMSA believes that if the hot weather and water restrictions continue, it’ll pose a huge worry for farmers here.

The current hot spell has seen grass growth almost grind to a halt, resulting in issues surrounding silage production.

Many farmers have already taken their first cut, but last winter’s fodder crisis has caused concern over the impact, if they can’t manage a second cut.

Eddie Punch says the weather over the coming weeks will dictate the farming season.

But it looks like there’s no end in sight for the current dry spell.

Met Eireann says the heatwave will continue into next weekend and beyond, and there will be no significant rainfall for the foreseeable future either.