The hosepipe ban has been extended until the end of September for 13 counties across Munster and Leinster, as “public water supplies remain under pressure and require continued protection”, Uisce Éireann has said.
The ban, officially called a “water conservation order”, will be extended until September 30th across counties Carlow, Cork, Dublin, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Limerick, Meath, Offaly, Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and Wicklow.
Those living in these counties are prohibited from using a hosepipe “or similar equipment” to water their gardens, clean their cars or fill a swimming or paddling pool, among other restrictions.
“Uisce Éireann is asking customers in these 13 counties to continue avoiding non-essential water use,” the semi-State company said. “The extension will help conserve available water and protect supplies for homes, businesses, farms, hospitals, vulnerable customers and essential services.”
The order will be lifted for the rest of the State – in counties Cavan, Clare, Donegal, Galway, Kerry, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Mayo, Monaghan, Roscommon, Sligo and Westmeath – from midnight on Wednesday.
[ Nationwide hosepipe ban: What is allowed?Opens in new window ]
This is “following an improvement in the availability of water for supply and increased rainfall”, according to Uisce Éireann. The company says it is ”continuing to take operational measures to maintain supplies”.
These measures include “maximising water production, repairing leaks, moving water by tanker where necessary and managing the network to reduce the risk of outages”.
The order was first implemented in Dublin and parts of Kildare, Meath, Tipperary, Wexford and Wicklow on July 16th, before being extended nationwide on July 24th.
It applies only to domestic users of Uisce Éireann’s water supply – commercial activity was exempt from any formal water conservation orders, although businesses were advised not to needlessly use water while national supplies were depleted.
Tycho Mays, who established the Howbert and Mays garden centres in Dublin alongside his wife in 2002, said there has been a “huge slow-down in plant sales” since the order was put in place.
Tycho Mays, who set up the Howbert and Mays garden centres in Dublin, says his business has seen a “huge slow-down in plant sales” since Uisce Éireann implemented a water conservation order in mid-July. Photograph: Stephen Conneely
“Who’s going to buy plants if you’re not allowed to water them?” he asked. “And even if you are allowed to water them, you run the risk of them dying.
“I’m sure it’s knocked our sales back massively – I don’t have a number, [but] I’m sure it’s 30, 40, 50 per cent down in terms of selling plants since mid-July to mid-August. They’re literally hardly selling,” he went on.
Mays said the downturn “doesn’t mean the kiss of death” for the business as “we have enough other things to sell” in their shop next to Merrion Square.
Uisce Éireann’s head of water operations, Margaret Attridge, said the utility company “received great support from the public for our water conservation appeal, which has helped reduce demand significantly in many areas”.
She added: “The collective efforts of communities to reduce unnecessary water use have made a real difference in protecting our essential supplies … The improvement in conditions means we can now lift the order across many counties.”
However, she said supplies in parts of the east and south “remain under pressure, and water sources in these areas will need more time to recover”.