14 July 2022
By Elaine Murphy
elaine@TheCork.ie
Increased temperatures & additional demand adding to supply challenges
Irish Water is appealing to the people of Clonakilty to be mindful of their water usage over the coming weeks as the increased domestic and commercial demand during the busy summer period is being exacerbated by warm weather and the widespread emergence of drought conditions.
Since March, Irish Water has been carefully monitoring all raw water sources in County Cork, that is the water from lakes, rivers, springs and ground sources that feed our water treatment plants. In the past few days, water demand in Clonakilty is presenting a particular challenge on supply. Restrictions may be needed in order to replenish the reservoirs there.
Other areas in West Cork, such as Dunmanway, Skibbereen, Bantry, Durrus, Goleen, Crookhaven, and Glengarriff are being closely monitored. Depending on the supply source, levels in lakes, rivers and ground water sources have run low. Reservoir storage levels are below optimum.
Speaking about conserving water, Irish Water’s Regional Operations Lead Niall O’Riordan said,
“A few weeks ago, we appealed to the residents and businesses in West Cork to be mindful of water usage as we have had a very dry period recently. West Cork is a beautiful and busy place at the best of times, but in the summer it is even busier. Now, we are asking the community of Clonakilty specifically to be mindful of their usage in order to help avoid the need to introduce water restrictions there. Many people will be outdoors a lot more, watering the garden or washing cars etc. We are just asking people to be sensible about how they use their water so that we have enough for everyone to use during the daytime and that the businesses of Clonakilty can continue to operate as normal.
It’s important to that we all consider our water usage and look at simple yet impactful ways to conserve water in the home. It can sometimes be difficult to know where to start, but even small changes can make a significant difference – and we can all play our part. To help people do this we have developed an easy-to-use conservation calculator so they can work out how much water they are currently saving and how they can conserve even more. The free calculator is available on the Irish Water www.water.ie/calculator where you can also find lots of useful water saving tips.
“We will continue to work with our colleagues in Cork County Council to monitor and manage supplies across the county to ensure the people in the area have a safe and reliable water supply throughout the summer.”
The Irish Water customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates, please visit the Water Supply Updates section of the Irish Water website. Irish Water and Cork County Council regret any inconvenience caused.
