Residents In Wicklow Urged To Conserve Water As Supplies Near Critical Level

Uisce Éireann is urging the public to help reduce water use and report leaks across the Greater Dublin Area as demand has now reached unprecedented levels.

The appeal follows an extensive programme of work by Uisce Éireann and water services crews across the region to detect and repair bursts and leaks across the network, with a large increase reported in recent weeks.

Daily water use in the Greater Dublin Area has grown by over 40 million litres since last year due to a range of factors including a growing population and increased economic activity.

Recent weather events which have led to bursts on the network have now pushed that demand further to unprecedented levels. As a result, demand for water currently exceeds the capacity of the water treatment plants in the region.

This simply means that more water is being consumed every day than the capital’s water treatment infrastructure is capable of producing.

Storage in reservoirs are also approaching critically low levels. 

There are a number of key things that the public can do to help protect water supplies, including: 

• Check your home, business premises and unoccupied premises for leaks and get them fixed.
• Report any leaks you see in the public network to Uisce Éireann’s customer care centre at 1800 278 278 or on water.ie, so that we can prioritise repairs.
• Don’t leave taps running and fix any dripping taps inside or outside your property.
• Be mindful of water use in your business and look for opportunities to make savings. This can save businesses money, not only in their water bills but also in their energy costs as heating, pumping water etc. all require additional electricity.
• If you have a suspected leak on your external water supply pipe, consider applying for the First Fix Free Scheme. The scheme offers a free leak investigation and free repair for eligible domestic customers.