An appeal for water conservation in Inishowen

21 June 2021

High demand for water in the Inishowen area of Donegal over the last number of days is putting severe pressure on reservoirs and may lead to night time restrictions on supply if demand doesn’t ease.

Uisce Éireann and Donegal County Council are appealing to residents, farmers, agricultural contractors, businesses and visitors to Inishowen to conserve water wherever possible to ensure a consistent supply for everyone.

There are some simple measures that the public can take including stopping the use of power washers at home; using a watering can rather than a hose in the garden; taking showers over baths; and fixing any dripping taps where it is possible to do so. There is advice and guidance for homes, businesses and farms, including information on how much water you can save with simple measures on the Water Conservation section of our website.

In order to improve the situation in Inishowen, owners of vacant and unused properties are being urged to turn off water to the property and to check for leaks around the building, especially around toilet cisterns.

Speaking about the need to conserve water, Uisce Éireann’s Asset Operations Lead for Donegal, Kevin Love, said: “It is really important that everyone follows the HSE guidance on handwashing, however there are some ways to conserve water that will not impact on hygiene. Our telemetry shows that demand has increased significantly and our reservoirs are under pressure in the Inishowen area. We want to ensure we can meet the demands of our water supplies as COVID restrictions are relaxing and the hospitality sectors reopens for business.

"In Uisce Éireann, we are continually working with our local authority partners to look at what we call the supply/demand balance. This means that we need to ensure that we can supply more treated drinking water than is required for use. We can manage this by conserving water; losing less by repairing leaks; and supplying smarter by ensuring that all of our plants are working optimally.

“We can all work together to protect our supply and safeguard our water for essential usage.”

Uisce Éireann continues to work at this time with our local authority partners, contractors and others to safeguard the health and well-being of staff and the public and to ensure the continuity of drinking water and wastewater services.