Night-time restrictions essential for Foxford to maintain daytime supply
19 January 2024
Information below is relevant until further updates are provided here or on our Supply and Service Updates section.
Uisce Éireann advises customers on the Foxford Public Water Supply that nighttime restrictions are essential to maintain a daytime supply.
Following operational difficulties at the treatment plant caused by the cold weather, the restrictions will be in place to all customers on the supply, with the exception of those in the town centre, from 7pm this evening, Friday, 19 January until 7am tomorrow morning.
Following the return of the supply it can take two to three hours for water to be restored to all areas, especially for customers on higher ground or at the end of the network.
Uisce Éireann’s Ronan McDonnell explained the restrictions are necessary to allow reservoir levels to recover and ensure homes and business have a normal daytime supply. He appealed to the public to continue their efforts to conserve water.
“Uisce Éireann understands the inconvenience these restrictions may cause. The cold weather this week caused operational issues at the plant, and we are also experiencing leaks in some areas. Customers in Belass and Rinnaney have already experienced outages and we are working to ensure that all customers have a daytime supply over the weekend. I’m appealing to customers not to leave taps running, to check for bursts and overflowing troughs on their own properties and turning these off where they are found.”
Alternative water supplies are available at the Moy Davitts’ football pitch and at Upper Belass. Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tanker and to boil water before consumption as a precautionary measure.
With the freezing temperatures of recent days set to be replaced by much milder conditions at the weekend, the rapid thaw is expected to lead to a further increase in leaks and bursts throughout the network. Uisce Éireann will deploy crews to fix these leaks as they arise.
Customers can also find lots of useful water saving tips on our website www.water.ie/conserve. This also includes an easy-to-use conservation calculator so you can work out how much water you are currently saving and how to conserve even more.
Customers can get information on water supply issues in their local area by entering their location on the Service Updates section of water.ie or by following Uisce Éireann on X and Facebook. The customer care centre is available 24/7 at 1800 278 278.
Previous Updates
Uisce Éireann is working to restore water to two areas in Foxford following operational issues at the local water treatment plant.
Customers in Belass and Rinnaney are impacted by supply issues caused by the cold weather.
Every effort is being made to return a normal water supply but, in the meantime, alternative water supplies will be available later this evening at the Moy Davitts’ football pitch and at Upper Belass. Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tanker and to boil water before consumption as a precautionary measure.
Uisce Éireann’s Colette Scahill urged customers throughout Foxford to conserve water to ensure a normal supply for as many customers in the area as possible.
“These outages have been caused by the effects of the cold weather at our plant. We are currently monitoring reservoir levels and will provide updates if restrictions in the area are required. In the meantime, we are appealing to customers to help by conserving water where possible and avoid non-essential use of their water supply until reservoir levels have returned to normal.
“We would ask people not to leave taps running as this will not necessarily prevent pipes from freezing and to check outside pipes that can become frozen and burst during periods of cold weather and, if possible, turn off water supply to these areas or to any unoccupied premises.”
To help people avoid issues we have lots of helpful advice on our website, www.water.ie/winterproofing. There is also advice on general winter readiness at www.winterready.ie.
Uisce Éireann continues to provide detailed, real-time, and local information about water service and supply issues on www.water.ie. The Uisce Éireann customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and updates are also issued via Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) @IWCare.