Water Conservation Order issued for parts of Wexford as pressure on local water supplies continues

Information below is relevant until further updates are provided here or on our Supply and Service Updates section

Uisce Éireann has confirmed that a Water Conservation Order, commonly referred to as a hosepipe ban, will be in place for parts of Wexford, from 00:01 on Thursday, 16 July 2026 for a period of six weeks.

The Order, commonly referred to as a hosepipe ban, is being introduced following a prolonged period of warm, dry weather that has led to exceptionally high demand for water and placed sustained pressure on local supplies.

In recent weeks, Uisce Éireann has been putting in place a range of measures across the county to maintain and protect supplies, including enhanced leakage repair works, pressure management, network management, and public water conservation campaigns to help reduce water use to sustainable levels.

The Water Conservation Order prohibits the use of garden hosepipes and other non-essential uses of water by domestic users and commercial premises for non-commercial activities. 

While the Order applies only to the affected areas where demand is exceptionally high - Gorey, Bunclody, Castlebridge, Currcloe and South Wexford, Uisce Éireann is appealing to all customers across the County to reduce non-essential water use while supplies remain under pressure. 

Households, farms, and businesses can help by hanging up the hose, putting the power washer away, reusing household water in the garden, checking for leaks, taking shorter showers, and using water only where it is needed.

Padraig Lyng, Water Operations Manager with Uisce Éireann, said: “Our top priority is to protect water supplies for homes, businesses, farms, hospitals, vulnerable customers, and other essential services. The current hot and dry spell has driven very high-water use, and we need to reduce non-essential use now to help protect supplies for everyone.

“We have been asking customers across Wexford over the past number of weeks to reduce non-essential water use, and I would like to thank everyone who has already made an effort to conserve water. However, demand remains exceptionally high, and we now need the continued support of communities across the county to help reduce pressure on local supplies.”

“Night-time restrictions are in place in Courtown North, Killenagh, Kilmuckridge North and Clonroche areas to protect daytime supplies and allow treated water reservoirs to recover overnight. Taking this action now will help safeguard water supplies for homes, businesses, farms, and essential services across the affected communities.”

“From Thursday, a Water Conservation Order will come into effect for the communities of Bunclody, Gorey, Castlebridge, Curracloe and across South Wexford. We are asking everyone to work together to reduce non-essential water use. Small actions taken across the community can make a real difference in helping to protect local water supplies. 

“Using a hosepipe for one hour is the equivalent of the daily water usage of an average family and this is generally a non-essential use of water. This is about protecting treated drinking water for the things that matter most — homes, hospitals, vulnerable customers, farms, businesses, and essential services — while this Order is in place.”

Uisce Éireann teams continue to monitor supplies, manage the network, repair leaks, and take targeted action where needed to protect water services. The Water Conservation Order will remain under review and may be lifted if conditions improve or extended if necessary, depending on weather conditions and water availability.

To help people learn more about saving water, Uisce Éireann has developed an easy-to-use conservation calculator so customers can work out how much water they are currently saving and how they can conserve even more. The calculator and practical water-saving advice are available on our Water Conservation Calculator page.

Customers can also sign up for free text alerts to receive updates about their local water supply on our Text Alerts page.

Members of the public can report leaks in the public water network 24/7 by contacting Uisce Éireann at 1800 278 278 or on our Report a Leak page.