Water Shortages & Restrictions

Find out about water restrictions and how Irish Water works to conserve, protect and manage your supply.

What causes water shortages?

A short spell of dry weather does not cause water shortages or drought. We need regular rainfall throughout the year, especially during winter, to build up our water supplies. During summer months, prolonged hot weather tends to cause a significant increase in water usage. When demand reaches critical levels, supplies are put under severe stress and necessary restrictions are introduced to protect our homes and businesses. Water shortages are also caused by leaks, old pipes, increased demand, a growing population and poor infrastructure.

How Irish Water protects and manages your water supply

During shortages and periods of drought, our Drought Management Team meet daily to assess and monitor demand on water supplies nationwide and determine the necessary measures to protect the supply for the months ahead. We work hard to ensure you have continued water supply through the following ways.​

Managing and repairing the network

During shortages we change how we pump our water around the network. This is so customers on higher ground and on the edges of our networks do not suffer reduced service.

Reconfiguring the network

On larger supplies, we can change the water flows through our pipes to make sure people continue to have a water supply.

Tanker water to drought areas

If a supply is so low that we cannot keep producing water, we bring treated water from another area that is less at risk.

Water Conservation Order

In unique circumstances, a water conservation order, or hosepipe ban, is introduced but only if absolutely necessary. This is to ensure people are using water for essential purposes only. 

National Leakage Reduction Programme

Through our national Leakage Reduction Programme, we are reducing the amount of treated water lost through leakage across the country. For more information, visit our Leakage Reduction Programme page. 

Increase leak detection and repair crews

We also increase leak detection and repair crews in affected areas during a water restriction period to provide emergency support over and above our normal operational crews. These leaks can be in the public water infrastructure or in private homes and businesses. 

Finding and fixing leaks in homes and businesses

During water shortages, we encourage home and business owners to check and fix leaks on their properties. If you are a home owner and think you may have a leak on your property, you may qualify for a free leak investigation and repair via our First Fix Free Scheme.

Supply and Service Updates

We are continuing to assess and monitor water supplies nationwide on a daily basis. Keep up to date on the latest water supply and service alerts in your area.

Find out more

Supply and Service Updates

Greater Dublin Area Daily Water Usage

The graph below represents the amount of water used daily in the Greater Dublin Area. This includes the population of County Dublin, and parts of Counties Wicklow, Kildare and Meath, supplied by eight water treatment plants: Ballymore Eustace, Leixlip, Vartry, Ballyboden, Bog of the Ring, Srowland, Monasterevin, and Rathangan. The red line shows the current safe and sustainable limit that we can treat in these water treatment plants and the blue line shows the daily usage.

DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-11-2020556.60611.80
02-11-2020559.80611.80
03-11-2020556.90611.80
04-11-2020574.20611.80
05-11-2020569.20611.80
06-11-2020567.60611.80
07-11-2020557.90611.80
08-11-2020569.20611.80
09-11-2020575.30611.80
10-11-2020557.10607.80
11-11-2020564.00607.80
12-11-2020564.50607.80
13-11-2020560.60607.80
14-11-2020555.90607.80
15-11-2020555.00607.80
16-11-2020564.10607.80
17-11-2020567.50607.80
18-11-2020567.20607.80
19-11-2020560.40607.80
20-11-2020557.60607.80
21-11-2020558.20607.80
22-11-2020564.30607.80
23-11-2020564.20607.80
24-11-2020566.20607.80
25-11-2020567.10607.80
26-11-2020  
27-11-2020  
28-11-2020  
29-11-2020  
30-11-2020  
DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-10-2020565.60607.80
02-10-2020566.70607.80
03-10-2020560.70607.80
04-10-2020551.00607.80
05-10-2020565.10607.80
06-10-2020565.80607.80
07-10-2020570.30607.80
08-10-2020568.70611.80
09-10-2020566.30611.80
10-10-2020568.10611.80
11-10-2020566.90611.80
12-10-2020558.50611.80
13-10-2020562.70611.80
14-10-2020569.60611.80
15-10-2020568.50611.80
16-10-2020565.80611.80
17-10-2020554.70611.80
18-10-2020559.60611.80
19-10-2020560.30611.80
20-10-2020565.70611.80
21-10-2020562.00611.80
22-10-2020572.20611.80
23-10-2020565.50611.80
24-10-2020563.00611.80
25-10-2020561.50611.80
26-10-2020562.90611.80
27-10-2020568.40611.80
28-10-2020575.80611.80
29-10-2020566.90611.80
30-10-2020568.30611.80
31-10-2020555.50611.80
DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-09-2020566.40591.30
02-09-2020559.00591.30
03-09-2020567.20591.80
04-09-2020562.60591.80
05-09-2020556.10591.80
06-09-2020557.50591.80
07-09-2020558.90591.80
08-09-2020571.90591.80
09-09-2020567.70591.80
10-09-2020568.30597.80
11-09-2020559.70597.80
12-09-2020565.50597.80
13-09-2020566.10597.80
14-09-2020578.50597.80
15-09-2020574.60597.80
16-09-2020575.80597.80
17-09-2020572.80597.80
18-09-2020562.30597.80
19-09-2020557.80597.80
20-09-2020562.30597.80
21-09-2020572.00597.80
22-09-2020566.60597.80
23-09-2020570.60597.80
24-09-2020558.70597.80
25-09-2020566.30597.80
26-09-2020564.90597.80
27-09-2020564.70607.80
28-09-2020562.50607.80
29-09-2020565.80607.80
30-09-2020561.30607.80
DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-08-2020545.80581.30
02-08-2020535.50606.30
03-08-2020544.20606.30
04-08-2020558.40591.30
05-08-2020556.30591.30
06-08-2020560.50591.30
07-08-2020565.80591.30
08-08-2020565.00591.30
09-08-2020550.40591.30
10-08-2020552.50591.30
11-08-2020559.80591.30
12-08-2020570.80591.30
13-08-2020566.00591.30
14-08-2020565.80591.30
15-08-2020562.20591.30
16-08-2020540.60611.30
17-08-2020538.50611.30
18-08-2020551.70611.30
19-08-2020556.00611.30
20-08-2020555.30611.30
21-08-2020558.70611.30
22-08-2020546.80611.30
23-08-2020546.00611.30
24-08-2020565.40611.30
25-08-2020544.20611.30
26-08-2020556.50591.30
27-08-2020551.80591.30
28-08-2020552.60591.30
29-08-2020552.70591.30
30-08-2020548.20591.30
31-08-2020570.60591.30
DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-07-2020585.50576.30
02-07-2020566.9576.30
03-07-2020561.10576.30
04-07-2020550.40576.30
05-07-2020551.80576.30
06-07-2020572.00576.30
07-07-2020553.00576.30
08-07-2020555.00576.30
09-07-2020560.90576.30
10-07-2020563.40576.30
11-07-2020559.20576.30
12-07-2020553.00581.30
13-07-2020562.00581.30
14-07-2020555.50581.30
15-07-2020561.30581.30
16-07-2020572.40581.30
17-07-2020565.10581.30
18-07-2020554.00581.30
19-07-2020556.20581.30
20-07-2020569.60581.30
21-07-2020576.90581.30
22-07-2020570.40581.30
23-07-2020547.80581.30
24-07-2020557.00581.30
25-07-2020545.80581.30
26-07-2020541.50581.30
27-07-2020556.20581.30
28-07-2020557.90581.30
29-07-2020555.60581.30
30-07-2020559.90581.30
31-07-2020561.60581.30
DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-06-2020606.29581.80
02-06-2020607.13581.80
03-06-2020565.00581.80
04-06-2020568.13581.80
05-06-2020566.05581.80
06-06-2020550.40581.80
07-06-2020565.41581.80
08-06-2020599.70581.80
09-06-2020568.45581.80
10-06-2020565.94581.80
11-06-2020554.95581.80
12-06-2020554.28581.80
13-06-2020560.25581.80
14-06-2020559.40581.80
15-06-2020582.42576.30
16-06-2020570.54576.30
17-06-2020556.91576.30
18-06-2020555.8576.30
19-06-2020551.7576.30
20-06-2020562.7576.30
21-06-2020556.3576.30
22-06-2020560.9576.30
23-06-2020557.5576.30
24-06-2020578.9576.30
25-06-2020587.1576.30
26-06-2020586.3576.30
27-06-2020551.6576.30
28-06-2020551.4576.30
29-06-2020562.2576.30
30-06-2020570.0576.30
DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-05-2020553.31581.80
02-05-2020568.37581.80
03-05-2020568.43581.80
04-05-2020582.74581.80
05-05-2020573.04581.80
06-05-2020582.75581.80
07-05-2020568.18581.80
08-05-2020583.86581.80
09-05-2020591.15581.80
10-05-2020553.03581.80
11-05-2020577.32576.80
12-05-2020574.57576.80
13-05-2020571.65576.80
14-05-2020579.69576.80
15-05-2020569.03576.80
16-05-2020575.90576.80
17-05-2020558.51576.80
18-05-2020566.37576.80
19-05-2020594.58576.80
20-05-2020601.95576.80
21-05-2020578.75576.80
22-05-2020551.51576.80
23-05-2020567.60576.80
24-05-2020586.98576.80
25-05-2020592.06581.80
26-05-2020582.89581.80
27-05-2020603.12581.80
28-05-2020612.95581.80
29-05-2020607.79581.80
30-05-2020605.75581.80
31-05-2020597.13581.80
DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-04-2020572.75567.80
02-04-2020569.22567.80
03-04-2020572.09567.80
04-04-2020570.50567.80
05-04-2020566.44567.80
06-04-2020576.95576.80
07-04-2020582.82576.80
08-04-2020578.76576.80
09-04-2020575.61576.80
10-04-2020581.21576.80
11-04-2020584.43576.80
12-04-2020549.09576.80
13-04-2020560.11576.80
14-04-2020580.10576.80
15-04-2020585.17576.80
16-04-2020577.19576.80
17-04-2020572.52576.80
18-04-2020560.46576.80
19-04-2020566.02576.80
20-04-2020572.29581.80
21-04-2020575.93581.80
22-04-2020578.32581.80
23-04-2020577.93581.80
24-04-2020574.67581.80
25-04-2020581.07581.80
26-04-2020559.60581.80
27-04-2020578.89581.80
28-04-2020572.92581.80
29-04-2020557.73581.80
30-04-2020556.91581.80
DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-03-2020588.85577.80
02-03-2020595.25572.80
03-03-2020597.52572.80
04-03-2020596.84572.80
05-03-2020586.37572.80
06-03-2020599.95572.80
07-03-2020592.41572.80
08-03-2020591.98572.80
09-03-2020591.57572.80
10-03-2020594.87572.80
11-03-2020596.41572.80
12-03-2020582.62572.80
13-03-2020595.23572.80
14-03-2020582.80572.80
15-03-2020577.04572.80
16-03-2020585.34572.80
17-03-2020579.16572.80
18-03-2020585.89572.80
19-03-2020585.56572.80
20-03-2020582.15572.80
21-03-2020577.37572.80
22-03-2020580.46572.80
23-03-2020586.17572.80
24-03-2020579.40572.80
25-03-2020588.31572.80
26-03-2020579.63572.80
27-03-2020573.55572.80
28-03-2020572.24572.80
29-03-2020566.30572.80
30-03-2020569.99572.80
31-03-2020573.66572.80
DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-02-2020589.59577.80
02-02-2020587.76577.80
03-02-2020589.94577.80
04-02-2020594.93577.80
05-02-2020597.42577.80
06-02-2020588.01577.80
07-02-2020599.16577.80
08-02-2020588.68577.80
09-02-2020577.36577.80
10-02-2020587.82577.80
11-02-2020585.89577.80
12-02-2020594.91577.80
13-02-2020581.16577.80
14-02-2020585.26577.80
15-02-2020582.07577.80
16-02-2020578.67577.80
17-02-2020590.40577.80
18-02-2020588.45577.80
19-02-2020587.88577.80
20-02-2020585.88577.80
21-02-2020586.04577.80
22-02-2020581.40577.80
23-02-2020580.32577.80
24-02-2020584.26577.80
25-02-2020587.12577.80
26-02-2020592.06577.80
27-02-2020590.60577.80
28-02-2020589.27577.80
29-02-2020584.58577.80
DateGDA Daily DemandSustainable Level of Production
01-01-2020557.49577.80
02-01-2020571.46577.80
03-01-2020576.34577.80
04-01-2020573.10577.80
05-01-2020580.69577.80
06-01-2020582.21577.80
07-01-2020585.79577.80
08-01-2020590.68577.80
09-01-2020579.63577.80
10-01-2020576.83577.80
11-01-2020576.91577.80
12-01-2020581.63577.80
13-01-2020582.02577.80
14-01-2020579.61577.80
15-01-2020591.25577.80
16-01-2020582.76577.80
17-01-2020580.70577.80
18-01-2020583.21577.80
19-01-2020583.62577.80
20-01-2020592.51577.80
21-01-2020593.73577.80
22-01-2020596.75577.80
23-01-2020591.17577.80
24-01-2020590.36577.80
25-01-2020588.52577.80
26-01-2020586.27577.80
27-01-2020597.64577.80
28-01-2020595.52577.80
29-01-2020597.64577.80
30-01-2020600.02577.80
31-01-2020594.81577.80

How you can help

You can play your part in helping us provide a sustainable supply for everyone.

Check for a leak

Complete these four simple steps to check for leaks in your home or business.

Report a leak

If you spot a leak on public property, report it to us using our quick online form.

Conserve water

Making small changes at home can make a big difference to your local supply.

Greater Dublin Area Water Restriction Management Scale

There are times when it is necessary to introduce restrictions within the Greater Dublin Area. This chart outlines what customers can expect from different levels of water restriction.

Active management level Day time impact Night time impact General customers experience Multi-storey customers experience
0 None. None. No restrictions. No restrictions.
1 None. Midnight — 05:00
Lower pressure, average flow to 2-storey. 		Sufficient to fill attic tanks quickly in day-time and slowly at night-time. Sufficient to supply building pumps at high-rate in day-time and low-rate at night-time.
2 None 22:00 — 05:00
Lower pressure, average flow to ground floor. 		No Loss of Supply.
Some customers on high ground and at remote end of networks will experience lower night-time pressure. 		Some customers on high ground and at remote end of networks may experience low night-time pressures depending on their building pumping and storage system.
3 None 22:00 — 05:00
Lower pressure, minimal flow to ground floor. 		No Loss of Supply.
Most customers will experience low night-time pressures.
Supply to some customers on high ground and at remote end of networks may reduce to trickle at kitchen sink during those periods. 		Customers may experience low night-time pressures depending on their building pumping and storage system.
3 None 21:00 — 07:00
Lower pressure, minimal flow to ground floor. 		No Loss of Supply.
Most customers will experience low night-time pressures.
Supply to some customers on high ground and at remote end of networks may reduce to trickle at kitchen sink during those periods. 		Customers may experience low night-time pressures depending on their building pumping and storage system.
4 10:00 — 16:00
Lower pressure, average flow to ground floor. 		21:00 — 07:00
Lower pressure, minimal flow to ground floor. 		Most customers will experience low pressures during day and night pressure reductions.
Supply to some customers on high ground and at remote end of networks may reduce to trickle at kitchen sink during those periods. 		Customers may experience low night-time pressures depending on their building pumping and storage system.
5 10:00 — 16:00
Lower pressure, average flow to ground floor. 		21:00 — 07:00
Restricted & shuts on rotational basis. 		Most customers will experience low pressures during day-time, but no loss of supplies.
Supply to some customers on high ground and at remote end of networks may reduce to trickle at kitchen sink during those periods.
Most customers will experience full loss of supply during night-time shuts in their area. 		Customers may experience low night-time and day-time pressures depending on their building pumping and storage system.
Technical description
No Restrictions.
Distribution network pressures maintained to accommodate peak flows over 24-hour period. 		No Day-time Restrictions. Night-time distribution network pressures reduced to minimal practical for average flow service capability to 2-storey house. No Day-time Restrictions. Night-time distribution network pressures reduced to minimal practical for average flow service capability to ground-floor only. No Day-time Restrictions. Night-time distribution network pressures reduced to minimal practical for minimum flow service capability to ground-floor only. No Day-time Restrictions. Night-time distribution network pressures reduced to minimal practical for minimum flow service capability to ground-floor only. Day-time distribution network pressures reduced to minimal practical for average flow service capability to ground-floor only. Night-time distribution network pressures reduced to minimal practical for minimum flow service capability to ground-floor only. Day-time distribution network pressures reduced to minimal practical for average flow service capability to ground-floor only. Night-time distribution network pressure restrictions and shuts on a rotational basis.

Useful Links

Vulnerable Customers

Use our form to register for priority or special services

Updates on Twitter

Follow @IWCare for updates and queries

Emergency contact

Please call our Customer Care helpline on 1850 278 278

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