Local water restrictions put in place around Clonakilty amid drought conditions in many areas

Despite drought in many areas Uisce Éireann is not planning general water restrictions, a spokeswoman confirmed on Monday.

The assurance comes as local night-time water restrictions were imposed over the weekend around Clonakilty in Co Cork, while households and businesses around Clogh and Castlecomer, Co Kilkenny; Gurteen, Co Tipperary; in Co Waterford and in Co Westmeath were urged to be mindful of water use and reduce as much as they could.

In Kilkenny customers were warned of low pressure or water outages over Friday night as, “local reservoirs levels ... depleted to unsafe levels”, according to the Uisce Éireann website. This followed “essential works” at Clogh and Gurteen water treatment plants on Thursday.

Tom Cuddy, Uisce Éireann’s head of asset operations, said as temperatures were expected to rise further his staff would “continue to monitor the levels at all our supplies over the coming weeks and months, and take any actions that may be necessary to maintain supplies, including communicating about localised issues as they arise”.

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“It is important we all consider our water usage and look at simple yet impactful ways to conserve water,” he said. “Even small changes can make a significant difference – and we can all play our part. By turning off the hose and avoiding power washing we can all help ensure there is enough water to for everyone as we go through the summer.”

Among the “easy steps” people could take were to have shorter showers, turn the tap off when brushing teeth or wet-shaving, avoid power-washing patios, decks and cars, and try to minimise the amount of water used in paddling pools.

Paddling-pool water could be recycled for watering plants or washing the car, and when washing the car people were urged to use a bucket and sponge rather than a hose.

Measures gardeners could implement include: use a rose-head watering can instead of a hose and aim for the roots; consider installing a water butt to collect rainwater; water gardens in the evening when water is less likely to evaporate; pots and containers need lots of water so plant directly into the ground as much as possible; and add a layer of plant material, like bark, to flower beds to prevent evaporation.

On the farm watch out for overflowing drinking troughs and adjust ball valves to lower the float; use scrapers and brushes to remove solid waste from yards and pens before hosing; on dairy farms divert clean plate cooler water to a tank and use it for parlour washing; harvest rainwater for activities such as washing down yards; and avoid contamination of surface waters by reducing or eliminating access by livestock by fencing off watercourses.

People are urged to report leaks – which may look small but could be losing thousands of litres of water – to 1800 278 278 or on water.ie.