Dublin short of water reserves

DUBLIN IS short of targeted water reserves after a dry first quarter of the year.

The critical reservoir at Poulaphouca in Co Wicklow has 148 days water production in storage, which means it could supply all the water needs for Dublin if there was no rain for that period.

However, the target level to cover water supply and power generation, and to account for evaporation, is 183 days or six months supply.

March marked the third successive month in which rainfall was well below average for the Dublin region.

In January, 78 per cent of average rainfall was recorded, but in February that declined to 39 per cent and last month it was 34 per cent of normal at Dublin City Council’s rain gauge at the Ballymore Eustace water treatment plant.