Increased demand causing water outages in Garristown

Uisce Éireann is working with Fingal County Council to restore normal water supply to customers in a number of areas in North County Dublin as high demand for water has led to a drop in treated drinking water levels in a number of reservoirs. As a result, customers in Garristown, Ballymadun, Tobergregan, Baldwinstown, Palmerstown and surrounding areas may be impacted by intermittent low water pressure and/or outages until 10am tomorrow, Monday 19 July 2021. Customers who are registered on our vulnerable customer database are being contacted.

On Friday, in order to minimise the impact on customers, Uisce Éireann and Fingal County Council reconfigured the network in order to allow the Garristown reservoir to refill, however, demand is outstripping supplies which is resulting in very low water levels in further reservoirs supplying these areas.

To support impacted customers, an alternative water supply is in place and water tankers with clean drinking water is available in Ballygarra Park and opposite the shop in Garristown Village for the duration of the outage. Customers are reminded to use their own containers when taking water from the tankers and to boil the water before consumption as a precautionary measure.

Uisce Éireann and Fingal County Council are appealing to all customers to conserve water to allow the reservoirs to refill. Small changes can have lasting results. For example:

Take a shorter shower and save up to 10 litres of water per minute

• Fix dripping taps or leaking toilets in your home
• When brushing your teeth or shaving, turn off the tap and save up to 6 litres of water per minute
• Save and reuse water collected from baths, showers, and hand basins in the garden
• Avoid using paddling pools
• In the garden use a rose head watering can instead of a hose and aim for the roots
• If you need to wash your car, use a bucket and sponge instead of a hose
• Report any leaks to Uisce Éireann at 1800 278 278.

Tselo Tlou, Uisce Éireann, said: "Uisce Éireann is appealing to all customers to conserve water as the reservoirs refill. While handwashing remains a priority, simple water conservation efforts can have a big impact on reducing demand on the supply. Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth and shaving can save up to 6 litres of water per minute. Taking a shower instead of a bath or using a watering can rather than a hose when gardening can also make a big difference in water use."

Uisce Éireann has been carefully monitoring all of its raw water sources, that is the water from lakes, rivers, springs and ground sources that feed our water treatment plants. Night time restrictions and urgent appeals for conservation have been made in a number of locations across the country to ensure a consistent day time supply for all. While the public are being asked to conserve, there are currently no plans to implement a Water Conservation Order.

Tselo continued: "In Uisce Éireann, we are continually working with our local authority partners to look at what we call the supply/demand balance. This means that we need to ensure that we can supply more treated drinking water than is required for use. We can manage this by conserving water; losing less by repairing leaks; and supplying smarter by ensuring that all of our plants are working optimally.

"We can all work together to protect our supplies and safeguard our water for essential usage."

With the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public are reminded to adhere to public health and HSE advice, and handwashing and hygiene remain critically important.

Uisce Éireann continues to work at this time with our Local Authority partners, contractors and others to safeguard the health and well-being of staff and the public and to ensure the continuity of drinking water and wastewater services. For more tips on how to conserve water in your home please visit our Conservation section.

Uisce Éireann and Fingal County Council regret any inconvenience caused. Our customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates please see our water supply and services section.