Major disruption to water supplies nationwide

The Department of the Environment has asked property owners to check for water leaks, as supplies are disrupted in many areas across the country.

County/city council information

The water shortage has been caused by pipes bursting during the cold spell and by a surge in demand after the thaw set in.

The Department said all available personnel have been mobilised to detect and repair burst water mains nationwide.

The principal officer in the water services section of the Department, Gerry Galvin, said practically every county was affected, but that supply would improve, albeit slowly, over the coming days.

On RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Galvin appealed to key-holders who had not checked their premises over the holiday period to do so.

Local authorities have been placing tankers in the worst affected areas.

A converted fire engine is being used to refill tanks at hostels, nursing homes and hospitals in Dublin.

Families and businesses have been coping either with no water or with restrictions on supply.

People are being urged to conserve water, as the restrictions and cuts to supply are expected to continue for several days.

Homeowners have been warned that bogus callers may use the water crisis to try to gain access to houses and not to allow individuals in without proper identification.

Up to 10,000 households are experiencing disruption to their water supply in Cork City and city management say it could take anything from a week to ten days before the network gets back to normal.

Areas being affected by overnight shutdowns include Gurranabraher, Farranree, Ballyvolane, Montenotte, and Lotabeg, along with Blackrock, Friar's Walk and parts of the Boreenamanna Road on the southside.

In Co Cork, some severe problems are still being experienced in areas such as Mallow, Macroom and in townlands east of Bantry, where drinking water is being provided at the local fire station.

In Mallow, efforts to restore the supply received a major setback last night when an ESB transformer blew near the local pumphouse.

The council say there will be cuts in supplies in many areas again tonight as efforts continue to build up water reserves in the resevoirs.

Consumers are again being asked to use water sparingly and property owners and key holders are being told to check for leaks in unoccupied premises and shut off water if necessary.

In Co Kerry, the north of the county is the worst hit. The water supply to Listowel, large parts of Tralee and most of the county's major towns turned off again overnight in a bid to bring levels back up.

Ahead of New Year’s Eve, Kerry Co Council say they will be doing their utmost to support the water supply to pubs, restaurants and hotels.

A spokesperson for Kildare County Council has said that any unoccupied premises or properties where a leak has been identified will have their water supplies turned off without notice.

Offaly County Council warned of possible water shut-offs and said it is working to fix a problem with the Tullamore town supply.

A major water burst on a Roscommon water main has also resulted in disruption to supply to some parts of Sligo and water is not expected to be restored until this afternoon.

In Co Clare, water reservoir levels have shown an improvement in some areas.

The county council says the detection and repair of leaks will continue over the coming days. Overnight water shut-offs will continue until further notice.

Limerick County Council said this evening that it will be necessary to shut off water supplies due to repairs on the water supply network.

Westmeath County Council says that reservoir levels remain critically low. On the eastside of the county supply will be cut off to several areas for the next number of hours.

On the westside, the Batteries Reservoir was opened this morning and emptied within an hour, according to the council.

Meath County Council says supplies of water are 'generally being maintained to all major centres but demand continues to well in excess of normal with more than double normal levels in some areas'.

Sligo County Council has warned that restrictions may be required over the coming days to restore reservoir levels. It said tankers and standpipes are being provided in a number of locations.

Water supplies remain at critically low levels for up to 80,000 households throughout Galway city and county.

While leak detection and repair crews try to resolve the problem, a number of households in the city have been without water for ten days.

Kilkenny County Council has said Goresbridge and Inistioge will have no water tonight.

NI water supplies at critical level

The Northern Ireland Executive is to hold an emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss the problems caused by burst pipes and water shortages, as around 36,000 homes and businesses remain without water.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has said he was disappointed by the manner in which Northern Ireland Water responded to the crisis.

Speaking at a press conference in Belfast, Mr McGuinness said he felt let down by the company's handling of the situation.

He said it was unacceptable that some people had been without a water supply for 11 or 12 days.

Scotland is providing 160,000 litres of water in an attempt to ease Northern Ireland's drinking water crisis.

The Stormont executive accepted the offer of aid by Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond.

Director of Engineering at Northern Ireland Water Trevor Haslett said the crisis had been caused by a combination of a rapid thaw of snow and ice, problems with the water supply infrastructure, and low water levels in reservoirs.

Mr Haslett added that an investment of £110m had been made in the water supply infrastructure over the past three years.

He said that some water pipes in the North dated back to the late 19th Century and said that further investment was needed.

Mr Haslett said 200m litres of extra water have been pumped into the system each day over the Christmas period.

He said Northern Ireland Water was expecting the situation to have improved significantly by Friday.

The worst affected areas are in Co Antrim - Belfast, Lisburn, Templepatrick, Crumlin, Newtownabbey and Antrim town.

In Co Armagh, the thaw put such pressure on drains that sewage spilled into houses.

Belfast City Council is distributing drinking water from three leisure centres - Avoniel Leisure Centre (east Belfast), Whiterock Leisure Centre (west Belfast) and Olympia Leisure Centre (south Belfast).

It is limited to 20 litres per household and the council says people must bring their own containers to collect water.

Water is also being made available from a tanker at the Northern Ireland Water depot at Westland House in north Belfast.

Belfast City Council is also opening all of its leisure centres to provide free shower facilities.

Information in relation to the areas that are affected and the times when water supply will be taken off and restored is available on the Northern Ireland Water website - www.niwater.com

For further information check your local council website

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