Households face days of severe water shortages
As the temperatures took a sharp rise, authorities warned cracked mains and household supplies were rapidly emptying reservoirs causing widespread disruption to water supplies.
Councils had to introduce overnight shutdowns and will enforce further restrictions over the coming days.
While some areas are worse than others, homeowners are being asking to keep taps turned off and conserve water.
In Co Kerry, water supplies were cut to more than 20,000 people in the Tralee area due to critically low levels at the Lisloose reservoir.
Kerry County Council said further curtailment of services may be required, including cutting off water over the next number of nights.
Cork County Council has said it is experiencing “record high flows” from all reservoirs due to the large number of burst pipes following the cold spell.
Council staff were repairing a major break in Mallow that left most of the town without water and interruptions are expected to continue for areas on higher ground until the weekend.
Tankers are supplying water in Mallow town centre each afternoon and in Fermoy, where low reservoir levels were reported.
The council’s crisis management team convened several times over the Christmas period to manage the situation. A spokesperson said water supply was being restricted last night, until 10am today, and again tonight from 7pm, in areas with very high leakages.
Cork City Council has set up standpipes at Boreenamanna Road (near the Wallace Avenue junction) and Deerpark on the southside, and on the northside at Blackpool church, Collins Barracks and Glenamoy Lawn on the Old Youghal Road. Residents experiencing difficulty since St Stephen’s Day reported problems getting through to the council but a number of additional lines have now been added to handle calls at 021 4966512.
The council said further damage was unlikely as the thaw had ended by yesterday, so homeowners should not stockpile water by, for example, filling baths.
Meanwhile, the Department of the Environment appealed to the public to assist local authorities in identifying leaks by reporting any evidence of leaks on public mains. The department said group water schemes served by local authority supplies should also check their systems for leaks and asked owners of vacant or unattended properties to check them for leaks and switch off their water until any repairs are carried out.
