Dubliners urged to save water amid ongoing freeze

Householders across the Dublin region were bracing themselves for a water shortage tonight as councils revealed plans to restrict supplies.

Dublin City Council engineer Michael Phillips pleaded with people not to store extra water or run taps ahead of the capital’s local authorities reducing levels from 7am to 7pm over the next three nights.

He maintained each home had enough water in its tanks to last 12 to 24 hours.

“People will not be without water for longer than that storage period,” he said.

Shortages are expected in Dublin, Fingal, South Dublin, Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Wicklow and Kildare council areas. Residents in Galway, Cork, Sligo, Tipperary and Donegal have also been affected.

Mr Phillips said despite ensuring reservoirs were full of treated water before the big freeze, reserves are being depleted on a daily basis due to broken pipes and people running taps.

“The conservation of water is all the more critical over the next weeks to ensure there is adequate water for everybody,” added Mr Phillips.

Elsewhere Met Eireann warned while snow and ice has started to thaw in some areas, temperatures are due to plummet to as low as minus nine tonight making wet roads and footpaths treacherous with ice.

While the slow thaw over the weekend is likely to crack water pipes, it will also minimise any risks of flooding.

The National Roads Authority revealed it has already used 30,000 tonnes of salt on roads in recent weeks – the usual amount for a mild winter – with more supplies are currently en-route.

Meanwhile Sean Hogan, chair of the National Emergency Co-ordination Centre in Dublin, appealed for people to link in with the vulnerable and elderly in their community.

“It’s 11 or 12 days since this started and some people have not have been out or seen people,” he said.

“Please call and check and offer whatever practical assistance they need or just visit and talk with people.”

The Defence Forces revealed more 1,500 soldiers and 450 vehicles have been deployed to assist the civil authorities in recent weeks.