Irish Water: West Cork facing hosepipe ban if it doesn't rain heavily soon

A hosepipe ban is looming for West Cork residents. Picture: David Creedon/Anzenberger

Tighter water restrictions, including a hosepipe ban, are looming for tens of thousands of people across West Cork unless it rains heavily soon, Irish Water has warned.

The utility has issued a “strong and urgent appeal” to people to conserve water in a region where 11 schemes are in drought.

This week, it used 13 tankers a day to transport water from the city’s main water supply reservoir at Inniscarra to top up the depleted supplies in West Cork.

A surge in demand during the tourist season coupled with the dry weather has been blamed. It is further complicated by the region’s geology.

It has led to night-time restrictions across several supplies in West Cork, with Clonakilty one of the worst-affected areas.

Since November 2021, rainfall in the region has been below average for every month except June, when compared to historical rainfall records.

Margaret Attridge of Irish Water said West Cork needs two weeks of significant rainfall to restore the supplies.

Margaret Attridge, Irish Water’s acting head of asset operation, said: “West Cork can normally recover quickly after a drought. We saw it in 2018 and in 2020 but this year, the rainfall average for the last three months has been 50% less than what it was for the same period last year.

“We had 0mm of rain the week before last, and 4mm of rain last week, which is doing nothing to recharge the groundwater sources.

“And because of the geology of the region, there is very little storage given the rocky nature of the region.

We need two weeks of significant rainfall to restore these supplies.” 

But the long-range forecast predicts below-average rainfall for the next two weeks.

Ms Attridge said unless conservation efforts have a significant impact, night-time restrictions could be lengthened, and a water conservation order — a so-called hosepipe ban — may be necessary.

Irish Water has appealed to residents, businesses and the farming community to reduce their water usage and to be sensible about how they use their water.

Pat McCormack explained the detrimental impact of low rainfall on farmers. Picture: Denis Minihane

Irish Creamery and Milk Suppliers Association president, Pat McCormack, said the lack of rain and the resultant slow grass growth has forced many farmers to dip into their winter fodder supplies already.

“If we don’t see significant rain by September 5, that may have to continue, and once that happens, it’s difficult to stop and you could see many farmers freewheeling like that into early winter,” he said.

“In previous years, we have been able to secure fodder from Europe, and supplement that with concentrates, but that option may not be available this year because of droughts in Europe, and the war in Ukraine will mean that it could be more difficult to secure concentrates.” 

Dairy farmer, Peter Hynes, who milks 180 cows in Aherla, Co Cork, needs water to cool the near 4,000 litres of milk his herd produces daily, and to water his cattle.

He has invested significantly in water conservation and leak monitoring systems, including the installation of a recycling system for the cooling water.

Dairy farmers need water to cool bulk tanks. Picture: Moya Nolan

But he said farmers need rain to make the crops, and in his case, grass grow.

“The soil moisture deficit is running at 70mm and two-thirds of my farm is parched. A stream on our farm fed by a natural spring has run dry. We need a lot of rain in the next month,” he said.

Hotelier Neil Grant, who manages the 66-bedroom hotel in Rosscarbery, said they are trying to minimise the impact on guests, but are urging kitchen and front-of-house staff to focus on conserving water while closely monitoring water usage.

Neil Grant of the Celtic Ross Hotel said he is urging staff to conserve water where possible.

"We have been talking too about water harvesting. We didn't get anything in place this year, but we will have to look at that for next year. But I think we need better communication from Irish Water," he said.

West Cork Fianna Fáil TD Christopher O’Sullivan said the night-time water restrictions have impacted many large industries in the region, especially in Clonakilty.

“This is not a good situation, especially in the summer, and it underlines the need for the fast-tracking of the proposed water connection to link Clonakilty to Bandon’s water supply,” he said.

Irish Water said work on this scheme is due to start before the end of the year, and could take up to 18-months to complete.

County Mayor, Danny Collins, said the issue highlights the urgent need for massive government investment in the upgrading of the region’s water supply network.