Fears for water supply in autumn and winter if drought continues



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Irish Water is concerned that the current drought is putting pressure on the water supply well beyond the summer months and perhaps even in winter

With lower rainfall at the average since February, current levels of water consumption are likely to eat in what is essentially next winter and spring supplies, thus magnifying the problem of scarcity if rainfall remains low throughout of autumn.

Irish Water has now created a crisis management team to help solve the problem. It met for the first time on Monday and complements the work of the drought management team of the public service that followed an increasingly serious situation.

Water consumption in the Dublin area reached a record of 615 million liters. day. While they have fallen back to 575 million liters a day following recent calls and the ban on watering hoses coming into effect on Monday, the level remains well above the expected consumption of water. about 565 million liters per day.

billion liters of drinking water per day from some 900 sources throughout the state. However, about 700 of them are underground water wells feeding small sewage treatment plants that can no longer cope with population growth and the lack of water. investments in infrastructure.

The eastern region where the population is the densest The demand for water is therefore the highest, with six sewage treatment plants, including three main – Ballymore Eustace and Leixlip at Co Kildare, and Vartry at Co Wicklow.

Nocturnal restrictions of reduced pressure were applied to 39 sources of water supply. 130 others are at risk

The water extracted from the rivers, which is purified by chemicals and filtered by sand, is kept in underground tanks and introduced into the tube feeding system as needed.

Use of the kitchen

(equivalent to about two liters per person per day), the rest of the domestic consumption going to the toilet and the kitchen, and about 7% to customer-side leakage.

In a statement released Monday, Irish Water's corporate affairs director Kate Gannon thanked the public for water conservation. But the utility has stated that its main concern is to supply in the longer term in the late summer and autumn.

Night restrictions were applied to 39 sources of water supply and 130 others are in danger. Reducing pressure reduced leakage losses (currently about 48% of all treated water) while allowing water to flow to domestic faucets or attics [19659013]. watering a garden, washing a car or filling a private pool by the end of July) is likely to be extended to most other areas.

  The ban on watering can be extended to other parts of the country in the coming days. Photo: Tom Honan
The ban on watering can be extended to parts of the country outside Dublin in the coming days. File Photo: Tom Honan

The Health Service Executive said Monday that local authorities had been urged to prioritize water supplies to hospitals, and that all intensive care hospitals had 24 hours of water in reserve.

Mark Macaulay, badistant planner at Irish Water, says the utility tries to avoid draconian restrictions

No restrictions were imposed on commercial entities, but Irish Water contacted many high-energy users, such as the hotel, beverage, technology and food industries. pharmaceutical industry, and asked them how to voluntarily reduce consumption. 19659009] The City Cbads

Dublin Bus has decided not to wash its vehicles as frequently as usual, and Dublin firefighters have stopped washing their offers since Friday. The fire department also asked the teams to draw water from open sources, including, if possible, the city's cbads rather than the supply lines, and the calls for water. 39, civil defense auxiliary offers have been put on hold. Macaulay, deputy director of planning at Irish Water, says that utilities are trying to avoid draconian supply restrictions, such as a general reduction in pressure or nighttime breakdowns, in the US. hope that individuals and industries will act reasonably. He and his colleagues are watching a chart of supply and demand at the company's headquarters in Dublin

"We are following the line between" do we have enough for now, for the year. autumn, for the winter, for next year? "Re pretty close to that line, but still maintain the levels.But we can not run the plants [treatment] harder because we will start eating water next year." [19659021] [ad_2]
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