Concern as domestic water use rises by fifth during lockdown

Irish Water urges the public in Westmeath to choose handwashing over powerwashing as domestic water usage increases by an average of 20% in homes across the country

With people adhering to government advice and staying at home since mid-March in response to the Covid-19 crisis, Irish Water has confirmed that there has been a significant increase in household water usage.

New domestic metering data has revealed that households are using an additional 24 litres of water per person per day, a 20% increase from February. This is in line with water utilities in the UK, which have reported a similar increase.

Non-domestic water usage has decreased with many businesses, construction sites, schools, colleges, gyms, hotels, bars and restaurants temporarily closed.

This reduction in demand has helped to off-set some of the increased domestic demand, however as domestic demand represents two thirds of our business, our water supply is still under pressure.

In addition, when government restrictions are lifted, many commercial premises will need to use extra water to clean and flush their plumbing systems and storage tanks or to complete deep cleans, while water usage in homes will continue to remain higher than normal.

As water treatment plants like Athlone, Portloman and Ballany are already working with little spare capacity, Irish Water is appealing to the public in Westmeath to prioritise handwashing over powerwashing and conserve water now where they can, so that together we can meet the increased demands on our network when restrictions are relaxed for businesses.

There are some simple measures that the public can take including stopping the use of powerwashers at home; using a watering can rather than a hose in the garden; taking showers over baths; and fixing any dripping taps where it is possible to do so. There is advice and guidance for homes, businesses and farms, including information on how much water you can save with simple measures on water.ie/conservation.

On the need to conserve water, Irish Water’s water engineer John Gavin, said: “It is really important that everyone follows the HSE guidance on handwashing, however there are some ways to conserve water that will not impact on hygiene.

"Insights from meter reads show that households are now using 20% more water and we can see a significant change in water usage patterns in commuter belt towns and rural areas where significant numbers of people would usually be out of the house for long periods during the day.

"We are also conscious that we have had an extremely dry spell so we are continually monitoring our water sources in particular Lough Owel, which supplies Mullingar, for any signs of drought.

“In Irish Water, we are continually looking at what we call the supply / demand balance. This means that we need to ensure that we can supply more treated drinking water than is required for use.

"We can manage this by conserving water; losing less by repairing leaks; and supplying smarter by ensuring that all of our plants are working optimally.

"For example in Athlone, Irish Water has worked hard to save 750,000 litres of water per day through our leakage reduction programme.

"We also repaired a significant leak near the Battery Heights reservoir that resulted in further daily savings of 600,000 litres.”

“We can all work together to conserve and to ensure emergency leaks are being repaired at this time by our local authority and other partners.

"But in line with government restrictions to protect us all from the spread of Covid-19 other work has been postponed. It is essential that we act now to protect our supply and safeguard our water for essential usage.”