WATER SUPPLIES IN 14 counties around the country have dipped to official drought status amid the prolonged spell of hot weather.

Uisce Éireann is urging the public to be mindful of water use as the warm and dry weather looks set to continue over the weekend and into next week.

More than 20 water supplies are officially in drought status in Limerick, Kerry, Tipperary, Waterford, Cork, Clare, Galway, Mayo, Donegal, Meath, Westmeath, Carlow, Waterford and Wexford.

Water Conservation Orders have been in place since 6 May in Mullingar, Co Westmeath; Milford, Co Donegal; and Kells-Oldcastle, Co Meath.

There are no immediate plans to extend the hosepipe bans to other areas but Uisce Éireann is monitoring supplies closely.

It is taking measures to maintain normal supplies, such as tankering to reservoirs, nighttime water restrictions and pressure management.

Uisce Éireann’s regional operations manager Stephen Burke said that the sunny weather has led to an increase in water use across the country.

“Levels in many water sources are significantly lower than normal for this time of year following a dryer-than-average autumn, winter and spring,” Burke said in a statement this afternoon.

“On top of this, the recent spell of warm weather has led to an increase in demand across many of our supplies, putting further pressure on the network and reservoirs,” he said.

“We’re doing everything we can to protect and maintain supplies as we go through the summer but we’re also asking the public for their help by doing what they can to reduce their use. If everyone takes a few simple steps to reduce the volume used around the home and garden we can make our water go further and help maintain normal supplies.”

Uisce Éireann has provided the following list of ways that people should try to conserve water:

• Use a watering can for the garden instead of a hose; running a hose for one hour uses the same amount of water as a family need for a full day.
• If you need to wash your car, use a bucket and sponge instead of a hose or powerwasher.
• Don’t let the tap run: Brushing your teeth with the tap running can use up to six litres per minute, while brushing your teeth with the tap off until it’s needed tends to use just one litre of water.
• Take a shower instead of a bath; a bath uses 80 litres of water compared to a seven-minute shower using 49 litres.
• Shower quicker; The average shower uses seven litres of water per minute
• Fully load the dishwasher and washing machine before switching them on to reduce the total number of uses