Water supplies remain under pressure in several parts of County Cork following the historically dry summer. While recent rainfall has helped to replenish some surface water sources, the soil moisture deficit following the prolonged dry spell means that it will take longer for groundwater supplies to return to sustainable levels.
For that reason it is important that people throughout the county continue their efforts to conserve water so that water sources can recover and further restrictions on supply can be avoided.
In North Cork, water levels in the Newmarket Regional Supply remain extremely low. Areas affected include Newmarket, Kanturk, Tullylease, Kilbrin, Meelin and Boherbue. Night time restrictions are continuing in some of these areas in an effort to reduce demand and ensure there is adequate supply for customers during the day. Notifications of restrictions are published on the Irish Water website, www.water.ie.
Irish Water and Cork County Council are working together to find and fix leaks, manage existing supplies, and identify and investigate alternative sources. However, as this area is served by groundwater sources which have become very depleted following the dry summer it will take some time before a normal supply can be restored. As well as the Newmarket Regional Supply, we are also appealing to customers served by the Charleville water supply scheme, in Charleville, Buttevant and Newtownshandrum to continue water conservation efforts.
We would also like to remind customers that the Water Conservation Order remains in place across Cork until September 30, at which time it will be reviewed again.
Again, we would like to thank customers for their efforts to date to conserve water and remind them that, despite recent rainfall, it will take some time for water sources to return to normal. In the meantime everyone can help by using a little less water at home, at work and in school. For more water conservation tips please see www.water.ie
