Categories
Featured Articles Hosepipe Ban News Latest News

Northern Ireland Hosepipe Ban Lifted

Northern Ireland’s hosepipe ban imposed almost three weeks ago was lifted at noon on Thursday by Northern Ireland Water.

A spokesperson said there had been a “fantastic response” from the public in saving water.

Water demand had decreased from almost three quarters of a billion litres per day (30% above average) to “near normal levels”.

Northern Ireland Water’s chief executive Sara Venning said the hosepipe ban may be reintroduced if necessary and asked customers to “continue to use water wisely”.

“Recent rainfall has been a welcome development and while it has certainly helped our farmers and gardeners, the amount of rain has not been sufficient to have a positive impact on levels in many of our impounding reservoirs,” she said.

“These levels have not yet reached the point which would trigger the need for the imposition of restrictions, including a hosepipe ban and do not represent a threat to water supplies in the short term.

“A continued period without rain will see reservoir levels fall further and may result in the need for additional restrictions.”

Northern Ireland Water also said “we are already taking precautionary measures to protect those reservoirs which are most at risk”.

“These measures include reducing demand on them by reducing the area they supply and bringing in water from other, more plentiful water sources.”

It’s believed that 140 people in the region have been reported for ignoring the hosepipe ban during this period.

A Hosepipe Ban was put in place in Northern Ireland starting from 6pm on Friday 29 June 2018. It’s the first in Northern Ireland since 1995 and follows on from an unusually dry period.

Other water companies in the UK are monitoring supplies closely and United Utilities will be introducing their own hosepipe ban in August.

See our Current Situation page for the latest updates.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *