Uisce Éireann has said that it is making progress in restoring water supply to its customers, with 84,000 people still without water supply after the damage and disruption of Storm Éowyn.
In an update this afternoon (Monday, January 27), Uisce Éireann said that the water supply of a further 100,000 customers is “at risk”, where power is not yet restored but there is currently storage in reservoirs.
Meanwhile, 265,000 customers are being supplied by generators deployed by repair crews.
The state water authority said that its crews are on the ground across the country working to deploy generators and provide alternative water supplies in areas where water has been off for longer periods.
Uisce Éireann said it is continuing to actively source and transfer generators to sites where power has not been restored, and is also liaising closely with the ESB to prioritise the restoration of power to critical water and wastewater sites.
Areas most impacted at the moment are along the west Coast and Midlands, and include counties Galway, Mayo, Clare, Cavan, Monaghan, Westmeath, Donegal and Longford.
Updates on local supply issues are being provided on the Úisce Eireann website as they become available.
Head of Water Operations at Uisce Éireann, Margaret Attridge said that the focus is on restoring power to treatment plants and pumping stations in impacted areas, and providing alternative water supplies to customers where supplies have been disrupted for longer periods.
“We are working in co-ordination with the National Emergency Co-ordination Group, the ESB and other agencies to ensure all available resources are being deployed to support the return of water supplies,” Attridge said.
She added: “Our crews are on the ground in all impacted areas working to restore water services as quickly as possible by sourcing and installing generators at plants where power has not yet been restored.
“In some areas the electricity supply remains intermittent which can prolong the time it takes to restore water supply.
“We apologise to customers who have been without water for a few days and ask for the public’s continued patience during this challenging time. In areas where water supply has been out for longer periods, our teams are working to provide alternative water supplies and we currently have 50 locations around the country where alternative supplies are in place,” Attridge said.
She urged customers to conserve water where possible in order to protect supply while the outages are resolved, including by avoiding the use of water-intensive appliances at this time.