Uisce Éireann is appealing to the public to report leaks as a rapid thaw follows freezing weather conditions, leading to burst pipes.

Uisce Éireann has deployed additional crews to fix these leaks as they arise.

One particular incident occurred in Co. Wicklow, on the N11 Kilpedder Northbound, exit L5056.

Crews worked through the night to repair the 100 year old pipeline and restore water supply to thousands of customers.

Water use across the Dublin area also reached record levels this week.

Regional operations manager Stephen Burke said: “This week, daily demand in the greater Dublin area was the second highest in living memory at almost 630 million litres per day.

"This is an increase of approximately 15 million litres per day since last week and almost 40 million litres more than this time last year."

"While there are sufficient levels in our raw water reservoirs, demand is now at or near the capacity of what the city’s water treatment plants can produce on a daily basis.

"Our crews are on the ground working to tackle leaks and maximise our treatment capacity and we are asking the public for their support to help reduce the overall demand by preventing avoidable loss of water and conserving water,” Burke said.

Uisce Éireann recommended a number of key things that the public can do to help protect water supplies, including: 

Check your home, business premises and unoccupied premises for leaks and get them fixed;
Report any leaks you see in the public network;
Don’t leave taps running and fix any dripping taps inside or outside your property;
If you have a suspected leak on your external water supply pipe, consider applying for the First Fix Free Scheme.

Customers can get information on water supply issues in their local area by entering their location on the Service Updates section from Uisce Éireann.