The Water Forum has called for the development of a government-led national strategy for water conservation.

The stakeholder forum, which advises the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage on water policy, has also called for a review of building regulations to ensure that new buildings are not only energy efficient, but also water efficient to help conserve water resources.

This comes as Uisce Éireann has confirmed that a Water Conservation Order, commonly referred to as a hosepipe ban, will come into effect for four counties from this weekend.

Counties Waterford, Tipperary, Wexford and Cork (excluding Cork city) will face the ban from Saturday, July 26, for seven and half weeks until September 16.  

These are in addition to the three existing Water Conservation Orders which remain in place for Mullingar, Co. Westmeath; Milford, Co. Donegal; and Kells-Oldcastle, Co. Meath.

However, Uisce Éireann is appealing to all customers, irrespective of whether their supply is covered by a Water Conservation Order, to be mindful of their use of water as a significant number of supplies around the country remain under pressure. 

The Water Forum said that a water conservation working group has recently been set up to advise the minister on a future strategy for water conservation and prioritisation of resources during periods of water stress.

Cost-benefit analysis research commissioned by the Water Forum shows that fitting water-saving devices such as efficient taps, showers and toilets in the 300,000 new houses committed to be built over the next five years has the potential to save both money as well as water resources.

"Fitting water saving showers, toilets and taps in new builds would relieve pressure on water and wastewater infrastructure into the future," the forum said.

"This would be particularly important in areas that have been identified as having a deficit in the water supply-demand balance, thereby restricting future building capacity.

"It takes time to build the water and wastewater infrastructure to meet these additional needs and to catch up with this increased demand.

"Security of water supply is critical not only for human health but also to meet economic priorities."

The forum has said that a "proactive approach" to encourage the use of water-efficient fittings in all new builds is a "straightforward first step to reduce demand and relieve pressure on supplies". 

The Water Conservation Order prohibits the use of garden hosepipes and other non-essential uses of water by domestic users and commercial premises for non-commercial activities, e.g., watering gardens attached to a business premises.  

These latest Water Conservation Orders have been issued in a bid to safeguard water supplies for essential purposes following a sharp increase in demand across these four counties since the start of the summer, according to the utility company.

This has put increased pressure on rivers and other water sources supplying these areas, many of which are at historically low levels following a drier than normal autumn, winter and spring.