Irish Water warns restrictions to water supply could last for weeks
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Irish Water warns restrictions to water supply could last for weeks

IRISH WATER has issued a warning today that the restrictions on people’s water supply could last for weeks.

Irish Water continues to deal with issues arising from Storm Emma, as around 40,000 people are having night-time supplies rationed around Dublin.

Elsewhere in the country, more than 20,000 people have been cut off in Galway, Leitrim Tipperary and Wexford.

The public has now been told that the process of finding and repairing problems will “not be rapid”.

Irish Water managing director Eamon Gallen says there are still “severe concerns about the greater Dublin area”.

He said: “At the moment, despite having our plants working at peak output, storage is significantly depleted."

He warned Dublin residents not to leave the water running in cold weather as “it affects everybody if you leave it run" and  “draws down all the water obviously straight away”.

He added: “I think it is something we were thought as we grew up; ‘leave a tap running and it won’t freeze.

“Things have moved on and pipes are generally that much deeper under-ground; once they are under two feet you are generally fine.”

He said people need to “understand that this is not the thing to do.”

Restrictions on water supply will be in place across the greater Dublin area between 8pm on Tuesday until 6am on Wednesday.