A HOSEPIPE ban will take effect for the Milford Regional Public Water Supply at midnight on Tuesday, May 6, and will remain in place for six weeks.
The Water Conservation Order has been issued in a bid to safeguard water supplies for essential purposes.
The order only applies to customers supplied by the public water supply in Milford, Kerrykeel and Ramelton.
The implementation of this order follows a long period of dry weather combined with a large increase in demand.
As a result of which, water supplies at Lough Colmcille, the areas water source, have come under severe stress.
The water levels at Lough Colmcille, which supplies water to the Milford area, are lower than previously recorded at this time of year and it is expected, based on the typical trend for this time of year, that water levels will now start to decrease for the summer period.
It is considered that significant levels of rainfall over a prolonged period of time are required for this source to recover.
Since September 2024, rainfall in Donegal has been below average when compared to historical rainfall records.
Met Éireann is forecasting a further spell of dry, warm weather in early May and there is indication that an average amount of rain is forecast later in May.
However, it is not likely that this predicted rainfall amount would be sufficient to put Lough Colmcille in a notably better position as we move into the early summer period when they would historically experience an increased drop in levels from drier/warmer weather.
It is essential that a Water Conservation Order is introduced now on the Milford Regional Public Water Supply to reduce the potential of restrictions and outages over the coming weeks and months.
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