Longford water supply levels under further scrutiny as national hosepipe ban is rolled out
A national hosepipe ban is to take effect from Friday morning as the country continues to struggle with water supplies in the midst of the recent dry spell.
The ban, already in place across much of the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) since last Monday, has been extended to all areas due to low water levels.
Irish Water issued a National Water Conservation Order this afternoon which will remain in place until midnight July 31 as a drought continues across the country.
In a statement, the public utility said: "We thank the public for their conservation efforts so far and we urge them to continue to conserve water to help protect water supplies now and over the coming months.
"Met Éireann advised that there has been little or no rain over the last 30 days, with an average soil moisture deficit of 60mm meaning even if it did rain, no water would reach our water sources for at least a week, as it will be absorbed by the ground."