10 tips on how to save water during Northern Ireland's hosepipe ban
NI Water are asking people to conserve supplies
Last updated 2nd Jul 2018
The first hosepipe ban to be ordered here in 23 years remains in place.
After a week of sunny weather and very little rain, NI Water has said it cannot treat water quickly enough to satisfy the demand.
A number of homes in Lurgan, Co Armagh and Coalisland, Co Tyrone as well as some other areas - particularly those that are isolated and high lying, have experienced lower pressure and supply failures.
On Sunday evening, NI Water said demand is still 30% higher than normal, and re-issued its appeal to the public to reduce their usage.
Chief Executive Sara Venning thanked some local businesses who lent NI Water their tankers over the weekend to help their efforts to meet demand.
"We would like to thank all our customers who are working with us to limit their water usage,'' she said.
`"However, demand remains much higher than normal, particularly during peak times, so we are still struggling to get water around the system quickly enough.
"By helping us, you are in fact helping yourself, as the ultimate penalty for using water unnecessarily is not a fine it is the heightened risk of widespread supply interruptions.
"We continue to maximise our water production and I am grateful to our dedicated workforce who are working continuously day and night to ensure we keep customers in supply. We have also been aided by a wonderful response from business who have supplied tankers to augment our own fleet enabling us to service reservoirs most at risk.''
The hosepipe ban applies to domestic customers.
NI Water said business customers have not been affected because they reply on water use for their livelihood and may already have water efficient systems in place such as metering or water recycling systems.
The last summer hosepipe ban in Northern Ireland was ordered in 1995.
Warm weather is set to continue this week, with temperatures up to 27 degrees forecast in Northern Ireland.
NI Water’s top ten water saving tips include:
• Take shorter showers - Why not challenge yourself and your family to shower one minute quicker? In a year you could save up to 10,000 litres of water! Take a shower instead of a bath. One bath can use up to 100 litres of water, whereas an efficient shower uses under 50 litres. But remember power showers can use more water than baths.
• Car washing - Avoid washing cars and vans during this time.
• Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth - A running tap can use 6 litres of water per minute.
• Lawns are great survivors - a sprinkler can use as much as 1,000 litres of clean drinking water in a single hour; more than a family of four would use in a whole day. Even when they look dry and brown, they’ll spring back with the first heavy rain, so avoid watering them wherever possible. Why not re use that water from the kids’ paddling pool and water the garden with it.
• Make full use of your washing machine - Half load programmes on washing machines use more than half the water and energy of a full load, so wait until the machine is full before switching it on.
• Turn off the tap - Simply turning off the tap while washing your hands or shaving can save over 6 litres of water every minute!
• Fix leaking taps - A dripping tap can waste more than 60 litres of water per week.
• Keep a jug of water in the fridge - Planning ahead means there is no need to run the water until it gets cold.
• Use a bowl for washing vegetables - You can reduce water waste by using a bowl to wash and prepare your vegetables. Then you can use the water to rinse your recycling bin.
• Fill the kettle with only as much water as you need - This will save water and energy.
Customers are advised to check niwater.com if they are experiencing any problems in their area and use the postcode search facility.