Uisce Éireann extends hosepipe ban for Mullingar Water Supply

Appeal to all customers to continue efforts to conserve water

Uisce Éireann has announced an extension of the Water Conservation Order for the Mullingar Regional Public Water Supply.

The Order will remain in effect for an additional six weeks, until Monday September 16.

The Conservation Order was issued initially in early May in a bid to safeguard the water supply for essential purposes. The supply is sourced from Lough Owel and serves over 50,000 customers across a large area of County Westmeath.

The implementation of the Order followed a long period of unseasonably dry weather over the autumn, winter and spring as well as steady demand.

Since May 2024, rainfall in Mullingar has been below average when compared to historical rainfall records. There was 974mm of rainfall measured in the Mullingar weather station between May 2024 and July 2025 compared to historical records of 1,207mm for the same period.

That is 19% less rainfall when compared to the long-term average. This lack of recharge over the wetter seasons has led to low water levels for the time of year heading into what are traditionally the warmest months of the year.

While recent weeks have brought some cooler and wetter weather, the water level at Lough Owel remains very low for the time of year and under severe pressure.

It is expected, based on the typical trend for this time of year, that water levels will continue to decrease over the summer period. It is considered that significant levels of rainfall over a prolonged period of time are required for the lake to recover.

Uisce Éireann would like to thank the people of Mullingar and the surrounding areas for the role they are playing to conserve water and reduce demand on the water supply to date. Local conservation efforts by the public, combined with intensive network management have seen a marginal reduction in daily demand across the Mullingar Regional Water Supply.

Fionnuala Callery, regional technical operations manager for Uisce Éireann, paid tribute to the local population for their efforts to date and asked them for their continued support during this time while the lake remains under pressure.

Fionnuala said: “Uisce Éireann’s top priority remains protection of the water supply for essential use in homes and businesses. We would like to acknowledge the sustained effort by the people of Mullingar and the surrounding areas in conserving water to ensure supply is maintained over the summer. We have seen a reduction in the demand for water since the Water Conservation Order was first introduced.

“These efforts are greatly appreciated and alongside our work to reduce leakage and manage the network, have played a vital role in protecting Lough Owel. If the people of Mullingar continue to play their part by conserving water, we can reduce the potential of restrictions and outages over the coming weeks and months.”

Fionnuala also outlined some of the measures being undertaken by Uisce Éireann to conserve water.

“In 2025 our First Fix Free scheme, which aims to help reduce the amount of water lost through leaks on customers’ properties, has carried out repairs on 13 properties in the Mullingar Regional Supply resulting in savings of 170,000 litres, which is enough meet the daily demand of over 1270 people. “We’re asking all customers who are contacted by Uisce Éireann highlighting they may have a leak on their property to please engage with us for a free leak investigation. Where a leak is detected and qualifies for the scheme, we complete a repair free of charge.

“Since November 2024, Uisce Éireann have also detected and repaired 169 leaks on the public water network across the Mullingar Regional Supply.

“Uisce Éireann is also installing eight control valves at strategic points on the network, which reduces the likelihood of bursts and provides better control of the network, allowing reservoirs to recover at times of low demand.

“There are lots of helpful tips for conserving water on our website, but the key messages are to leave the hose and the pressure washer in the shed; reuse household water for the garden; and take shorter showers. We are calling on everyone to play their part so we can maintain supply over the summer months,” Fionnuala added.

The 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, for example watering gardens attached to a business premises.

To help people learn more about saving water Uisce Éireann has developed an easy-to-use conservation calculator so they can work out how much water they are currently saving and how they can conserve even more. The calculator is available on our conservation section where you can also find lots of useful water saving tips.

Members of the public can report any leaks in the public water network by contacting Uisce Éireann 24/7 at 1800 278 278 or on water.ie.