Jones wants hosepipe ban exemption for Tidy Towns

A call for Tidy Towns committees to be exempt from the hosepipe ban was made by Cllr David Jones at the July meeting of Westmeath County Council. He said groups have spent hundreds and thousands of euro on flowers and plants and should not be forced to watch them die.

The meeting heard that the ban is in place until August 26 to protect public water supply and does not apply to essential works.

Cllr Vinny McCormack said he had contacted Uisce Éireann and been assured that painters and decorators were permitted to power hose houses as part of their work.

Since the meeting the above report refers to, Cllr Jones has received this communication from Irish Water:

Our Operations Team advised that following the nationwide water conservation order, the Tidy Towns are not exempted from the order and Uisce Éireann advise that the methods of water use be adhered to where possible.

Use of water drawn through a hosepipe or similar apparatus for watering a garden is not permitted. It was also advised by our Operations Team to use a watering can instead of a hose or sprinkler.

Water supply from Lough Owel to Moate

Breaks in the water supply from Lough Owel to Moate are occurring regularly and are causing a lot of problems for people along the route, Cllr Tom Farrell said at the July meeting of Westmeath County Council.

“I don’t know how many breaks there have been so far this year. It is affecting too many people. All the villages are losing out badly,” he stated. He proposed that the council ask Uisce Éireann to identify the “weak spots” on the line. He was seconded by Cllr Vinny McCormack.

The chief executive, Barry Kehoe, said he knew exactly what the members were saying, and agreed that it was giving a lot of trouble. The council wrote to Uisce Éireann since the last meeting and informed them of the issues members had raised, he said. We will write to them again, he assured the councillors.