Lough Owel water levels still rising, reports Owel Preservation Society

Water levels at Lough Owel have returned to normal since Uisce Éireann lifted their Water Conservation Order in the middle of October.

Uisce Éireann had the order in place since early in the summer as water levels were at historic lows.

For the first time in a number of years the diving boards at Portnashangan were closed by Westmeath County Council due to the low water level in the lake, which provides water to the greater Mullingar area.

The public were asked to curtail their water usage over the summer and autumn as part of Uisce Éireann’s water resource management practices.

In that time lake levels, water supply demand and water supply production were all monitored closely to ensure a balance was achieved.

Stanley McKeon of the Lough Owel Preservation Society said the levels of Lough Owel have now returned to normal: “Thankfully they are still rising,” he told the Examiner.

The heavy rainfall of the last week has added to the replenishment of the water resource: “It can rise another, probably half a metre or so without really affecting anything, just the shoreline will reduce,” Stanley said.

The low levels of the previous month have not affected the fish stocks in Lough Owel: “We’ve no reports of any adverse reaction to the levels. We have a run of wild brown trout in the feeder streams at the moment.

“The adult trout, both male and female, are up the streams.

“They are spawning away, prolonging the forthcoming stock of wild trout,” he concluded.