Reservoir levels are being closely monitored as the drought continues, but Uisce Éireann said they were not at a critical point yet.
Photographs taken on Tuesday show the impact the lack of rain has had on Bohernabreena reservoir in the Dublin mountains which serves 35,000 people.
It stores water in two lakes and the upper lake is badly depleted with water levels several metres below where they would normally be, surrounded by large banks of baked, cracked mud.
Uisce Éireann said levels in the lower lake were holding up better and there were no immediate fears of disruption to supply in the area.
RM Block
Sufficient quantities of water are in other reservoirs in the overall Greater Dublin Area, a spokesman said.
“The integrated nature of the network in the area means the supply [from Bohernabreena] can be supplemented by other sources with no impact on supplies to customers.”
However, the outlook for the next two weeks is for the dry spell to continue in many parts of the country.
Met Éireann issued a status yellow heat alert for all of Leinster and Co Tipperary on Wednesday and Thursday with temperatures set to rise to 27 degrees and demand for water expected to increase too.
[ July among ‘hottest, driest and sunniest months on record’, Met Éireann saysOpens in new window ]
Data from the Environmental Protection Agency published on Tuesday shows water flows in monitored rivers, lakes and groundwater sources all fell in July.
Some rivers, such as the Slaney in Co Wexford, had just 29 per cent their normal flow for the time of year.
The drop in water level is remarkable given that the Slaney ran so high and fast at the start of the year that it caused some of Co Wexford’s worst ever flooding.
The Dodder, Tolka, Munster Blackwater, Nore, Ilen, Fergus and Mulkear rivers are also among the larger rivers with less than half their normal flows.
In all, 60 per cent of the 132 monitored rivers have below normal or particularly low flows.
Lakes, turloughs, springs and groundwater sources have coped better but between 36 per cent and 42 per cent of them are below normal.
Uisce Éireann draws most of the water it needs for drinking water supplies from rivers and lakes.
All of the Republic remains under a hosepipe ban until at least August 26th to reduce demand and additional night-time restrictions are in place in 64 towns, villages and communities in 12 counties.
Uisce Éireann said the public had responded well to the various restrictions and appealed for conservative water usage to continue.
Farmers’ groups have said the prolonged dry conditions are causing a huge strain on vegetable growers and some may not be able to stay in business to plant next year.
Crop losses are running at 60 per cent where they have not been irrigated and 20 per cent where they are irrigated.
But with irrigation costs running at €100 per acre each time a field is doused with water, Niall McCormack of the Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) vegetable committee said growers were producing at a loss.
“The situation is causing a perfect storm for increased costs and diminished returns,” he said.
Chair of the IFA potato committee Jason O’Leary said the viability of potato growers was under threat.
“If yields are reduced by up to 40 per cent – which is the case in some regions – the economics simply do not stack up,” he said.
“Growers cannot continue producing a crop at a loss, and there is a real risk that some will not be in a position to plant potatoes next year.”
