water restrictions in dublin?

snaps

After all the rain last week, I find it very strange water is going to be restricted in Dublin from today? Surely water levels can't be that low?

DOCARCH

snaps wrote: »

After all the rain last week, I find it very strange water is going to be restricted in Dublin from today? Surely water levels can't be that low?

Not sure it's to do with water levels. Heard mention of algae - possibly trying to clean out the system?

zenno

And the continuous broken pipes leaking. hello ???? main cause of main water leakage still on-going. Until they fix the water leakage we will see more cut-offs.

Fix cracked or leaking water-pipes or continue to lose water indefinitely.

kenmc

ffs only in Ireland. flooding one week, restrictions the next

Carlow2011

kenmc wrote: »

ffs only in Ireland. flooding one week, restrictions the next

Ya but the flood water leaves a funny taste in a cup of tea, I prefer when they take all the s***e out of it first..

Joe Public

You know what increased levels of algae mean?
Too many nutrients in the water from raw sewage, bad septic tanks, run off fertiliser off lands ( maybe too early for some of the fertilisers ), less wetlands to filter out contaminants.

Solution - lash loads of Chlorine into the reservoirs.

zenno

Amazing that they will want us all to pay for it when it's full of chemicals, un-drinkable and then not good to wash yourself in. eventually they will put nuclear waste into the water supply and expect us to lap it up oh yeah lets just enjoy the joyness of contamination never mind drinking it.

snaps

So are we any wiser on why there's restrictions. I'm sure they said on the news "to conserve" water levels.

pauldry

snaps wrote: »

So are we any wiser on why there's restrictions. I'm sure they said on the news "to conserve" water levels.

Bit of a drought in Sligo only 17mm of rain in March after below normal rain in Feb with none in the last 13 days of February

April looks dry too

Could be an issue though dublins rain is not as low as the west this time

downwiththatsor

http://dublincity.wordpress.com/

The reason for the restrictions is twofold. Treated water storage is currently at an unsustainably low level due to the unseasonably cold weather which has caused an increase in leakage. Our crews are repairing any breaks to the public mains as they arise. To help us in this regard we are asking people to report any location where they see water rising or running over the ground. They can do so by using the Emergency Telephone Number 01-6796186 outside office hours.

Coupled with the cold weather, a minor production issue at our Roundwood Water Treatment Plant has also caused a reduction in supply, further reducing water levels. It should be stressed that there is no problem with the quality of treated drinking water or with storage levels of untreated/raw water.

Akrasia

I wonder are there loads of people leaving their taps running over night 'just in case' the pipes freeze like they did 2 and 3 years ago

downwiththatsor

Akrasia wrote: »

I wonder are there loads of people leaving their taps running over night 'just in case' the pipes freeze like they did 2 and 3 years ago

I guess its possible, how hard were the frosts in Dublin? I think the main issue here is the Treatment Plant, without major reserves any treatment plant issues could quickly lead to reservoirs dropping, obviously increased demand from leaks caused by frost would not help the situation.
I doubt if Raw untreated water supply is the issue but am open to correction from anyone that observes untreated water supply reservoir levels.

Looks like its algae -http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/algae-outbreak-forces-council-to-ration-water-supply-to-dublin-at-night-29162069.html

They would block the sand filters and reduce the volume being treated.

Joe Public

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/algae-outbreak-forces-council-to-ration-water-supply-to-dublin-at-night-29162069.html

Algae outbreaks don't happen in clean water. The weather hasn't been that cold i.e. no severe frosts.

Solair

kenmc wrote: »

ffs only in Ireland. flooding one week, restrictions the next

The British are similar.

It's mostly down to a lack of serious investment in the water infrastructure, particularly in reservoirs and water storage facilities.

There's really no reason why we should have water shortages in Ireland other than ridiculously poor forward planning.

Sierra Oscar

snaps wrote: »

So are we any wiser on why there's restrictions. I'm sure they said on the news "to conserve" water levels.

Due to an increase in burst pipes associated with the cold weather, apparently.

I didn't think it was cold enough for pipes to burst, but I was out for a long walk in Dublin over the weekend and I saw numerous leaks myself.

dybbuk

Carlow2011 wrote: »

Ya but the flood water leaves a funny taste in a cup of tea, I prefer when they take all the s***e out of it first..

Dublin water always tastes funny to me. Try putting it through a carbon filter and you might taste the difference.
As for the brown stuff flowing into my water tank right now...
I don't see/smell much difference after I flush the toilette.

SEPT 23 1989

Of course this would have nothing to do with water charges

i expect plenty more of these stunts over the coming year

H2UMrsRobinson

The reason that there are water shortages in Dublin, IS THAT ITS ALL IN MY FRONT GARDEN !!! They did something to the tree outside the house a month ago and must've hit a pipe. Apparently someone is "getting back to us" urgently. That was two weeks ago and the waters are rising !

snaps

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

Due to an increase in burst pipes associated with the cold weather, apparently.

I didn't think it was cold enough for pipes to burst, but I was out for a long walk in Dublin over the weekend and I saw numerous leaks myself.

Well if pipes are bursting (Underground) at temps of -2/-3c there is something seriously wrong with the infrastructure. They need to put all these problems to bed before we start paying for the water. The quality sometimes here is unreal.

Gonzo

I checked this just to see was it an April fools joke.

April O Neill

kenmc wrote: »

ffs only in Ireland. flooding one week, restrictions the next

Compared to other countries, our water restrictions are infrequent.

Supercell

The flooding and restrictions are actually partially linked.
Very heavy rains wash agricultural fertiliser and other waste into the water in the catchment area (around Roundwood in this case) leading to algal blooms and the associated issues and restrictions from the cleanup operation. There was exceptionally heavy rains over a two day period last month followed by a drought and continuing cold conditions, a perfect storm really.

lucernarian

Sierra Oscar wrote: »

Due to an increase in burst pipes associated with the cold weather, apparently.

I didn't think it was cold enough for pipes to burst, but I was out for a long walk in Dublin over the weekend and I saw numerous leaks myself.

If you get a chance, can you report them to the water services part of Dublin City Council at 01 222 2222?

Anyone who spots leaks, give them a shout! I have found them to be very responsive in the south inner city. Though I did report a water leak somewhere on the northside about 4 months ago and they still haven't fixed it!

The Nutty M

downwiththatsor wrote: »

http://dublincity.wordpress.com/

Emergency Telephone Number 01-6796186 outside office hours.

I don't think it was very clear when you posted this number that it's for Dublin City Council.
I rang it this morning to report 2 leaks out between Swords and Portmarnock and was told to ring the Fingal council number which is 01-8731415.An engineer rang me back within 45mins,tells me it's surface water :rolleyes:.It hasn't rained in a long time by Ireland's standards.I don't doubt there is a water shortage if these boyo's are the supposed brains behind the operation :P.

ZX7R

Looks like kildare C,C are following suite,
KCC Issues Water Conservation Notice 2013-04-03 15:40:40
Kildare County Council has issued a water conservation notice, asking everyone in the county to restrict the use of water as much as possible

Water supply across the Greater Dublin Region is currently at an unsustainably low level arising from a combination of events, including production problems at one of the regional water treatment plants.

Kildare County Council will be reducing pressures throughout the network at night time in order to conserve supplies

Initial level of restrictions will be at a minimum and areas on high ground or at the end of the supply network may have reduced pressure or partial loss of supply.

The situation will be monitored in the coming days

jprboy

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

If you get a chance, can you report them to the water services part of Dublin City Council at 01 222 2222?

Anyone who spots leaks, give them a shout! I have found them to be very responsive in the south inner city. Though I did report a water leak somewhere on the northside about 4 months ago and they still haven't fixed it!

Or you can report them here:

http://www.fixyourstreet.ie/reports/submit

Can pinpoint exact location on map and attach photos too.

lucernarian

jprboy wrote: »

Or you can report them here:

http://www.fixyourstreet.ie/reports/submit

Can pinpoint exact location on map and attach photos too.

The photo attach thing sounds handy. I see since this year it covers all local authorities!

Popoutman

Given that a large proportion of the pipework underground is old and not up to the job, it's not surprising that somewhere between a quarter and a third of the water that is treated is lost to the ground. Dublin could do with putting money into replacing all of the pipework older than 20 years, the same way that the Germans do. Then there'd be less leakage, and much less pressure on the water delivery system. A knock-on effect would be no need for the plan to pump water from the Shannon to Dublin.

No modern first-world country should still be using cast-iron pipework "sealed" with tar-dipped twine installed over 80 years ago for critical water delivery infrastructure.

One of my German friends pointed out to me that in his city, the water pipes are re-laid every 20 years in an effort to ensure that there are few leaks in the ground. Bit of a pain in ways, but the benefits are enough that this is the policy. We would do well to emulate that.

Something else - if there is a scent of chlorine from tapwater, just fill a jug with the water and leave it to stand in the fridge for a while. The tiny amount of chlorine in the water will evaporate out and leave a more pleasant tasting water behind.

maw368

Solair wrote: »

The British are similar.

It's mostly down to a lack of serious investment in the water infrastructure, particularly in reservoirs and water storage facilities.

There's really no reason why we should have water shortages in Ireland other than ridiculously poor forward planning.

Haven't heard of any water shortages over here, we actually invest a lot of money in the water industry.