Uisce Éireann has introduced overnight water restrictions for households and businesses in the Skreen and Dromard areas of County Sligo, with the measures taking effect from tonight and remaining in place until further notice.
The restrictions will apply between 8pm and 8am each night and affect customers supplied by the Skreen and Chapel Street reservoirs. The utility said the move is designed to protect daytime supplies, allowing reservoir levels to recover overnight after a sustained rise in demand during recent warm weather.
Separately, overnight restrictions already in force in the Corballa and Castleconnor areas will continue, operating from 10pm to 8am each night. Customers in those areas have been advised that no change to the existing schedule is planned at this stage.
Night-time restrictions are a standard tool used by Uisce Éireann during periods of high demand or low raw water availability. Rather than cutting off supply during working hours, the utility reduces pressure or interrupts supply overnight, when consumption is at its lowest, so that reservoirs can refill ahead of the morning peak. Customers may still experience low pressure or a temporary loss of supply during restricted hours, and it can take time for normal service to return once restrictions lift each morning.
Warm, dry spells place particular strain on rural schemes in the north-west, where treatment capacity is limited and demand can rise sharply through garden watering, additional showering and agricultural use. Sligo, along with several other counties along the western seaboard, has been the subject of repeated conservation appeals in recent summers.
Uisce Éireann is urging customers in the affected areas to conserve water where possible. Practical steps include taking shorter showers, avoiding the use of hoses and power washers, running dishwashers and washing machines only with full loads, and using a watering can rather than a sprinkler in gardens.
Households have also been asked to check for leaks on their own property, as undetected leaks on internal pipework can waste significant volumes of treated water. Customers are advised to check for continuously running toilets, dripping taps and unexplained damp patches, and to contact a registered plumber where a leak is suspected.
The utility said it will continue to monitor water levels closely and will update customers if the position changes. Further information and service updates are available through Uisce Éireann’s website and its 24-hour customer care line.
