Households across the country are facing water restrictions and outages as the ongoing heatwave continues to put the water network under extreme pressure.
Irish Water has urged the public to conserve water and has warned that the restrictions could be long term if dry conditions persist into the autumn.
It has also raised the possibility of taking legal action such as enforcing hose pipe bans, if necessary, to preserve the supply.
More than 100 supplies across the country, including Cork, Limerick, Tipperary, Clare, Kerry, and Waterford, have been hit with water restrictions or outages, or have been identified as being at risk.
The stress on the water network is impacting both urban and rural areas. Irish Water says the daily demand in the greater Dublin area has exceeded the supply it can safely provide.
Farmers’ representatives have demanded that Irish Water step up its efforts to maintain the water supply to farms across the country.
Temperatures nationwide are expected to remain in the high-20s today, with some locations recording highs in excess of 30C yesterday.
