Uisce Éireann has confirmed that a Water Conservation Order is now in place for Dublin, South Tipperary, and parts of Kildare, Meath, Wexford and Wicklow from 00:01 on Thursday, 16 July 2026 until 23:59 on Wednesday, 26 August 2026. The Order, commonly referred to as a hosepipe ban, is being introduced to safeguard public water supplies for essential purposes following a period of exceptionally warm and dry weather, which has led to significantly increased water use across the affected areas and placed sustained pressure on water treatment plants, treated water reservoirs and the wider network.
Nationally, domestic customer water use is also around 20% above typical levels, driven largely by non-essential outdoor use. In The Greater Dublin Area which includes Dublin and parts of Kildare, Meath and Wicklow, recent daily water use reached 693 million litres, around 50 million litres above the year-to-date average. Supplies are also under pressure in parts of Wexford and South Tipperary, where water treatment plants are producing significantly more water each day than the average daily demand recorded in 2025.
The Water Conservation Order prohibits the use of garden hosepipes and other non-essential uses of water by domestic users and commercial premises for non-commercial activities. A full list of prohibited uses is included in the Notes to Editors below.
While the Order applies only to the affected areas, Uisce Éireann is appealing to all customers nationwide to reduce non-essential water use while supplies remain under pressure. Households, farms and businesses can help by hanging up the hose, putting the power washer away, reusing household water in the garden, checking for leaks and leaking toilets, taking shorter showers and using water only where it is needed.
The parts of Meath to the south and east impacted by the Hosepipe Ban in place(shaded in purple), all other areas are asked to be mindful with use of water in the coming weeks.
Margaret Attridge, Head of Water Operations with Uisce Éireann, said: “Uisce Éireann’s top priority is to protect water supplies for homes, businesses, farms, hospitals, vulnerable customers and other essential services. The current hot and dry spell has driven very high water use, and we need to reduce non-essential use now to help protect supplies for everyone.
“We are asking households, businesses, farms and communities to play their part by reducing non-essential water use wherever possible. That means avoiding outdoor uses that can place significant pressure on supplies, checking for leaks, reusing water where practical and making small changes indoors that can quickly add up. This is about protecting treated drinking water for the things that matter most — homes, hospitals, vulnerable customers, farms, businesses and essential services — while this Order is in place.”
