Athlone area facing water outage for second night in a row

Athlone's water supply is set to be restricted from 10pm tonight (Thursday), for the second night running.

In a statement issued to media outlets at 5.41pm today, Irish Water confirmed the supply restriction, which it said was "due to operational issues" at the town's water treatment plant.

The restriction, from 10pm tonight until 6am on Friday morning, is "required to help water levels in Annagh Reservoir recover and maintain supply for homes and businesses during the day," Irish Water said.

The areas that are set to be impacted by low pressure, or no water supply at all, overnight include: Athlone town, Baylin, Ballykeeren, Mount Temple, Glasson and Fardrum.

"Irish Water understands the inconvenience this overnight restriction may cause, however, it is essential to ensure a sufficient water supply is available for residents and businesses during the day for hygiene and other essential purposes," stated John Gavin of Irish Water.

"There have been a number of separate operational issues at Athlone Water Treatment Plant. Irish Water, its local agents and contractors have resolved a number of these issues but there are still some that need to be resolved.

"The plant is running at partial capacity and it is anticipated that full production can re-commence this evening.

"However, water levels in the three service reservoirs remain low and restrictions are necessary to ensure that there is water available for peak demand hours on Friday morning and for the remainder of the day," he said.

Mr Gavin added that Irish Water was asking people to help conserve water by "not running taps needlessly, taking showers instead of baths and postponing using dishwashers and washing machines where possible."