Local authorities in several counties are continuing to impose restrictions on water use today.
Thousands of properties in Fingal, Dublin, Limerick and Westmeath have been without water for days. Pressure will be reduced by local councils again today.
Dublin City Council said today pockets of the northeast city, such as Clonshaugh, Coolock and Artane, will still experience loss of water or poor pressure for the reminder of the day.
While most areas are reporting the partial return of water supplies, the council said, it was still using tankers to provide water to residents of Rathgar, Finglas, Santry, Poppintree and Killester.
It advised residents that mobile and stationary tankers need to be replenished and may be forced to leave their stations for a short time.
Fingal County Council said the majority of homes should have some supply restored tomorrow but that it would continue to throttle supply at night to allow reservoirs to refill.
A council spokeswoman for Fingal said some areas had been without supply for four or five days and that residents of Lanesborough, Melville and upland areas of Howth would probably be without water today.
Limerick County Council said water demand due to pipe bursts and leaks had been reduced in recent days and was now "in balance with production".
Water has been fully restored to most parts of the county, although isolated individual housing estates and areas are continuing to experience low water pressure, it said.
It also warned that reduced water pressure and “occasional shut-offs” of water supplies will occur in the coming days.
In Clare, householders have been told their water will be turned off in the Shannon area today for the weekend from noon to 5pm and again from 8pm to 9am. Supply will return on Monday 18th at 8am but "usual daytime restrictions will continue".
Local councils across the country reduced pressure again last night to help reservoirs recover from a 20 per cent surge in demand. The spike was caused by burst pipes, low water flow as a result of frozen ground and householders leaving taps running for prolonged periods.
Following a meeting of the Government’s National Emergency Response Committee yesterday, Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said the amount of water being used was decreasing.
However, he said reservoirs remained under pressure and that demand was well above what could be sustained. “We’re renewing our appeals for people to use water sparingly, conserve it and most of all to check for leaks in property, particularly in second properties, and to locate them and get them repaired,” he said.
The People Before Profit Alliance accused the Government of "dishonestly suggesting that the current water crisis is purely the result of freak weather conditions or because of householders irresponsibly running taps".
Councillor Richard Boyd Barrett said that "in reality, the harsh weather conditions have simply exposed the utterly decrepit and inadequate state of the country’s water infrastructure and the government’s own failure to remedy this major infrastructural deficit".
Gerald Fleming of Met Éireann said temperatures were gradually returning to normal winter levels.
Gerry Galvin of the Department of the Environment said the warmer weather would result in ground defrosting and more water flowing through pipes which would make leaks easier to detect.
“That will enable us to see precisely what is left in the demand and how much is leakage,” he added. “That leakage is being targeted continuously with local authorities working flat out.” He was hopeful water levels “would stabilise over the course of the weekend”.
However, he said it could take three to four months for supplies to recover in some urban areas.
“I would be hopeful that in four to six weeks most of the rest of the country will have recovered from the impact of the freeze. It will very much depend on how quickly leaks can be found.”
Dublin brewer Guinness has provided lorries — which usually carry 30,000 litres of stout — to deliver water to areas around the city.
Dublin City Council worker Michael Walsh, manning one Guinness truck at Kilmore Estate, in Santry, said many turned up thinking there was free stout on tap
The trucks are also refilling tanks at other large companies such as Cadbury’s, which was fast running out.
Colin O’Brien, operations manager of St James’s Gate Guinness brewery, said the company’s minimum water usage programme allowed it to provide water and tankers to where it is needed without disrupting production.
“Guinness has a very positive and long-standing relationship with Dublin City Council and it is our responsibility to assist our city partners how and where we can during these difficult times,” he added.