Dublin had a record high level of water consumption in a single day this week when a total of 685 million litres were used in the capital on Tuesday.Water utility Uisce Éireann attributed the highest-ever figure for a single day’s water use to the high temperatures of recent days but also warned that Dublin’s water supply is reaching maximum capacity. Demand in the Dublin region has risen sharply in recent years, up from an average of 575 million litres a day five years ago to an average of 615 million litres a day in 2025, and an average of 640 million litres a day to date in 2026. On Thursday Uisce Éireann said that water supply across the Greater Dublin Area is operating at or close to full capacity at peak times, reflecting the pace of population growth in the capital and increased demand across the region. It said it is investing to continue to address these pressures by strengthening existing infrastructure and improving resilience across the network.The utility has said that future-proofing capacity in the region will be contingent on the completion of two of the largest infrastructure projects in the history of the State.They are the Greater Dublin Drainage (GDD) project, for which planning has now been fully approved; and the Water Supply Project Eastern and Midlands Region, which proposes to extract water from the Parteen basin in the Lower Shannon and pipe it 170km to the capital.Both projects are scheduled to be completed by 2032. The latest projections for the cost of the GDD project is between €1.9 billion and €2.3 billion while that of the water supply project is between €4.6 billion and €5.9 billion.The drainage scheme will serve a large catchment area mainly in north Dublin but also including parts of Meath, Kildare and Wicklow. It will ensure there are adequate sewage systems in place for new housing developments, with additional capacity for a 500,000 population equivalent. [ Dublin faces water crisis that threatens housing supply and investmentOpens in new window ]The utility has argued that water provision in Dublin is quickly reaching maximum capacity from current sources. At present some 40 per cent of the volume of the river Liffey (the capital’s main water source) is extracted to meet Dublin’s water needs. One of the arguments made by groups opposing the extraction of water from the Parteen basin is the high leakage rates in Dublin’s water system. According to Uisce Éireann that rate has lowered in recent years from 45 per cent to marginally below 30 per cent. It has also argued that fully addressing the leakage issue will not address Dublin’s capacity issues. Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) figures from 2109 show that an average household in Ireland uses 2,400 litres a week, or about 343 litres a day.