Margaret Attridge, head of water operations at Uisce Éireann, has defended the introduction of a hotline where people can report incidents of “non-essential” use of water.“We’re providing a hotline because we’re not asking people to confront people. We don’t want to cause any neighbourhood disputes here, people can contact us and we will follow up with individuals,” Attridge told Newstalk Breakfast with Anton Savage. Uisce Éireann is also appealing to people to check for leaks and to refrain from doing activities such as washing their cars or watering their lawns. A six-week hosepipe ban will be introduced for six counties from Thursday, July 16th. The hosepipe ban will apply in Dublin and south Tipperary as well as parts of Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and Wexford. “If people want to find out if their area is included in the hosepipe ban, in the water conservation order, there are maps available on our website and by going on to our website and putting in your code, you’ll understand whether you’re included in the area of the hosepipe ban or not,” said Attridge. She explained that the hosepipe ban precluded the use of a hosepipe to water the garden, clean the car or fill a paddling pool or an ornate pond that does not include fish.There were other ways to water the garden, she said. Expert advice was available about using watering cans and focusing the watering on the root zone and carrying out the watering early in the morning or late in the evening to ensure less evaporation. A lot of water is wasted on non-essential purposes, she said. That was why the hosepipe ban and water-conservation measures were being introduced “so that we can all work together to protect water for essential purposes.[ What can’t I do under a hosepipe ban and how often are people fined or convicted?Opens in new window ]“It could get to the stage where the communities that these people live in are put on night-time restrictions. That the service to their community, to hospitals in their community, to care homes in their communities does get impacted. And that is why we are bringing in this hosepipe ban, the water-conservation order, to get people who live in these communities to work with us so that we can all work together to protect water for essential purposes.”