Among the worst-hit areas is Cherry Orchard in Dublin, where some residents were left completely without water and others only had a small amount and were forced to ration it.

Tony Smithers, a local Sinn Fein councillor, described the situation as completely unacceptable. "These are severe water shortages, " he told the Sunday Tribune. "There wasn't even enough water to flush the toilets."

Smithers blames building work in the area for the disruption. "There is constant building in the area and constant digging. I'm not against progress, but if there are developers building in the area they shouldn't disrupt the water supply of residents in the area."

In Tipperary, residents in the Cullenagh housing estate in Ballina are experiencing their eighth summer of water shortages. Locals have been forced to buy bottled water to meet their needs. Not for the first time, a well that provides water for the estate ran dry.

Residents believe that two wells built for the estate do not have the capacity to provide an adequate water supply, but a senior water services engineer for North Tipperary County Council, Jim Maguire, said supply had improved in the past week and that a new well had been commissioned.

Previously, people living in the estate had been forced to travel to a local hotel to wash.

"Of course it's not good enough, " Maguire said.

"Everyone should have a good water supply."

Independent local councillor Dr Phyll Bugler told the Sunday Tribune that, in future, planning permission for such estates should not be accepted until the council has a complete assurance that the need for basic services, such as water, would be met and that developers would put "the correct infrastructure in place".

In Bree, in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, residents were without water for the hottest days of the heatwave. As temperatures reached 310C in the area, water pressure failed and locals were left without drinking water, showers and toilets. The situation was still unresolved this weekend.