This summer could see challenges with Ireland's water supply, according to Irish Water.

It comes as the utility has launched a calculator for people to be able to know their water usage.

While a new survey has found that 53% of Irish households admit to wasting too much water, 80% know it is important to take steps to conserve it.

John O'Donoghue is regional operations manager at Irish Water.

He told Newstalk Breakfast the new water conservation calculator could help people.

"This will assist households right across the country to assess their water usage habits, and find out how much water they are saving on a daily basis - and what actions they can take to actually save more.

"We developed it in response to the research... which shows that consumers - they want additional tools to assist them to conserve water.

"On the research, 40% would like more assistance in terms of how they can actually save water and more tips - so this calculator will help them to do just that".

He says the utility is expecting a big push in demand for water this summer.

"We would have seen in previous years, going back to 2018, the challenges that we did have - especially in the Dublin area - in terms of producing water when we had Storm Emma and then we had a severe drought as well.

"We do have challenges to the water supply from time to time, and coming on to the summer months it awakes more consciousness with people.

"We've had dry weather, but it isn't just this - I suppose we want to make this a year round habit really, to make people more aware of the water that they actually use".

The calculator asks users 15 questions and then produces a report, showing how much water they are saving.

"In some cases it will show, maybe, where there's room for improvement and just some very simple actions.

"Just having a minute less in a shower can save 120 litres a week, full loads on washing machines, dishwashers and maybe a cycle less a week can save quite a lot of water as well," he adds.