MINISTER FOR the Environment John Gormley has announced that investment in replacing defective water mains will increase fivefold to €300 million over the next three years – in parallel with the rollout of domestic water metering.
The Minister will bring proposals to Government in the coming weeks for the installation of water meters in 1.1 million homes connected to the public water mains supply, in line with the Fianna Fáil-Green Party revised programme agreed last October.
His department is examining various options to ensure delivery of metering in the most cost-effective manner, but it is expected that the rollout of meters will begin next year, after which householders will be charged on the basis of their water usage.
“Water metering will be an absolutely essential element in ensuring that we get a water system that works, that is fair and that is sustainable in the long term,” Mr Gormley said, adding that it would also allow for much better network management.
“International experience would indicate that there can be significant water savings arising from the installation of meters.
“A recent report for the British government found average savings of 16 per cent per household accrued from the installation of meters.”
Following a review of the water investment programme here, valued at €500 million per annum, one of the priorities is to address the ongoing issue of “unaccounted for water” and ensure value for money in the provision of water and sewage treatment plants.
“We are playing a huge game of catch-up . . . following decades of under-investment,” Mr Gormley said. “The difficulties experienced by thousands of householders across the country show clearly that there are still huge issues . . . that need to be addressed. Our approach to drinking water in Ireland has been unsustainable, and we must change that approach, from the investment and management of our network to how we as households value the resource that comes out of our tap,” he said.
“In particular, we have a real problem with unaccounted-for water, with losses ranging from 16.8 per cent to 58.6 per cent, depending on what part of the country you are in. This is completely unacceptable and must be urgently addressed,” the Minister added.
Over the last seven years, €140 million was spent on water conservation. The new programme is described as a significant ramping up of this investment, with €300 million worth of water conservation contracts to commence over the coming three years.
It will involve putting water management systems, such as telemetry, in place to monitor water use and losses throughout the supply networks, fixing leaks and replacing defective pipes – many of them old – where repair is no longer an economic option.
Specific details of the revised programme for water services investment from 2010 to 2012 will be published towards the end of next month, and it is expected to provide for “intensive investment” in mains rehabilitation as a key priority.
One of the problems is that Ireland’s low density and population distribution means that the water network is so extensive, with over 20,000km of pipes. Barcelona, with three times the population of the Dublin region, has just over half the length of its network.
Some €4.6 billion has been invested in water services since 2000, of which €2.8 billion has been spent on sewage treatment plants and €1.8 billion on water supply. This was supplemented by spending of some €900 million by local authorities from their own resources.