Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 July 2018
2780. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government the amount of clean drinking water provided by Irish Water; the amount of clean drinking water provided by Irish Water but believed to be lost through leaks in the public mains; the amount of clean drinking water provided by Irish Water but believed to be lost through leaks in pipes on private land; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35271/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn 21 May 2018, I published the Water Services Policy Statement 2018-2025 following its approval by Government. The Policy Statement includes a table, reproduced below, showing the total estimated demand for water from the public system (serving domestic and non-domestic users) and network losses during 2017, as measured in cubic meters.
|
Estimated water use for public water services for the end of 2017 |
Estimated annual water use (million m3) |
|
Domestic demand |
205 |
|
Non-domestic demand |
124 |
|
Network losses (real and apparent) |
273 |
|
Operational demand (mains flushing and networks maintenance) |
6 |
|
Estimated total water demand (Distribution Input) |
608 |
Real and apparent losses in the public water supply are estimated from the difference between treated water entering distribution, and that used by customers of the public supply, and by Irish water for operational purposes. Based on estimated total volumes of treated water entering distribution of 608 million m3 per annum, losses (real and apparent) at the end of 2017 were estimated at 273 million m3 per annum. This gives an indicative loss value of 45% of all water entering supply. This figure is not broken down to differentiate between losses on the public network and losses on private property.
The Government recognises that past under-investment in our water infrastructure means we are contending with high network loss rates while many of our water and wastewater treatment plants are operating at maximum capacity. The Water Services Policy Statement 2018-2025 sets out a series of high-level policy objectives across the three thematic areas of Quality, Conservation, and Future Proofing, which must be pursued when planning capital investment and framing current spending plans. Under the National Development Plan 2018-2027 €8.5 billion has been committed to improving the public water system over the next 10 years.
