‘It’s fairer — you only pay for what you use’

Mairéad Sheridan has been using domestic water meters for more than five years and the annual cost of supply for her and her family is no more than €80 a year.

“It’s good value,” says Ms Sheridan, who lives with her husband and two children in Killydoon, Co Cavan.

“I know the buzzword is all about meters at the moment but, really, people have nothing to worry about if they are careful and responsible in their use of water. In fact, it is a far fairer way of charging because it is based on use, just like phones, gas, or electricity.”

Ms Sheridan, who is project manger for Erne Valley Group Water Scheme, acknowledges that some people were nervous when the meters were introduced in 2007.

“It didn’t take long, though, for people to realise that, once they were careful, they were only paying for what they actually use. In fact, 26% of our members pay nothing at all because you are allowed use 90,000 litres a year before the charge kicks in. In my case, with two kids, I use more than that but the cost is still very reasonable.”

The Erne Valley scheme is one of the biggest nationwide, with 2,500 meters installed, 1,500 of them solely for domestic purposes. A major advantage of the system is that it has dramatically reduced leaks and waste and has meant that the group’s water treatment plant can easily cope with the volumes used. It has also helped it to become self-financing.

“Before we started metering, there was a huge amount of wastage with leaks and people leaving their taps and garden hoses running. The treatment plant was finding it difficult to cope with the huge volumes and wastage, but that volume immediately dropped by 56% so it is now well within capacity.”

The charge per household includes an amount to improve pipe-work, upgrade the scheme and employ a permanent maintenance engineer. While most of the meters in use are mechanical, the group has now begun a pilot project with the installation of digital meters, based on electronic telemetry. “It means that the meters can be read over the phone, online, or from a car passing the house.”

Ms Sheridan welcomes the Government’s plans to roll out a metering system nationally. “It also makes people more aware of waste and, consequently, more responsible,” she said.

Metering facts

Here is some guidance from the Government on how Irish Water and the installation of meters will hit households.

* Bills will be based on a standing charge and usage, with an average home thought to use about 145 litres of water per person per day, or 148 cubic metres a year.

* Nearly one third of typical household water use is through showers and baths, with 28% for toilets and only 3% on drinking water.

* The Government believes that by installing water meters, water demand could be reduced by two to three times.

* In 2010, about €1bn was spent supplying homes with clean water. It is envisaged that Exchequer funding for capital investment will fall from €435m last year to €371m this year and €296m in 2014.

* Irish Water will be a state utility company.

* A uniform standard of meter giving accurate readings will be installed outside houses in a boundary box with just the cover visible at ground level on footpaths, grass verges or roadsides.

* Householder permission is not needed to install a meter.

* The Government anticipates about 300,000 homes will not be metered initially due to either high costs or technical difficulty in doing so, such as in apartment blocks or isolated buildings.

* Speculation that the metering programme will cost €1bn is exaggerated, said the Government.

* It is expected that up to 2,000 construction jobs a year will be created during the water meter rollout.

* Between 50 and 100 companies could be involved in the installation of meters and bringing Ireland into line with the rest of the EU.

* Average water bills in the homes of our nearest neighbour, Britain, are about £400 (€485) a year.

* The Government will borrow €450m to cover the costs of installation and money made by Irish Water will be reinvested in infrastructure.

* Existing group supply schemes in rural areas and private wells are not subject to meters.

* Council staff will act as agents of Irish Water until 2017 when the agency takes full control.

— Lyndsey Telford and Ed Carty