Donal Hickey: Our supplies are under pressure, we need to take water conservation seriously

We each use an average of 133 litres of water daily, 26% of which is flushed down the toilet

A massive 1.76bn litres of water are collected, treated and pumped each day

As I write, rain is belting down. Again! Because we get so much rain, there are people in Ireland who believe there’s no need to conserve water. Up to 25% of us, surveys reveal.

However, given the high cost of producing drinkable water and alarming levels of water waste — up to 43%, mainly due to leaks — it’s a question of time before a government here is forced to introduce water charges and metering, no matter how politically unpopular that might be.