Householders face water charge of up to €400 a year

HOUSEHOLDERS could be hit with yearly water bills of between €300 to €400 from next year under Government plans to install domestic meters in all homes.

Environment Minister John Gormley yesterday revealed that €1 billion will have to be raised through water charges that will be imposed on 1.1 million homes to meet the cost of treating the water system.

The figures would suggest an annual charge of €909 to all homes using public water supplies. But the Department of the Environment disputed this figure, indicating the Government may not attempt to recover the full cost of water treatment in the initial stages ofdomestic metering.