Campaign to highlight value of water

Irish Water is to launch a major advertising campaign next week designed to raise awareness of water services and make the introduction of water charges in 2015 more acceptable to consumers.

The firm tasked with overseeing the introduction of water meters claims the marketing plan is designed to educate about the cost of providing water services and the value of water conservation.

Irish Water’s Elizabeth Arnett told the Environment Ireland conference that citizens need to understand they are consumers when it comes to water.

She claimed consumers were more likely to accept the concept of paying water bills once they had a better understanding of how water was sourced and delivered to their homes.

“Our core message is ‘value water’,” said Ms Arnett.

She pointed out that 4,000 water meters were being installed each month in a €539m project.

The first water bills are due to be issued in Jan 2015, although the charges will be based on consumption from Oct 2014.