National shortage: 41% of treated water lost to leaks

As hundreds of thousands of homes in Dublin and surrounding counties endured their first night with reduced or no water supplies, the Commission for Energy Regulation confirmed 41% of treated water nationally is leaking from the system before it reaches the customer.

That percentage is one of the highest of any developed country — it is almost twice the level of leakage in England and Wales. In Germany, just 7% is wasted, while in the Netherlands it is as low as 6%.

The Commission for Energy Regulation last night issued an information note on the role it intends to play as the new independent economic regulator for the country’s water services sector. It said it was a significant problem for the network that “nearly half of all treated water is lost somewhere in the water network, whether that be through the distribution pipes or the pipes under our homes and businesses”.