Wasteful water use set to incur charges

Homes with normal levels of water usage should not be charged and special tariffs should only be applied to households using wasteful amounts, the long-awaited expert water commission reports says.

The report recommends that the metering programme — previously subject to widespread protests — continues with a focus on installing units in apartment blocks.

A general free water allowance should be agreed for normal water usage, says the commission, but this could change depending on inputs from the energy regulator and public water forum.