Is charging us for rain the way forward?

FOR a country that gets so much rain, it would be easy to believe we’ll never run short of water. Not so, however. In fact, we’re no better off in this regard than many other parts of the world.

While we’re always complaining about the rain and we regularly experience flooding, we haven’t yet managed to trap all the water that falls — something that would certainly come in handy at times of shortages, as seen during the dry spell last summer.

In some areas of the country, more than 50% of piped water is wasted, mainly through leaks in old mains and taps left running. Also, demand for water is increasing all the time, fuelled by the growing population and the economic boom.

Another thing is that we’re using much more water at home than we did in the more modest past. All those new houses with jacuzzis, washing machines, dish washers and multi bathrooms are water guzzlers that place huge demands on supplies.

Which brings us to the question: should we pay for water? At the moment, there’s no water charge on households, though it could be argued that we’re paying anyway because public supplies are funded by taxes. Businesses pay for their water.

This being an election year, the Government won’t risk unpopularity by introducing domestic water charges. However, such charges should not be ruled out in the future as it will inevitably cost more to produce sufficient supplies of clean drinking water.

Recently, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) called for the introduction of water charges for households on the basis that charges would reduce the demand for water substantially “thereby reducing the need for more investment, which would free up resources to be used in other areas.” There’s some economic logic in the ESRIs call which appears to be based on the premise that people don’t really appreciate something unless they pay for it.

Dublin and the rapidly-expanding east coast area are already making massive demands for water. Dublin City Council has raised eyebrows by suggesting that a pipeline may have to be built all the way to the Shannon to ensure a greater supply for the capital.

Business leaders says we’re only waking up to the importance of water. A clean, reliable and ample water supply is one of the cornerstones on which any successful economy is built. When it comes to selecting a location for a plant or large industry, it is as important as broadband, roads, electricity and labour supply, says Hilary Haydon, of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland.

Rivers and lakes and among the chief sources of public supplies but, with a high level of pollution in these sources, the cost of treatment is another key issue.

“For water to be managed and appreciated effectively as a resource, its use by consumers must be measured and charged for accordingly,” says Ms Haydon bluntly. She wants meters to be installed in all homes.

“In Chambers’ view, this means in the longer term most customers must pay water and waste water charges on the basis of a metered supply.”

Prior to his departure from office, former UN secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali predicted that the next world war would not be over oil, as many people believe, but over water. People in the developed world use around 800 litres of water per day, compared to a mere 75 litres by those in the developing world. The potential for conflict is clear.

Using sea water is an option, though an expensive one. Desalination plants, which extract the salt from sea water, use up a lot of oil and the salt residue left behind is a significant pollutant.

Substantial investment is needed to ensure we have adequate supplies of safe drinking water. This will involve more money being put into treatment plants, pipelines, dams and reservoirs to try and use as much rain as possible.

The Government is currently engaged in a multi-million water investment programme in an effort to meet demands. Big question, however, is who is going to pay into the future? While the imposition of domestic charges might be unpopular politically, are we not paying over the counter for water in any case? People take no notice of buying plastic bottles of water in the shops. Water that not so long ago poured from taps, free gratis! Some financial mandarins in government departments must be thinking that it would not really be a quantum leap to charge people directly for the water they also use in their homes.