Water is fast becoming the new oil

AS water becomes scarcer in Ireland, the clamour to charge domestic users for this most essential, though taken for granted, of substances is certain to rise.

Ireland is unique in Europe in not charging households for water, but the experience in other countries has been that the most effective way to reduce consumption is to introduce a sliding scale of charges. In other words, the more water you use, the more you pay.

Imposing new charges is not going to be politically popular, as was the case when bin collection charges were brought in several years ago. But, some government will have to deal with the issue of huge water costs, sooner rather than later. The day when ‘smart metres’ to measure water usage will be in every house can’t be too far off.