Irish Examiner view: Amid the hosepipe ban, remember that data centres devour water too

We need a more considered approach to our water supply: The current sweltering heat may have caught us off guard, but we will not be able to use that defence again

From watering gardens to washing cars, Uisce Éireann has imposed a nationwide hosepipe ban amid dwindling water supplies during the sustained hot, dry weather. Picture: iStock

Last week, Uisce Éireann announced a hosepipe ban for six counties because of the heatwave, but yesterday that ban was extended to the entire country, as reported here by Imasha Costa.

The water utility has blamed “intensifying pressure on water sources and treated drinking water supplies” for the ban, which comes as forecasts suggest the spell of hot weather will last for the rest of this week at least, with temperatures of up to 25C expected.

That level of heat persisting for weeks on end is bound to have consequences, but it is worth examining this particular response in a couple of different ways.

For one, we have seen climate change being cited as a cause of the heatwave, with accompanying warnings that we should expect similar bouts of extreme temperature in the future. 

On that basis, a more considered approach to our water supply — and to challenges to that supply — may be required. The sweltering heat we are experiencing may have caught us off guard, but we will not be able to use that defence again.

Increasing our storage capacity, improving the resilience of our supply network, and future-proofing our physical infrastructure are options which must be considered now to safeguard against heatwaves we can expect on a more regular basis.

Another element to be considered here is our growing number of data centres, which are notoriously high consumers of electricity, but which also use vast volumes of water. 

According to a Water Forum report, at times of peak demand, data centres can consume an estimated 500,000 to 5m litres of water per day, and though the higher usage rate is rare, peak water demand often coincides with hot weather — such as our recent heatwave.

If we are imposing hosepipe bans, then clearly we have an issue with our water supply. Our commitment to building water-consuming data centres needs to be considered in the context of those issues and adjusted accordingly.

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Empowering local councils

Our system of local government looks set for one of the biggest changes in recent history, going by the recommendations of the Government’s local democracy taskforce.

As reported by Tadgh McNally, there are wide-ranging changes proposed, from empowering local councils to raise funds through initiatives such as tourist taxes and congestion charges to budgetary oversight powers which will enable councillors to rein in unelected officials.

Those oversight powers would be exercised by committees of elected councillors, which would have council chief executives reporting directly to them on the performance of the local authority. As stated in the report, such committees would “reinforce the primacy of the plenary council as the ultimate policy-making, governance, and decision-making body”.

This is a promising proposal. It places the responsibility on elected representatives rather than unelected officials, making it incumbent on those representatives to effect change. If this is implemented, then councillors can no longer claim to be stymied by bureaucracy — or bureaucrats — when trying to improve the lot of their constituents.

The other eye-catching proposal centres on local authorities generating revenue for themselves. 

Alongside tourist taxes and congestion charges, the report advocates councils having greater discretion when setting the local property tax rates and states that income from the derelict sites tax and vacant homes tax should also be redirected back into council coffers.

This has the potential to alter local government radically, given the general lamentations among local authorities over the disappearance of domestic rates after the 1977 general election. That removed a significant revenue stream for local authorities, and the report’s recommendations seem designed to address that long-standing shortfall.

If adopted, this has the potential to make local authorities far more autonomous by making them more financially independent of central government — presumably with the net result of those councils becoming more focused and efficient in providing local services. Additional costs or charges imposed with that in mind would be justified if such an improvement is achieved.

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Tramore church attack

Readers will be aware of the shocking story which emerged in Waterford on Tuesday, when we learned that a woman had been stabbed at a church in Tramore.

A rosary service at the Holy Cross Church in the town was underway when the woman, in her 50s, was attacked; she was taken to Waterford University Hospital for treatment of what were described as “serious but non-life threatening injuries”. Yesterday, a man in his 30s appeared before Waterford District Court charged in connection with the stabbing.

It is horrifying to think that a person could be assaulted in this way in a place of worship. For centuries, churches and places of worship were recognised as places of sanctuary where fugitives were protected and could not be seized by civil authorities. This week we saw the reverse scenario in operation — a church as a place of threat and danger.

Even in our increasingly secular society, churches and other religious buildings perform a range of valuable functions. They are alternatives to the bustle of modern life, venues for quiet reflection, and of course locations for religious practice, their fundamental purpose.

It goes without saying that religious buildings of all creeds should be respected, but is it now necessary to state that such buildings should be safe for those using them? It seems extraordinary to even consider doing so, but this week’s events suggest it may be necessary.