Dónal Hickey: Taking water for granted

In the coming years, we’re likely to be hearing a lot more about ‘rainwater harvesting’ which is common in places such as Australia and parts of America but something we haven’t really got to grips with here yet.

The term is all about saving the water that runs off roofs and hard surfaces, most of which, literally, goes down the drain. At the same time, we use expensively treated water in gardens, to flush toilets and wash cars. Toilets alone can account for a third of all domestic usage.