[Article] Put water meters in homes - Chambers

Victor

http://www.rte.ie/business/2007/0425/chambers.html

Put water meters in homes - Chambers
Wednesday, 25 April 2007 13:01

Business lobby group Chambers Ireland has said local authorities must be allowed to charge all users for water.

The body said businesses accounted for €150m of water services income for local authorities last year, but businesses in areas such as Galway were now paying for technology to filter water they had already paid for.

Director of policy Seán Murphy said the current Water Services Bill should provide for some form of rebate for businesses where water is not up to standard.

AdvertisementHe said water meters should be installed in all homes to ensure that all water was paid for either by users or the Government. Chambers Ireland says that, for private homes, a 'reasonable threshold' should be set above which users will be charged on a metered basis.

Mucco

Makes sense, clean, purified water piped to your house is not free.

It has been a requirement for house builders to install meters to each house built for a number of years now, I don't know how long this requirement has been in force but it was on our planning approval in 2005.

Victor

Oddly enough, Dublin City Council has been installing meters to commercial properties, but ignoring the residential properties next to them.

antoinolachtnai

Is this really odd?

If DCC installed water meters on all the properties, then it would become obvious how much water was leaking into the ground.

No one wants that.

Victor

antoinolachtnai wrote:

Is this really odd? If DCC installed water meters on all the properties, then it would become obvious how much water was leaking into the ground. No one wants that.

Thats half the reason for water meters. Someone could being using say 30,000 liters a year, but leaking 100,000.

Identifying leaks would reduce the need to produce a lot of the water in the first place, saving on current and capital costs.

antoinolachtnai

I am referring to leaks on the council's side of the meter.

tampopo

Victor wrote:

Oddly enough, Dublin City Council has been installing meters to commercial properties, but ignoring the residential properties next to them.

there are LOTS of private houses with the new water meters installed already

I don't think they're going to make the same mistake as with the bin charges. I'd say that they will eventually meter all houses, THEN announce new improved water charges, after the fact -of installing the meters.

Victor

antoinolachtnai wrote:

I am referring to leaks on the council's side of the meter.

I understand there are already strategicly placed meters on the large diameter mains.

Existing domestic water meters tend to be in new developments.

Irjudge1

I reckon it's only a matter of time before domestic charges are introduced. The politcal will isn't there at the moment but with a growing acceptance of the principle of sustainable development I think this will happen. The meter boxes being installed on new developments are a sure sign of the intention to introduce domestic charges.

With regard to leakage there is a nationwide programme of leakage assessment ongoing at present. There are meters being installed on all arterial mains to allow assessment of leakage rates and to identify mains which have problems.

tampopo

Don't water charges have to be in by 2010? That's why they're not being mentioned till after the forthcoming election, esp by the Greens, if they get in, to be sure, they'll be all for it.

godtabh

Victor wrote:

Oddly enough, Dublin City Council has been installing meters to commercial properties, but ignoring the residential properties next to them.

Most if not all new developments have them installed but not used. Developers just leave provision for them