Water supply and sanitation in the Republic of Ireland information
Ireland: Water and Sanitation
Data
Access to an improved water source
100%[1][failed verification]
Access to improved sanitation
99%[1][failed verification]
Average urban water use
80 litres/capita/day (2016)[2]
Water receiving secondary treatment
94% (2015)[3]
Annual investment in water supply and sanitation
€71/capita (2013)[4]
Institutions
National water and sanitation company
Irish Water took over responsibility from 34 Local Authorities in 2015
Water and sanitation regulator
Commission for Energy Regulation
Responsibility for policy setting
Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications
Water supply and sanitation services in Ireland are governed primarily by the Water Services Acts of 2007 to 2014 and regulated by the Commission for Energy Regulation. Until 2015, the relevant legislation provided for the provision of water and wastewater services by local authorities in Ireland, with domestic usage funded indirectly through central taxation (including motor taxation), and non-domestic usage funded via local authority rates. From 2015, the legislation provided for the setup of a utility company, Irish Water, which would be responsible for providing water and wastewater services, and funded through direct billing.[5][6] The transition between these models, and certain aspects of operation of the new company, caused controversy in its initial period of operation.[7][8][9][10][11][12]
In general in Ireland, water resources are abundant and 83% of drinking water comes from surface water. However, wastage levels were estimated at 800 million litres lost to leaks each day in 2015,[13] while usage levels were calculated at 80 litres per capita per day in 2016.[2] The quality of water from the public mains is usually quite high, with, for example, 98.9% of public water supplies complying with the standards for E. coli levels in 2004.[14] However, the microbiological quality of some rural private group water schemes led to Ireland being cited in 2002 by the European Court of Justice for failing to abide by EU drinking water guidelines.[15]
For wastewater treatment, 94% of wastewater collected in urban area sewers receives at least secondary treatment,[3] and 1.6 billion litres of water are treated each day nationally.[16] Wastewater infrastructure includes 25,000 km of pipes to approximately 1,000 wastewater treatment plants.[16]
^ abJoint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation. "Ireland: estimates on the use of water sources and sanitation facilities (1980 - 2015)". WHO/UNICEF. Retrieved 9 March 2016.
^ ab"Most households only using 250 litres of water per day". Irish Examiner. 12 April 2016. Households are using 50% less water than had been initially predicted [..with..] just over 80 litres per person
^ ab"Urban Waste Water Treatment". Environmental Protection Agency. 2015. Retrieved 5 August 2017. Approximately 94% of Ireland's urban waste water receives secondary treatment [..according to..] the latest report 'Urban Waste Water Treatment' in 2015
^Cite error: The named reference MTEF was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Water Services Act 2013". Irishstatutebook.ie. 20 March 2013. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
^"Irish Water to be Bord Gais Eireann subsidiary". Business Post. 17 April 2012.
^Alison Comyn (16 July 2014). "Residents' rage after paths are ripped up". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
^Andrews, Kernan (24 July 2014). "Healy questions Irish Water letter demanding bank account details". Advertiser.ie. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
^"Data breach investigated after Irish Water discloses bank details". The Irish Times. 21 October 2014.
^"Irish Water: We'll cut controversial bonuses – but only by 4pc". Irish Independent. 30 October 2014.
^"Irish Water spent €50m despite order to use Bord Gais expertise". The Irish Independent. 13 January 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
^"Water protests: From a torrent to a tsunami – the anger that will not subside". Irish Examiner. 3 November 2014.
^"Almost half of Ireland's water supply is lost through leaks". The Irish Times. 13 February 2015.
^"Initiatives To Improve Water Quality In Ireland". Safety of Potable Water in Ireland (Report). Food Safety Authority of Ireland. 2006. p. 23.
^Cite error: The named reference FOE was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ab"Executive summary" (PDF). www.water.ie. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
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