Ms Mindy O'Brien:

Local engagement is key and there are already existing groups one can tap into. There is the Local Authorities Water and Communities Office, LAWCO, that was developed under the EPA and the local authorities for the river basin catchment areas. One can also consider The Rivers’ Trust and StreamScapes who are existing groups out there. During the roll out of Saorview I know that the Wheel was very involved in getting in to the local communities and engaging existing communities. That might also be an avenue to tap in to existing groups.

With regard to open access data, I am a member of SWAN, the sustainable water network, and we had a think day on how we could approach this. We asked: If we are not going to use them for charging purposes then how we can use the existing meters that are in place? We asked if they could be used for information gathering. Not only do they track leakages they also allow consumers to see what amounts they are consuming, so even if they are not charged for what they are using they can see what they are using compared to their neighbours. This could be an education process. The meter could also potentially be used to create a pilot programme for research to see what type of measures would encourage a reduction in consumption. That could be done through meters and existing communities. The meters could be used for other purposes and the committee may be able to tap into that.