Seanad debates
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Water Services: Statements
Unaccounted-for water is a serious issue. Something like 41% of all water is unaccounted for. This does not necessarily mean it is wasted because, as I discovered, some unaccounted-for water is used in illegal connections that people do not officially know about. This is happening in different parts of the country. I do not know the amount that is diverted in this way but I know it is there. We have 25,000 km of piping around the country. Where there are leaks, we must ensure, as part of the plan, that local authorities have a plan for dealing with unaccounted-for water. It has been significantly addressed in the Dublin region: unaccounted-for water is down to about 28% in the greater Dublin area now, which is very good. I have been told it would be difficult economically to achieve a figure of less than 25%. This is an average international figure and represents good practice, although not best practice. One can find countries - I will not name them, but they are in the Middle East - that have a figure for unaccounted water of zero, but we do not believe those figures. At the same time as improving our resources, we must ensure we are not treating twice the volume we need. This requires hands-on work.
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