Water supply and sanitation in the Republic of Ireland
 |
|
| Data | |
|---|---|
| Access to improved sanitation | 99% |
| Continuity of supply (%) | High |
| Average urban water use | 80 litres/capita/day (2016) |
| Water receiving secondary treatment | 94% (2015) |
| Annual investment in water supply and sanitation | €71/capita (2013) |
| 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 Communications, Climate Action and Environment |
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. The transition between these models, and certain aspects of operation of the new company, caused controversy in its initial period of operation.
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, while usage levels were calculated at 80 litres per capita per day in 2016. 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. 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.
For wastewater treatment, 94% of wastewater collected in urban area sewers receives at least secondary treatment, and 1.6 billion litres of water are treated each day nationally; 540 million litres of this is in the wider Dublin area. The low density and spatial distribution of population has resulted in an extensive network of water distribution compared to many other countries – with over 25,000 km of pipes in total.
Water resources are abundant in Ireland, with 82% of drinking water supplies in Ireland sourced from surface water (i.e. rivers and lakes) and 18% coming from groundwater – 10.5% from groundwater and 7.6% from springs. This high dependence on surface water is above the EU average. Approximately 2% of Ireland's water resources are abstracted for human use. Unaccounted for water constitutes 41% of total water supply, followed by supply for domestic demand (39%), and non-domestic demand (20%).
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