Galway's water meter success a template for the country
By SIOBHÃÂN HOLLIMAN THE experience of rural households in Co Galway could provide the template for the national rollout of water metering. Galway has the highest number of group water schemes (GWS) in the ÂÂcountry and was the first to introduce a meter-based charging system, which has shown to dramatically reduce water usage and save money. Private schemes such as that in Caherlistrane-Kilcoona have been highlighted to Environment Minister Phil Hogan to show how effective metering can be in conserving water and stopping wastage. Research Officer with the National Federation of Group Water Schemes (NFGWS) Brian McDonald told The Tuam Herald that Galway proves the case for the common sense approach to water metering. He said the Caherlistrane scheme has more than 1,000 households and at least half of these stay below their annual allocation of water and several hundred more pay a very small bill of about €20 for additional water usage at the end of the year. Members of group water schemes around the county pay on average between €100 and €200 to their scheme operators each year for which they are given a generous allocation of water for the year of between 40,000 and 50,000 gallons. Brian McDonald pointed out that before metering the Caherlistrane scheme was using in the region of 2,500 cubic metres a day and this dropped to 1,400 when the meters were installed and dropped again to 925 cubic m once charged metering began. 'Galway tells the story of the success of water metering and its effectiveness has been proven in group schemes throughout the county,' remarked Brian McDonald. He also assured group scheme members that they will not be hit twice for water charges and that privately sourced schemes will not be interfered with or affected by the new metering programme. A study of group water schemes in Co Galway found that at least 50 per cent of unnecessary water usage was a result of leaks and burst pipes on customers' properties and many people had been unaware of the problem. He said those in favour or against should look at how water meters operate in thousands of homes around Galway before making up their minds on the issue. 'There is so much experience in Galway that a trip to see some of the schemes in operation would be a good lesson for all political representatives,' he added. Many Co Galway schemes were represented at the inaugural national summit on water metering in Dublin last week where the NFGWS gave examples of how schemes from Co Galway have saved thousands of euro and huge amounts of water since introducing water metering. 'We feel if you are going to introduce water charges then metering is the only equitable way of doing it. People pay for what they use and that's the key issue,' he remarked. Mr McDonald said there are health benefits, financial benefits and environmental benefits to water metering and the system operating in Galway is a first-class example of this. The daily demand for water per household has dropped dramatically, meaning reduced pressure on the treatment facility and significant operational cash savings. Local jobs Meanwhile Galway East FF Deputy Michael Kitt is asking for a Government commitment that the water meters due to be installed in non-group scheme homes will only be installed by local tradesmen. 'The meter programme provides an opportunity to create local jobs. A number of people have recently taken courses on fitting water meters and they now have the opportunity to be employed for those skills. However, this is only possible if the Minister agrees to award the contracts locally rather than nationally. 'Families are justifiably concerned about the extra household bills that the Government is hitting them with next year. 'We know very little about these extra taxes and levies other than that we will all have to pay them. If the Government is intent on imposing such stealth charges, the very least they could do is ensure that any temporary jobs created out of this will be secured locally,' stated Deputy Kitt.