COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, May 10, 2021

QUESTION NO. 9

QUESTION: Councillor R. McMahon

I notice that the % of unaccounted water is close to 40% in the County. The council issued figures a few years ago to say we were one of the better Local Authorities for water leakage and our average was below 20%. Can I ask the Chief Executive to confirm with Irish Water if the "unaccounted for water" figures have deteriorated and what measures if any are there in place to improve this figure.

REPLY:

Irish Water employs a different methodology (International Water Association (IWA) water balance methodology) to calculate and report water network leakage than the methodology previously used by Local Authorities.  This leads to a higher reported leakage figure by Irish Water than previously reported by SDCC.  Irish Water is currently reporting a leakage figure in SDCC of 36% which is lower than the national figure in the region of 40%. 

The figure used by Irish Water for domestic per capita consumption is 125 litres/head/day.  This is significantly lower than the figure previously used by SDCC of 147 litres/head/day plus an additional figure for customer side leakage of 20 litres/head/day.  Irish Water's current estimate is based on more accurate records now available from meters on domestic properties which could not be metered prior to Irish Water.  A further allowance of 1% is added by Irish Water as unaccounted for water to cover additional network operational usage such as flushing or other standpipe use.

Irish Water were asked for comment on this question and have responded as below:

Irish Water continues to deliver a national Leakage Reduction Programme to provide a more reliable water supply, reduce high levels of leakage, improve water quality and create operational efficiencies on the water network. This programme is a strategic and targeted approach to improve the national water network across the Country, through a number of leakage reduction work streams prioritising investment where it is needed most.

In advance of commencing this national initiative it was understood that there are varying degrees in the level of leakage across the Country. In addition data and calculations used to assess leakage levels were not always consistent or uniform. For example, prior to the domestic metering programme household water usage was estimated. Irish Water has since created a national Leakage Management System (LMS) to capture the data being created across the Country through all Irish Water Enterprise systems including real data from domestic meter reads. Irish Water now uses the International Water Association (IWA) water balance methodology to calculate leakage ensuring a consistent approach across the Country. 

Prior to the commencement of the Leakage Reduction Programme leakage was estimated to be 46% nationally. Up to the end of 2020 leakage nationally is now in the region of 40%. Leakage is reported at a national level and the Greater Dublin Area is managed as a region. 

Members are reminded that Irish Water have a Local Representative Service Desk, which can be contacted at localrepsupport@water.ie or at 1850 178 178