After a very snowy cold March we've experienced a June heatwave and dry spell. It's not often we get these extremes and the grass lawns everywhere have been baked dry and our plants are parched. We know that with the slightest bit of rain the grass will soon regain it's lush green colour and we're not kidding ourselves that the great weather will stay with us all summer.

So why should we change our habits to conserve water when it costs us nothing?

FREE Supply

Unfortunately tap water is not at all free. Hidden in our taxes we pay for water treatment and the chemicals and processes of purifying all our tap water has a cost to the environment. Its distribution and consumption is without a driving incentive to reduce or conserve water use by our growing consumer population. Are we heading into trouble?

If any other resource were financially free we would use it without concern until it had an impact on either our pockets or our health, not to mention the welfare of the future generations to come.

Water is readily available in the sea, rivers and lakes and ground wells. Tap water however has been artificially cleaned and purified and yet we flush it down the toilet just as much as we cook with it or drink it.

Abundant Supply

Ireland is very green for good reason - with a mild climate it rains a lot which is great for maintaining a lush green landscape for cattle and crops.

The recent heatwave means the ground is absolutely bone dry and farmers will be demanding huge water supplies. Without it crops will fail and we'll soon notice the rising cost of our shopping bill from imported supermarket produce.

The domestic water supply cycle is costly and wasteful at every stage: capture, treat, store, transport, use, return.

Water Meter

In the manner that they were introduced which was embroiled in politics, profit, laws, rights, and EU meddling there really was no way a water meter charge was going to be acceptable. Constitutionally and legally challenged it was doomed to failure from the outset and firmly rejected by the majority of the population.

However a water meter creates a measurement and statistic of how we use tap water which until now has been based on other countries. Not only could they measure domestic and commercial usage but identify where there are leaks to the underground pipe network.

In the 90's a figure was being banded around the UK by environmental concern groups that for every litre coming out the tap 4 were lost to leaks. We can't measure this since we've never looked at the meter.

What's rain water good for?

The most obvious and easiest use is simply for watering the garden where, in warmer months, we use 1000's of litres of it. Our rain water is ph neutral, stored at ground temperature and better for the garden because it contains no cleaning additives and hasn't been stripped of minerals.

Dry Spell

Everywhere is currently bone dry! The recent attempt to plant the verge of the Kentstown and Metges Road former Petrol Station encountered soil that was bone dry and rock hard so in no way suitable for planting yet. Were going to have to wait for rain and our gardens too are all suffering in the heat too.

Why are they worth having?

- Gardens prefer rainwater to tap water.

- The rainwater supply is free and usually frequent.

- It provides an outdoor tap without any plumbers help for both the front and back of house.

- You're doing your part to reduce tap water consumption.

We'd be interested to see if we could make a collective purchase. A bulk buy would mean a worthwhile discount and over the summer there's plenty of able bodied students looking to obtain some pocket money in exchange for connecting them up for those who need the help.