Irish Water’s leakage drops nearly 9%

The average daily amount of water lost across the Irish Water supply network fell last year by nearly 9% compared to the previous 1 months

Latest leakage figures published by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) show the level of “unaccounted for” water averaged 712 million litres per day in 2019 – down from 782 million litres the previous year.

The watchdog’s report noted that in 2019 Irish Water established a leakage management system. The reduction in so-called “unaccounted-for-water” was attributed to three factors: a recategorisation of water use, data improvements due to the new management system and the water companies leakage reduction activities.

Irish Water estimates that 20-30% of water losses are the result of customer-side leakage. Under the company’s First Fix scheme, qualifying customers benefit from a free leak investigation and repairs to their external supply pipe.

The CRU is reviewing the effectiveness of the initiative as part of proposals to expand its scope.