This week the Water Forum published commissioned research on Non-domestic water use and conservation completed by Dr Sarah Cotterill and her team at UCD along with Dr Triona McGrath of the Water Forum
While Ireland is not considered a water – stressed country, it is still crucial to plan for sustainable management of water resources to meet current and future needs. In 2018, Ireland’ s total freshwater withdrawal, excluding environmental flow requirements, was 16% of its renewable freshwater resources.
This figure rose to 21.6% in 2019 and 2020, exceeding the target set by the ‘Roadmap to a Resource Efficient Europe,’ which aims to keep water abstractions below 20% of available freshwater resources. Ireland has one of the highest average annual precipitation rates in the EU, but the timing and distribution of rainfall vary regionally and seasonally. These variations, coupled with seasonal changes in non-domestic water demand, can result in temporary regional or seasonal water stress.
It is therefore important to build resilience to ensure that water resources are sustainable. There are a number of ways of doing this but a key first step is regulatory control of planning so that decisions are made based on water availability. Increased transparency in water use is needed at national and local scale to support this.
With population increase and economic development there is subsequent growth in demand for water resources. Greater transparency on the amount of water abstracted and sources used should be required in future planning applications.
It is necessary to assess the cumulative impacts of water users in a catchment so that there is accurate information on current and potentially future water pressures. That way planners can make informed decisions.
Water efficiency metrics should be established at regional and national scales.
