There"s no watering down the truth

It is very difficult to believe that this country could be facing water shortages in the future - especially when that news comes in the midst of one of the wettest years on record. But last week, RTE on its programme 'Future Shock' showed just how fragile is the state of our supply, and they warned that in the future, there will be water shortages. Small wonder that there is so much anger in Athlone and in Longford, over plans to pipe water from Lough Ree to feed the requirements of a city likely to swell in size to accommodate a population of two million well within our lifetimes. In this country, we have always taken our water for granted, and even complained that we have too much of it. But while most of us don"t realise it, the water flowing through your taps is an expensive commodity. The reason we don"t realise it is that in this country, domestic consumers still get their water free of charge. There are also no housing rates, out of which, if you pardon the pun, some funds might be siphoned off to pay for the cost of treating water and providing it to homes all around the country. This is a luxury that Chambers Ireland wants to see come to an end, and they have called this week to have charges introduced for domestic water users. That may sound anathema to every resident of this country, but the reality is that in most other countries, people do have to pay for money, and the charge is levied on a metered basis. Most new houses built in this country for several years have had water meters installed, in readiness for the day when charging for water does come into place. But unpopular though it may be to say this, water metering may be a bitter pill that we force ourselves to swallow. As it is, few of us give any thought to how we use our water. We may remember now to switch off the pilot lights and pull out unused phone chargers to save electricity - but we let taps run willy nilly, use precious drinking water to pressure-wash our houses and driveways; and water our garden plants - in dryer times - with water that has been treated and prepared for drinking. It"s not that long ago since country families especially had a water barrel outside to collect rainwater, and the green movement would strongly advocate a return to this practice, pointing out that this water can be used for things such as watering gardens. As children die of thirst in other countries, we spend our Saturdays in our driveways or on garage forecourts, mixing clear driking water with cleansing agents so we can hose down our cars, and clear away the dust we accumulate while driving. And the result? As we keep our cars shiny, we add to the pollution of the limited resource of water available on earth. In summer, people turn the taps on to fill inflatable paddling pools with gallons of water, with no thoughts as to where that water comes from, or how much of it is available. The only way that people will get the message that we need to treat our water with respect is to start charging for it. It"s only cost that is making people more aware of the need to conserve electricity and petrol. The best way to a better environment is to make it expensive to harm it.