Water consumption requirements is a critical factor when new membership is granted along with the applicants acceptance of the scheme rules of membership. At the time of application, the schemes will look at its ability to supply additional members and currently general domestic connections should pose no issue. Applications regarding two or more residential / business connections are regarded as a development and must be considered by the management committee. Additional information may well be required such as an environmental impact statement.
Please contact the Group Scheme Manager for information.
Water consumption is dependent on the occupants lifestyle – Are they running a business or a domestic house, are they single or multi person occupancy or is the house continuously occupied or a holiday home. So while I cannot provide a definitive value on what you should be consuming, the following may help you calculate your own usage.
Here are some common places where water is used around the house – and an estimate of how much water is used with each activity. We have used an example of a 3 adult household
Flushing the Toilet: A standard flush = 8 liters
Flushing 5 times daily will use 16380 liters a year.
A household of 3 adults flushing 5 times a day each will use up 43680 liters.
Washing Machine: Typical water usage for a load is 65 liters.
Using a washing machine 4 times every week will use 13520 liters a year.
Dishwasher – typically uses 20 liters a load but some efficient models can use as little as 10 liters a load. Running a typical dishwasher once every day will use about 7000 liters of water.
Washing Dishes by Hand : Washing the equivalent of a full dishwasher load by hand can use as much as 49 liters of water. Doing this every day would use 18000 liters a year.
Showers – are one of the biggest users of water in most homes. Some power showers can operate at a flow rate of 16 liters per minute – so in 10 minutes you would get through 160 liters. Do that every day – and you would use 58000 liters of water a year.
Each domestic membership is allowed an annual free water allowance of 160 cubic meters (160,000 Liters) which works out at €104.00 per domestic connection. After this consumption is reached, the member is liable for the remaining costs. So the water is not free but 160 cubic meters is a significant volume of water and based on water usage statistics in the UK where many households have had water meters for several years:
- The average usage for a single person medium usage household was 68405 liters per year.
- With two people in a house the average household usage was 113609 liters per year.
- With three people in a house the average usage was 138115 liters per year.
The scheme manager, Michael John Murphy, can confirm if you are within the catchment area of this scheme. The map below outlines the distribution network.
Kiltiernan GWS Mains Network_optimizeThe usage of water, whether that be through consumption or leaks, is the responsibility of the scheme member. The member is responsible for leaks that occur anywhere extending from the customer side of the meter box into the members property. It is recommended that the member, monitors their meter reading regularly so they can identify any significant increase in consumption. If the cost incurred due to the increased use of water is significant then please contact the scheme manager to discuss a manageable payment frequency. If you believe there are additional considerations that you feel should be considered then please contact the scheme manager. The manager will present any members case before the board of management or the member is equally permitted to present their case directly. The board will need to consider any request so there will be some delay before a decision is made.
