Enhancing Water Efficiency

Ireland's burgeoning housing crisis is being exacerbated by limitations in existing water supply infrastructure, posing a critical barrier to new development. A strategic pilot initiative, 'Enhancing Water Efficiency', aims to mitigate this constraint by demonstrating scalable household water savings, thereby creating essential 'headroom' within the current network and facilitating accelerated housing delivery without necessitating costly, large-scale infrastructure upgrades. This offers a vital solution for the construction sector facing development bottlenecks. The project, led by Postdoctoral Researcher Edelle from the University of Galway and supported by Uisce Éireann and the Irish Green Building Council, targets a Midlands community. It integrates advanced water metering and optional flow valves with comprehensive community engagement, including behavioural pledges and real-time consumption feedback. This dual approach seeks to provide measurable evidence of significant water conservation. For senior decision-makers in the construction sector, this model offers a tangible, replicable pathway to unlock development potential nationwide. By proving the efficacy of combining technical solutions with consumer behaviour modification, the initiative promises not only to bolster network resilience and sustainability but also to directly support the rapid expansion of Ireland's housing stock, offering immediate and lasting benefits for the industry. Read More