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Economic Analysis of Water Use (2004)


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This report was produced by Camp Dresser and McKee (Ireland) Ltd (CDM) and a team of associates for the Department of Environment, Heritage, and Local Government (DEHLG), acting on behalf of the relevant local authorities, in fulfilment of a brief to conduct an economic analysis of water use for the Republic of Ireland.

This analysis of water use forms part of an initial characterisation report required by the Water Framework Directive (WFD) that is being prepared by the relevant local authorities in relation to each River Basin District (RBD) and overseen at the national level by the DEHLG and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The purpose of this report is to make use of currently available information to provide an initial overview of the current and projected future economic benefits and costs associated with the utilisation of water resources in Ireland.

The Project commenced on 29th April 2004 and was completed on 22nd October 2004. It is intended that this report will provide the foundation for the economic component of the summary national characterisation report due to be presented to the commission of the European Union (EU) by the EPA by 22nd March 2005, under Article V of the WFD. It is also intended that each RBD will use the relevant sections of this report to fulfil the economic analysis requirements associated with RBD-level characterisation reporting. To facilitate this process, economic characteristics of Ireland’s RBDs are collectively and comparatively discussed in Section 3.2, and individual economic profiles for each RBD are attached in Appendix B. Where international RBDs are mentioned, it is the portion of that district which falls in the Republic of Ireland to which this report refers.

This analysis does not purport to be a complete and final statement of the economic role of water resources in Ireland. In common with the entire WFD characterisation process, it is an attempt to collate readily available data upon which the best analysis possible at this early stage of WFD implementation can be conducted.

Findings
Findings in this study are reported for the Republic of Ireland as a whole and for each of its RBDs in four general categories:

water use benefits
water services costs and costs recovery
environmental/resource costs
projections of demand, supply, and costs of water services

File	Action
Review of Water Resource Benefit Values - Draft Reportv5.pdf	Download
Economic Analysis of Water Use.pdf	Download

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About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.