Water Services Corporation has saved over €200,000 by making its reverse osmosis plants more energy efficient.
In the financial year 2006 to 2007, it cut consumption by 3.4 million units of electricity. The trend has been improving for years. In 2001/2002, it took 6.02 kilowatt hours to make and distribute a cubic metre of water; that figure is now down to 5.72.
In spite of the fact that demand for potable water is going up, the corporation actually reduced the amount it had to produce by 2.5 per cent, because less water is being lost to leakages.
A total of 30.3 million cubic metres were produced in the financial year ending September 30, 2007.
But leakages went down from a peak of 1,200 cubic metres per hour to less than 500 cubic metres per hour by March 2007, bringing the rate of leakage very close to the level considered to be unavoidable for technical reasons.
The corporation has major plans for 2008, including the refurbishment of its reverse osmosis plants which will reduce the chlorides in the water, increase production and reduce energy consumption even further.
Water cuts are also being reduced and in 2006 WSC had 938 water cuts, 95 per cent of which were restored within 12 hours and 80 per cent of which were restored within six hours.
In the financial year 2006 to 2007, it cut consumption by 3.4 million units of electricity. The trend has been improving for years. In 2001/2002, it took 6.02 kilowatt hours to make and distribute a cubic metre of water; that figure is now down to 5.72.
In spite of the fact that demand for potable water is going up, the corporation actually reduced the amount it had to produce by 2.5 per cent, because less water is being lost to leakages.
A total of 30.3 million cubic metres were produced in the financial year ending September 30, 2007.
But leakages went down from a peak of 1,200 cubic metres per hour to less than 500 cubic metres per hour by March 2007, bringing the rate of leakage very close to the level considered to be unavoidable for technical reasons.
The corporation has major plans for 2008, including the refurbishment of its reverse osmosis plants which will reduce the chlorides in the water, increase production and reduce energy consumption even further.
Water cuts are also being reduced and in 2006 WSC had 938 water cuts, 95 per cent of which were restored within 12 hours and 80 per cent of which were restored within six hours.