Need to Strategically Manage Water Resources Identified in National Water Study

摘要

The National Water Study was commissioned by the Department of the Environment and Local Government (DoELG) and formally presented to Minister Dempsey in February 2001. Included in the national study were water supply schemes supplying more than 5,000 customers, 91 schemes in total, excluding schemes within the Greater Dublin area. The study found the structure of the water supply (and wastewater) sector to be overly complicated resulting in organisational and efficiency problems. The majority of Sanitary Authorities were found to be too small to benefit from economies of scale. One of its key recommendations was that the fragmentation of the public water supply should be tackled by extending functional areas through co-operative agreements and outsourcing.