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Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption 2020

Average household water consumption in 2020 highest in April and May

Online ISSN: 2009-9940
CSO statistical publication, , 11am
COVID-19 Release Information

This release contains data on domestic water consumption in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumption of water by domestic households was likely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Key Findings

  • The average monthly consumption of water per meter per day in 2020 was 379 litres which was 7% higher than in 2019.

  • The median monthly consumption of water per meter per day in 2020 was 284 litres which was 11% higher than in 2019.

  • In 2020, the average domestic monthly consumption of water was highest in April and May at 397 and 418 litres per meter per day, respectively.

  • The highest decile, or 10% of metered households, accounted for 34% of total domestic metered public water consumption in 2020.

  • Donegal had the lowest average consumption of water in 2020 at 334 litres per meter per day while Laois had the highest at 429 litres.

Statistician's Comment

Linh Nolan, Statistician in the Environment and Climate Division of the Central Statistics Office (CSO), said:

"The average monthly consumption of water per meter per day in 2020 was 379 litres which was 7% higher than the 2019 figure of 355 litres (see Table A and Figure 1).

In 2020, the average consumption per month was highest in April and May at 397 and 418 litres per meter per day, respectively. The lowest average consumption was in January at 354 litres per meter per day (see Table 1).

The highest decile, or 10% of metered households, accounted for 34% of total water consumption and had an average consumption of 1,302 litres per meter per day in 2020 (see Figure 2 and Table 2). The average for this decile has decreased by 21% from 1,652 litres per meter per day in 2015.

Median and Average Consumption Rates

The median consumption of water per meter per day in 2020 of 284 litres was 11% higher than in 2019 (see Table A and Figure 1). Similar to the trend for average consumption, the monthly median was lowest in January at 257 litres per meter per day and highest in May at 319 litres per meter per day (see Table 1). Median, or mid-point, consumption reflects typical levels of consumption more than average consumption as the median is less affected by meters with very high levels of water consumption due to leaks.

County Breakdowns

Table 3A shows the average monthly consumption of water per meter per day by county. Donegal had the lowest average consumption in 2020 at 334 litres compared with Laois which had the highest annual average of 429 litres. The corresponding medians are given in Table 3B. Meath had the highest median consumption in 2020 with 323 litres per meter per day while Leitrim had the lowest at 237 litres per meter per day.

Table 4A shows the average monthly consumption of water per meter per day by Dublin postal district. Dublin 20 had the lowest average consumption at 308 litres per meter per day in 2020. Median consumption rates for the Dublin postal districts are provided in Table 4B.

Table 5A shows the annual average metered consumption for 2016 to 2020. All counties had a higher average consumption in 2020 compared with 2019. Table 6A shows that nearly all Dublin postal districts used more water on average in 2020 than in 2019."

Editor's Note:

The CSO receives actual meter readings from Irish Water for households that are connected to the metered public water supply. The CSO converts the meter readings to monthly figures by calculating the daily consumption between two meter readings. Only meters with all days for a month are included in this release e.g. if the latest reading for a meter was on 28 December then the meter would not be included in the December data. The figures include water leaks on the household side of the meter.

Tables and Graphs

Table A and Figure 1 show the average and median monthly consumption in litres per meter per day for 2014-2020.

Table A: Monthly Mean and Monthly Median 2014-2020
YearAverage (Litres per meter per day)Median (Litres per meter per day)Median as % of Mean
201438625666%
201537924464%
201636824767%
201737525367%
201836925569%
201935525672%
202037928475%
AverageMedian
2014386256
2015379244
2016368247
2017375253
2018369255
2019355256
2020379284

Figure 2 presents average consumption in litres per meter per day by decile for 2019 and 2020.

20192020
1st3941
2nd108117
3rd158172
4th202221
5th243267
6th287315
7th336369
8th398438
9th497546
10th12821302
Total355379

Figure 3 Location of Domestic Water Meters 2020

 

Table 1 Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption by Month, 2020

Table 2 Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption by Decile, 2020

Table 3A Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption by County and Month, 2020 (Average)

Table 3B Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption by County and Month, 2020 (Median)

Table 4A Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption by Dublin Postal District and Month, 2020 (Average)

Table 4B Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption by Dublin Postal District and Month, 2020 (Median)

Table 5A Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption by County and Year, 2016-2020 (Average)

Table 5B Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption by County and Year, 2016-2020 (Median)

Table 6A Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption by Dublin Postal District and Year, 2016-2020 (Average)

Table 6B Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption by Dublin Postal District and Year, 2016-2020 (Median)