This release contains data on domestic water consumption in 2020 and 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consumption of water by domestic households was likely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The median monthly consumption of water per meter per day in 2022 was 261 litres which was 7% lower than in 2021 (See Table A and Figure 1).
The average (mean) monthly consumption of water per meter per day in 2022 was 357 litres which was 5% lower than in 2021 (See Table A and Figure 1).
In 2022, the average domestic monthly consumption of water was highest in July and August at 372 litres per meter per day (See Table 1).
The highest decile, or 10% of metered households, accounted for 35% of total domestic metered public water consumption in 2022 (See Figure 2 and Table 2).
Wexford had the lowest average domestic monthly consumption of water in 2022 at 305 litres per meter per day while Longford had the highest at 424 litres (See Table 3A).
The CSO receives actual meter readings from Uisce Éireann (formerly 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 data for every day in the 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 as there are 31 days in December. The figures include water leaks on the household side of the meter.
Table A and Figure 1 show the average and median monthly consumption in litres per meter per day for 2014-2022.
| Table A: Monthly Mean and Monthly Median 2014-2022 | |||
| Year | Average (Litres per meter per day) | Median (Litres per meter per day) | Median as % of Mean |
| 2014 | 386 | 256 | 66% |
| 2015 | 379 | 244 | 64% |
| 2016 | 368 | 246 | 67% |
| 2017 | 374 | 252 | 67% |
| 2018 | 368 | 255 | 69% |
| 2019 | 354 | 256 | 72% |
| 2020 | 378 | 283 | 75% |
| 2021 | 375 | 280 | 75% |
| 2022 | 357 | 261 | 73% |
| Average | Median | |
| 2014 | 386 | 256 |
| 2015 | 379 | 244 |
| 2016 | 368 | 246 |
| 2017 | 374 | 252 |
| 2018 | 368 | 255 |
| 2019 | 354 | 256 |
| 2020 | 378 | 283 |
| 2021 | 375 | 280 |
| 2022 | 357 | 261 |
In 2022 the first two deciles of metered households accounted for 4% of total water consumption, while the highest decile accounted for 35%.
| 2021 | 2022 | |
| 1st | 43 | 43 |
| 2nd | 117 | 111 |
| 3rd | 171 | 161 |
| 4th | 219 | 205 |
| 5th | 264 | 248 |
| 6th | 312 | 293 |
| 7th | 365 | 344 |
| 8th | 434 | 410 |
| 9th | 543 | 516 |
| 10th | 1290 | 1246 |
| Total | 375 | 357 |
Figure 3, Tables 3A and 3B show consumption by county and month for 2022.
| Average | Median | |
| Carlow | 352 | 268 |
| Cavan | 339 | 246 |
| Clare | 334 | 230 |
| Cork | 359 | 263 |
| Donegal | 319 | 221 |
| Dublin | 354 | 277 |
| Dublin postal districts | 345 | 261 |
| Galway | 382 | 272 |
| Kerry | 366 | 236 |
| Kildare | 356 | 278 |
| Kilkenny | 341 | 255 |
| Laois | 408 | 292 |
| Leitrim | 372 | 225 |
| Limerick | 354 | 257 |
| Longford | 424 | 258 |
| Louth | 354 | 263 |
| Mayo | 337 | 227 |
| Meath | 387 | 301 |
| Monaghan | 329 | 240 |
| Offaly | 407 | 284 |
| Roscommon | 392 | 260 |
| Sligo | 312 | 225 |
| Tipperary | 391 | 257 |
| Waterford | 337 | 253 |
| Westmeath | 407 | 267 |
| Wexford | 305 | 234 |
| Wicklow | 333 | 263 |
| State | 357 | 261 |
Tables 4A and 4B show consumption by Dublin postal district and month for 2022.
Tables 5A and 5B show consumption by county and year for 2016-2022.
Tables 6A and 6B show consumption by Dublin postal district and year for 2016-2022.
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) has today (20 November 2023) published Domestic Metered Public Water Consumption 2022.
Commenting on the release 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 2022 was 357 litres. This was 5% lower than the 2021 figure of 375 litres (See Table A and Figure 1).
In 2022, the average consumption per month was highest in July and August at 372 litres per meter per day (See Table 1). The lowest average consumption per month in 2022 was in November at 343 litres per meter per day.
The highest decile, or top 10% of metered households by consumption, accounted for 35% of total water consumption and had an average consumption of 1,246 litres per meter per day in 2022 (See Figure 2 and Table 2). The average for this decile has decreased by 24% from 1,650 litres per meter per day in 2015.
Median Consumption
The median, or mid-point, consumption in 2022 of 261 litres of water per meter per day was 7% lower than in 2021 (See Table A and Figure 1). The monthly median was highest in July at 269 litres per meter per day, and lowest in the months of September, October and November at 250 litres per meter per day (See Table 1).
Median 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. Over the 2014-2022 time period, the difference between the median and average consumption has narrowed.
County Analysis
Table 3A shows the average monthly consumption of water per meter per day by county. Wexford had the lowest average consumption in 2022 at 305 litres compared with Longford which had the highest annual average of 424 litres. The corresponding medians are given in Table 3B. Donegal had the lowest median consumption at 221 litres per meter per day, while Meath had the highest at 301 litres per meter per day.
Longford had the highest difference between average and median consumption at 166 litres per meter per day (See Figure 3). The next highest differences were in Leitrim at 147 litres and Westmeath at 140 litres.
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 287 litres per meter per day in 2022. Median consumption rates for the Dublin postal districts are provided in Table 4B.
Table 5A shows the annual average consumption for 2016 to 2022 by county. Nearly all counties had a lower average consumption in 2022 compared with 2020 and 2021. Similarly, Table 6A shows that most Dublin postal districts used less water on average in 2022 than in 2020 and 2021."