Fitzpatrick advocates installing rain water barrels to help conserve water in the long term

Issued : Friday 15 January, 2010
Areas : Dalkey, Sandycove, Dun Laoghaire, Monkstown, Blackrock

The water crisis in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown has left many homes, businesses and schools without any water for many hours at a time. Indeed many people do not have any water to even flush their toilets.

One possible idea to alleviate this problem in the long term is for people to consider fitting rain water barrels to their drain pipes as a means of supplying water to their toilets and to use for watering indoor plants.

Rain barrels come in all shapes and sizes from small units that are placed below a drain or gutter pipe to rain water harvesting systems that are installed underground that come equipped with a pump that make for easy access to the captured water.

There are many websites on the Internet that provide advice as to how to make and install your own water barrel:

In addition to fitting water barrels to drain pipes I would also urge local residents to consult www.taptips.ie for great water saving ideas such as fitting displacement devices to your toilet and only running your washing machine/dish washer when it is full.

As our population grows it is going to become more and more important to find ways to conserve water. In response I intend to make it a priority of my work as a Councillor to bring a number of ideas that may help conserve water to Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council over the coming months.

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