Schools Fail to Harvest Rain and Cut Water Bills - Irish Independent Newspaper
01-Mar-2010Just one in four new schools have put rainwater harvesting systems in place to help reduce water bills, writes Paul Melia.
Of the 68 primary schools built between 2006-2008, just 16 have harvesting systems which would allow rainwater to be used to flush toilets and help reduce schools' water bills.
Yesterday Senator Dominic Hannigan told a sustainable planning conference organised by the Labour Party that harvesting systems should be a requirement in all new school -building programmes.
He said: "The cost of putting a rain harvesting system into place when the school is being constructed is in the order of €20,000. This amount is recouped in savings in the years after the school opens.''
Figures supplied by the Department of Education show that less than a quarter of new primary schools built over a three-year period had a harvesting system in place, which, the senator said, showed a "lack" of forward planning.
Irish Independent