SINCE the beginning of 2010 primary and secondary schools around County Carlow have been paying for every drop of water they use.

A fixed charge of ¤4 per pupil that had been applied in 2009 has been abolished by Government and now every school is metered and must pay per cubic metre of water that they use, leading to fears about how they will pay their bills, which are expected to increase hugely under the new system.

Co Carlow schools will pay for their water at the rate set by Carlow County Council, which is ¤2.40 per cubic metre, a ¤1 more than neighbours Kildare, who have a charge of ¤1.49.

Wicklow County Council faces the highest charges of the 34 at local authorities to whom schools will be paying rates at ¤3.04 followed by Clare County Council will pay ¤ 2.98, Kilkenny County Council is ¤2.94, Offaly County Council is ¤2.90 and Wexford ¤2.71.

Among the lowest are Kildare at ¤1.49, Dublin City Council ¤1.64, Kerry County Council at ¤1.66 and Galway City Council is ¤1.60.

The Department of Education estimates that each pupil uses and average 3.5 cubic metres, but says that 2.1 cubic metres would be best practice.

However, many schools will point out that the usage could be well above 3.5 cubic metres and that staff use toilets and taps too.

Leaks, particularly in older school buildings, are causing a major headache for local schools, which simply cannot be using the amounts metered, but are also unable to locate the source of the leaks, which have long since been a major problem right across Co Carlow – as the recent cold spell has shown.

But only this year will leaks begin to cost cash-strapped schools large amounts of money. With capitation grants already barely covering the basics, many schools look set to turn to fundraising and parents to help foot the water bills.

And unlike the ¤4 flat rate per pupil, they will not be able to budget for this water bill, particularly in its introductory year, which may provide many schools with a nasty surprise.

Teachers' unions have criticised the Department of Education's move towards metering, saying that older buildings' pipeworks and toilets should have been replaced first.

They have also pointed out that pupils will be disadvantaged by the charge as schools will have to take money for the bills from the capitation grants used to cover utility bills, books, technology and other school activities.

The only help offered by the Department of Education has come by way of this year's Summer Works Scheme, which over 2,300 schools around the country have applied for.

The reason for the huge upwards surge in applications for this scheme is that it includes water conservation measures.

'All schools are now charged on the basis of how much water they use rather than how many pupils they have. So, I am now grant-aiding the fitting of simple water-saving devices to toilets and washhand basins in schools,' said Education Minister Batt O'Keeffe.

'We're already using state-of-the-art water conservation design approaches in our new schools and new school extensions as part of the standard low-energy school designs. But I wanted to focus on existing buildings and to minimise insofar as we can the impact of the new metering system on schools' budgets,' said Minister O'Keeffe.

'It has been shown that fitting simple water-saving devices to toilets and washhand basins can reduce water consumption considerably,' he said.

Many schools across Co Carlow will also be paying for their own additional measures, taking an initial hit in the hope of long-term savings.

They will also be targeting their own student bodies in an attempt to get the water conservation message across, with those primary and secondary schools who have participated in the Green Schools initiative already well versed

in that regard.

- Lynda CONNOLLY