The €2,234 Leak: Irish Businesses Paying Twice for Water They Never Use

12 November 2026

New water charges are in force, and hidden leaks mean businesses pay twice for every litre they lose…

Irish businesses with hidden leaks are paying twice for water that never reaches a tap or a drain, warns leak detection specialist Lowflo. Uisce Éireann bills wastewater on the volume of water supplied, unless a separate agreement is in place, so leaked water is charged as both. Under the new tariffs that took effect on October 1st, a one-litre-a-minute leak on a business's side of the meter costs a Band 2 site around €2,234 a year. More than half of that, about €1,267, is for wastewater that never went down a drain.

Kenneth Sewell, Managing Director of Lowflo, says that:

Most people picture a leak as a puddle, but on commercial sites the costliest leaks are usually underground. There's no flood and no warning sign, just a bill that creeps up. You're paying to bring that water in and paying again to take it away, when it went to neither place."

Five Hidden Ways Businesses Pay for Wasted Water

The team at Lowflo have assessed how businesses pay for water they never use:

Every leaked litre is billed twice: Wastewater accounts for €2.41 of the €4.25 combined Band 2 rate per cubic metre, so 57% of the cost of every leaked litre is a sewer charge.
A small leak adds up fast: A leak of one litre a minute wastes over 525,000 litres a year, costing a Band 2 business around €2,234 at the new rates.
Fixed charges have soared for the biggest users: The combined Band 4 standing charge has risen 67%, from €87,823 to €147,077 a year, and standard bill caps have now been unwound.
This year's leak sets next year's band: Each site's tariff band is based on its annual consumption, so leaked water counts towards the figure that decides next year's charges.
Miss six months, lose the refund: To claim a full leak allowance, businesses must report a leak within six months of the bill that first shows it, and fix it within six weeks.

There's no free fix for most businesses either. Uisce Éireann's First Fix Free scheme only covers domestic and mainly domestic mixed-use customers, so commercial sites must find, fix and document leaks themselves. Late claims may only receive a 50% allowance, or nothing at all.

Larger industrial sites face a further change. New national trade effluent charges also took effect on October 1st, and industrial sites using 1,000 m³ or more a year now pay for effluent strength as well as volume. Where a site has no representative sampling data, such as a new connection, Uisce Éireann can estimate strength using 30% of its licence limits. This applies only in limited cases, for up to one tariff year. Kenneth says that:

The leak allowance is a genuine safety net, but the clock starts with the bill, not the day you notice. By the time a business works out why its bill has crept up, part of that window has often gone. Finding the leak quickly and documenting it properly is what protects the claim."

What Businesses Can Do

Lowflo advises starting with a simple overnight water audit: a meter check. Read the meter at closing time and again before opening; if it's moved while nothing was running, there's likely a leak. Compare the annual quantity on your Uisce Éireann tariff letter with your actual activity, and query it if it doesn't reflect your usage. If you detect a leak, report it promptly and keep a valid plumber's report confirming its location, repair date and meter reading.

Sites where over 15% of water never reaches the sewer, for example through evaporation or use in products, may qualify to be billed on what they actually discharge. Uisce Éireann assesses each application, and sub-metering and data logging provide the evidence. Trade effluent customers should also make sure representative sampling is in place. When asked about water loss, Kenneth says that:

No business can negotiate its tariff down, as charges are set nationally. What you can control is how much you lose, and whether you're paying for water that never reached your drains. Measuring that is the first step to stopping a bill that quietly grows every year."

How the Data Was Gathered

Tariff rates, standing charges and the unwinding of bill caps are taken from Uisce Éireann's business charges page and the CRU's 2026/27 tariff decision paper. Tariff band rules are from Uisce Éireann's Annual Quantity page. Leak allowance conditions are from its leakage allowance page, and First Fix Free eligibility from its First Fix page. Wastewater billing and the 15% threshold are from its Water In is Not Equal to Water Out page.

Trade effluent charges and sampling rules are from Uisce Éireann's trade effluent charges page and the CRU's trade effluent final decision. The leak example assumes a leak of one litre a minute (525.6 m³ a year) on the business's side of the meter, at a site with water and wastewater services. It uses the 2026/27 Band 2 combined rate of €4.25 per m³, including €2.41 for wastewater. The 67% rise compares the 2025/26 and 2026/27 combined Band 4 standing charges.

About Lowflo

Lowflo is a water management and leak detection company serving commercial, industrial and water-utility clients across Ireland and internationally. ISO-certified, with offices in Cork and Dublin, its specialists provide leak detection, water auditing, data logging and water conservation, detecting leaks as small as one litre per day.