55-year-old Pat Madden, who lives in Shannon, Co. Clare, got the shock of his life when he checked the water meter installed outside his home.
According to the device, a whooping 1.5 million litres of water have passed through it since it was fitted late last year.
If one were to pay heed to the estimations provided by Irish Water, an ‘average person’ uses somewhere in the region of 55,000 litres of water per year. Hence, the Clare man used 27 years worth in just under three months. Quite a feat.
Just to check, he went into his house, turned off the water mains, went back out and saw that the meter was still ticking away.
One must wonder about the subterranean horrors lurking right beneath our pipes, and whether or not we will be charged by the litre in the future, in which case Mr. Madden faces a hefty bill indeed.