There was a "shocking" wastage of water in some primary schools in Kerry, the county council's director of finance has disclosed.
A project team to manage the water pricing policy framework was set up in Kerry last year and it has monitored water use and offered schools and other non-domestic users six-month "usage reports" or monitoring devices before it begins billing.
Only those schools where there are at least three teachers are being metered.
However, director of finance John O'Connor told a budget meeting of Kerry County Council that there was "shocking wastage" in some of the primary schools surveyed.
While some schools were careful with water, others were wasting the resource.
The unexpectedly high levels recorded were probably due to leaks and taps being left on, a council spokesman said. The usage report will give the schools a chance to get their house in order, before they are presented with a bill in the next six months, the spokesman said. This method had been successful with farmers, who had quickly moved to repair leaks and overflowing tanks.
About five million gallons of water a day were being lost in Kerry two years ago. This represented just under half the quantity extracted from the county's central regional supply.