OURS is notoriously a wet country, and the climate change projections say that it will get wetter. But at the same time, our capital city is running out of water. A report by engineers for consideration by the Dublin City Council forecasts shortages by 2011, and permanent rationing by 2016.

By 2031, the population of the capital will have risen, according to authoritative predictions, by half a million. And right now the city has no spare capacity for the existing population.

In any other European country, the situation would be regarded as critical. In Dublin, it became the subject of pub humour when the idea of tapping the Shannon was mooted. Meanwhile, environmentalists and local politicians joined in with predictable protests. There was some talk, intriguing in its way, of refusing to share "our water".

The engineers' report should encourage more serious discussion -- and help to bring rapid action. It sets out a number of proposals, among them a revival of the Shannon option, which, on this reading, appears both feasible and attractive.

It says that water pumped from the Shannon could be stored in a 300-acre reservoir created from a bog in Westmeath. This would have no impact on power generation or navigation. On the contrary, the artificial lake would provide a tourist attraction, a new venue for water sports. More to the point, it would save Dublin from dying of thirst. And it would cost only €100m -- if we can believe the estimated cost of any project.