Presentation to Oireachtas Joint
Committee on Environment,
Transport, Culture and the Gaeltacht
CCMA
11th October 2011
SUMMARY POINTS
• Local Authorities play pivotal role as Water Services
Authorities
• Chronic underinvestment over many decades –
improvement 2004-2009
• Investment lag of €600m (currently listed) and
significantly in excess of €1bn (CCMA estimate) to reach
European norms
• Excellent water quality in public supplies and low cost
(average per cubic meter for combined water and
wastewater services)
• Proud history of efficient responsive delivery by Local
Government
Water-Overview
• Currently, 950 public supplies producing
some 1,600 million litres of water daily
through a network of 25,000 km of pipes
• There are approximately one million domestic
and 160,000 non-domestic water consumer
connections in Ireland.
• In Ireland the majority of drinking water
(81.6%) originates from surface water (rivers
and lakes) with the remainder originating
from groundwater (10.3%) and springs (8%).
Water-Finance
• No domestic watercharges – non domestic charges substantially
cover the cost of provision to this market segment
• Operational/current expenditure in relation to the provision of water
services is not sufficient to meet LAs’ needs.
• It is estimated that there was a deficit of €453m in 2010 in relation to
current expenditure which was funded from the general purpose
grant received by LAs from the DoECLG and also local sources.
Increased regulation and higher standards cost more.
• Approx €600m is provided annually in capital investment including
approximately €100m from both rural water programme and local
finance.
• The main local source of finance has been from development
contributions – local authorities struggle to continue, largely through
loans.
Income - Summary
• In addition to funding from the DoECLG,
LAs raise income from:
– Development levies
– Non-domestic water charges
– Significant user contributions
– Loans with the approval of the DoECLG
– Rates
Capital Investment
Funding for the provision of infrastructure for the supply of drinking
water is provided by the Department of the Environment, Community
and Local Government under two programmes.
– Major water supply schemes are included in the rolling threeyear Water Services Investment Programme (WSIP). These
schemes focus on the larger concentrations of population in
urban areas. (2000-2010 €4.2bn)
– Annual Rural Water Programmes (RWP) provide the bulk of
funding for the construction of group water schemes and small
public schemes in rural areas (2000-2010 €0.99bn)
Overall expenditure between 2000-2010 includes investment of over
€1 billion on public water supply and networks and €168 million on
water conservation.
Efficiency
Increase in water & wastewater treatment capacity in terms of population equivalent
4,000,000
4,000
3,500,000
3,500
3,000,000
3,000
2,500,000
2,500
2,000,000
2,000
1,500,000
1,500
1,000,000
1,000
Unit of Measurement (€ooo's)
Unit of Measurement (pe)
Cumulative Expenditure
500
500,000
0
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2005
2004
2006
2007
2008
2009
Year
Water Treatment Capacity
Wastewater Treatment Capacity
Water Services Investment Programme - cumulative spending € m
Finance-Difficulties
 LAs face difficulties under WSIP schemes in coming
up with their share of investment in these schemes,
sometimes up to 40% of the total cost
 There is also a backlog of investment of approx €1bn
+ required to bring the infrastructure up to standards
 Costs of compliance are increasing
 e.g. new wasterwater licences issued by EPA
 On average there is an additional cost of €17,290
associated with each of these licences
 Major financial challenges need to be addressed (in a
time of cutbacks!)
Legislation Framework
All aspects of the legislative environment, in particular the framework
and standards, are shaped by applicable EU legislation:
•Sets the framework within which participants in the sector must
operate
•Delegates the roles of participants in the sector in respect of:
- The regulation and supervision of the provision of water services
- The provision of water services
- Sets standards
Local Authorities:
LAs are required to produce and deliver high-quality drinking water,
to collect and treat sewage effluent and to dispose safely of
residual sludges.
-The legislation has an impact on LA managers who have criminal
liability for poor quality water yet LAs don't have any control over
financial resources to meet these responsibilities
-Water Services Authorities, have been designated as the
supervisory authority over private water supplies (including
group water schemes) and have similar powers and
responsibilities to the EPA in relation to these supplies.
Legislation Framework
The powers assigned to the EPA under the 2007 Drinking Water
Regulations include:
• The use of enforceable Directions to ensure that water supplies
comply with the relevant quality standards.
• The oversight of actions taken by Water Services Authorities in
public water supplies to continue to meet the relevant quality
standards.
• The oversight of monitoring carried out by Water Services
Authorities.
• The completion of audits at Water Services Authorities water
treatment plants.
• The publication of guidance to assist compliance with the Drinking
Water Regulations.
Compliance
• Local authority performance in the delivery of quality
water is measured by the percentage of drinking water
sampled in the local authority that is in compliance with
statutory requirements.
• The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports
publicly the results of water quality monitoring carried out
by local authorities.
• Compliance with the chemical standards in Ireland in
2009 was extremely high at 99.2%
EPA REPORT 2008-2009
The Provision & Quality of Drinking Water in Ireland
Number of Public
Water Supplies
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Figure E-1: Number of Public Water Supplies in which E-coli was detected at least
once from 2004 to 2009
•Positive downward trend in E-coli detection in public water supplies;
•Chemical Standards Compliance at 99.2%;
•Compliance with Parameters such as aluminium (97%) and turbidity (92%)
requires improvement;
Source: EPA Report The Provision and Quality of
Drinking Water in Ireland
Commercial Water
• Based on Service Indicators, the collection rates for
commercial water charges were 66% in 2006, and
have fallen to an average of over 53.2% in 2009
• It is important to acknowledge local authority concerns
that this measure does not give a fair reflection of
local authority collection rates for two reasons:
– firstly, under accrual accounting, the amount to be
collected always include an element of legacy arrears,
which have not yet been written off;
– second, under accounting rules, local authorities are also
obliged to include bills for a given year (e.g. 2009), which
have not been issued until early the next year.
Water Charges
•
•
Ireland’s water charges are some of the lowest in Europe.
The performance of LAs in collecting water charges needs to be viewed against the
backdrop of the local authority role in the competitiveness agenda. This is because:
– LAs are under unprecedented pressure, to not only maintain a favourable
business environment, but to help reduce costs for business;
– As a sector, local government needs to balance the efficient collection of charges
against the reality of the current economic situation. This is particularly the case
in relation to water charges, where the disconnection of a property could directly
affect the future of a business and jobs.
– As noted by the ERG, “local authorities are acutely aware of the need to
minimise the difficulties businesses face at local level, and the need for proactive support for economic development in their areas...” (p. 42)
– The priority has been to adopt a practical approach to sustain local jobs, to help
businesses to “weather the storm” and to survive the worst recession the country
has ever faced;
– Managers continue to engage with the DETI and business representatives
including IBEC, Chambers Ireland, the Irish Hotels Federation, etc.
Water Charges per Cubic Metre
(€)
Ireland
•
•
UK
Median 110
Min 90
Mean 114
Max 150
•
•
Median 117.52 Mean 119.92
Min 66.67
Max 172.08
Waste Water Charges
(€)
•
•
Median 121
Min 77
Mean 127
Max 193
•
•
Median 129
Min 53.35
Mean 132.41
Max 267.15
Unaccounted for Water
• The current level of Unaccounted for Water (UFW)(largely due to
leakage) is currently at an average of 41% which is high against
international standards
• This is improving significantly due to recent investment by the
DoECLG
• UFW does not accurately record levels of customer side leakage –
very significant
• Several factors can influence UFW and can account for annual
variations in recorded levels or water loss, or differences between
UFW levels in individual locations including:
– The level of investment in network replacement
– Per capita consumption figures
– Industrial demand profiles
– Urban/rural demographic profile
– The length of the pipe network
Group Water Schemes
• The quality of group water schemes continues to be
inferior to the public water supplies but it is improving
• As of March 2007, local authorities have been
designated as the supervisory authority in respect of
private water supplies, which includes group water
schemes.
• As the supervisory authority, the local authority can now
issue directions to water suppliers to prepare and
implement action programmes.
• The local authority may also issue directions to the water
supplier to secure compliance with the relevant water
quality standards.
Typical Chlorination Building for a Small Water Supply Scheme in 2008.
Typical Treatment System for a Small Water Supply Scheme in 2008 – One Chlorine pump.
2011 - Three Slow sand Filters installed at Baile Breac WSS.
2011 - New Treatment Building and Slow Sand Filters at Baile Mór WSS.
Instrumentation installed in 2010.
Rapid Gravity Filters Installed at Mid-Kerry WSS in 2011.
CONCLUSIONS
• Water Services in Ireland needs significant
capital and revenue investment
• Local Government performance has been
good
• Irish Water – Programme for Government
• Status quo is not viable
• County and City Managers’ Association
will continue to work closely with Central
Government to manage change.