Vandværkssamarbejde mellem private vandforsyninger

Cooperation among waterworks

Summary

The objective of the project was to establish cooperation between waterworks and a contact committee in a number of municipalities. This included collecting experience regarding different types of cooperation between waterworks for use by other waterworks, both now and in the future.

A contact committee is composed of representatives from all the waterworks in a municipality, and the objective of this committee includes establishing a common forum where a waterworks can exchange experience with other waterworks and enter into cooperation on carrying out a number of tasks with a common interest.

The project was completed in five municipalities, and 2-4 meetings were held with all the waterworks. In addition it was intended that, as far as possible, the project should:

Take place in all the regions under the Joint Organisation of Private Waterworks in Denmark
Work further with experience from municipalities in which contact committees had already been established
Include small and large waterworks
Include small and large municipalities
Identify and describe different problems for waterworks.

In order to obtain an overview of the various opportunities for cooperation, the waterworks had to complete a questionnaire and indicate the tasks the waterworks was interested in carrying out in cooperation with other waterworks. Furthermore, the questionnaire included a number of general questions on the size of the waterworks, the treatment plant, rules of procedure, rates, administration, etc.

The project has shown that all waterworks will achieve great advantages through taking part in a contact committee. This is especially true for waterworks with new board members and for smaller waterworks where a long time can pass between various tasks and therefore it can be difficult to build up the necessary experience and routines.

The project has also shown that there are many tasks where it is of benefit to the waterworks to cooperate in a contact committee. This is particularly relevant for tasks connected to counties and municipalities, for example action plans from counties, and water-supply plans, contingency plans, regulations, prices and rates, supervision and inspection, etc. from municipalities.

On the basis of the project, it can clearly be recommended, therefore, that waterworks should establish a contact committee, meeting once or twice a year. Such a committee, in cooperation with the municipality, will enable waterworks to inform each other about new legislation and work out some common guidelines for inspection by the municipality, setting prices, consumer information, registration of meter readings with the municipality, etc.

Furthermore, the project has shown that waterworks can benefit from establishing several experience groups where a smaller group of waterworks can address issues of common interest. These may include water treatment, accounting, bookkeeping, etc.

By establishing a contact committee, waterworks will also be better equipped to carry out future tasks. For example, these will include establishing cooperation on joint operation and administration of several waterworks, and entering into cultivation agreements and agreements on afforestation to secure the supply of drinking water in the future.

At first, contact committees should start with the tasks they can already agree to work further with, and they should avoid discussions on problems lying well in the future.

The questionnaire survey also showed that the majority of waterworks believe that their own waterworks will continue to exist in ten years. It is also normal that the chairman of the waterworks, the treasurer, and the caretaker receive a fee, and that half of the waterworks do not believe that their jobs are too onerous.

Several waterworks indicate that the waterworks is of great significance for the local community, and many board members sit on the board because they are interested, or in order to secure clean drinking water and their own water supply.

In general, experience shows that contact committees work best where there is:

An external threat towards all waterworks. For example this may be a large new consumer of water from the area, the county is preparing action plans for the area, or general problems with groundwater quality in the area, etc.

An active chairman at one of the private waterworks who himself believes in the idea of cooperation and is thus able to assemble and lead the contact committee for a longer period.

An active case officer at the municipality who understands how to cooperate with waterworks in carrying out municipal authority tasks.

The full report, including appendices is available in Danish on the Joint Organisation of Private Waterworks’ website and on the Danish Environmental Authority’s website – www.fvd.dk - or - www.mst.dk.