Water Services Training Group

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Water Services Training Group

• 13th Annual Conference
• 10th September 2009

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Addressing the Strategic Challenges facing the
water sector

• Ivan Grimes
• Principal Officer, Water Policy
• DoEHLG

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Overview of Challenges

• Financial
• Sustainable use of water
• Compliance Issues
• Monitoring and sampling
• Structural Issues
• Addressing the challenges how?

Meeting the Challenges of the Changed Economic
Environment Annual Conference September 2009
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Financial and Funding Issues

• Economic downturn
• Significant impact on Exchequer
• Pressure on LGF and WSIP
• Significant impact on LA direct income
• Development contributions, commercial rates and
  other revenue sources
• Restrictions on LA borrowing (capital and
  overdrafts)

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Financial and Funding Issues

• Need to improve collection rates?
• Addressing non-payment of water charges?
• Identify more cost-effective ways of providing
  capacity?
• Less ambitious plans for future development?
• Recognise that these may be sensitive

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Water Conservation

• Leakage levels in some areas are unacceptably
  high
• Priority needs to be given to Water Conservation
  Programmes
• Economic/financial returns are proven
• Commission on Taxation
• High Level Group on Green Enterprise

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Compliance Issues

• Critical ECJ cases Dangerous Substances,
  Drinking Water, Shellfish
• Other ECJ cases Urban Waste Water Treatment,
  Groundwater, Septic Tanks
• Influencing future investment choices
• Avoiding imposition of financial penalties a key
  priority

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Compliance Issues

• Regulatory compliance
• Drinking Water Regulations 2007
• Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations 2001
  2004
• Bathing Water Quality Regulations
• Set standards quality and performance
• Specify monitoring requirements
• Supervisory role for the EPA

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Monitoring and Sampling

• EPAs UWWD report for 2006 2007
• found
• c20 of waste water plants failed to take an
  adequate number of samples in 2007
• a significant increase in compliance would be
  achieved if monitoring frequencies met the
  minimum set in the Regs

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Monitoring and Sampling

• EPA report on Drinking Water for 2007
• 2008 recommends a survey to identify all
• private supplies that supply water as part
• of public/commercial activities

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Structural Issues

• Recent recommendations for reforms
• A National Water Authority?
• Domestic Water Charges?
• Cut the Local Government Fund?
• LAs self financing?
• Rationalise the number of authorities?
• Share/outsource services?

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Structural Issues

• Strategic Planning
• Licensing of the Group Sector
• Metering of non-domestic connections

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River Basin Management Plans

• Water Framework Directive aims to achieve good
  status for water bodies by 2015
• WFD does allow States to seek longer time-scales
  for implementation
• 1st RBMPs are due to be adopted by 22 December
  2009
• Draft Plans have been subject to a public
  consultation process

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River Basin Management Plans

• Department has reviewed the draft Plans
• Concerns about the scale of the ambition and the
  potential costs
• Concerns also at local level about securing
  political acceptance for Plans
• Department working with the CCMA to address
  concerns
• EPA to review final plans before submission to
  the Minister

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Addressing these challenges

• Training of water services personnel
• Positive engagement between all the key
  stakeholders
• Commitment of senior managers
• Political decisions on structural issues
• Future funding arrangements

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• Thank you for your attention!