Netherlands, water supply companies are publicly owned private companies, with
often dozens of municipalities and provinces as owners. They are submitted to the
national “drinking water regulation” determining the maximum return for invested
capital, therefore regulating the price of tap water. The companies have no pressure
to maximize prices and instead have a sort of corporate pride in delivering good
quality water for a modest price.
The UK has privatized drinking water companies. They are responsible for the
abstraction of water from rivers and streams and aquifers for drinking water supply,
but they also have a range of roles and responsibilities in environment conservation
and drought and climate change adaptation planning. Their company borders do not
necessarily map onto watersheds. Even in the context of this particular setting, the
full range of administrative levels and scales are involved in drought management
and water scarcity for drinking water in the Somerset region. However, this setting
also creates some cross-boundary issues that span drinking water supply, environmental flow, and agricultural water use. The water companies have a drought
plan that covers drinking water supply (in balance with other environmental factors
like flow), but the Environmental Agency has another drought plan that includes
both water supply and irrigation issues covering a region rather than just a water
company.
11.4.2 Larger Scales for Long-Term Strategies
Moving up to the regional-level implication in drinking water supply, in Eifel-Rur,
the district level focuses in long-term development of regional water management.
In Vilaine, the regional coherence in terms of water planning is ensured by the
SAGE (Schéma d’Aménagement et de Gestion de l’Eau). The sustainability and the
quality of the drinking water resource is the major issue that framed the SAGE
Vilaine and the debate between all actors involved. Similarly in Flanders, the
regions are the ones responsible for water policy, including drinking water quality.
The economic aspects of drinking water provision (i.e., the establishment of
maximum prices and the approval of price increases) are often managed at the
national level. That is the case with the Federal Government in Belgium and also in
the UK, where the OFWAT (the Water Services Regulation Authority) is the
financial and economic regulator of the water and sewerage sectors. They have a
duty to set the price, investment, and services standards. In France, the legislation
designates that “drinking water pays for drinking water”, imposing an independent
budget of drinking water supply and other water management sectors. The price of
water is also fixed and indexed to the cost of its management.
Drinking water supply is also dealt with in transnational economical arrangements, as the Eifel-Rur drinking water producer sells water to Belgium and the
Netherlands. In Flanders, a key instrument that seems to be missing is the
transnational agreement of flows over borders, particularly with France. Drinking
water companies complain that the water quality is hard to maintain when flows are
226
C. Furusho et al.
often dozens of municipalities and provinces as owners. They are submitted to the
national “drinking water regulation” determining the maximum return for invested
capital, therefore regulating the price of tap water. The companies have no pressure
to maximize prices and instead have a sort of corporate pride in delivering good
quality water for a modest price.
The UK has privatized drinking water companies. They are responsible for the
abstraction of water from rivers and streams and aquifers for drinking water supply,
but they also have a range of roles and responsibilities in environment conservation
and drought and climate change adaptation planning. Their company borders do not
necessarily map onto watersheds. Even in the context of this particular setting, the
full range of administrative levels and scales are involved in drought management
and water scarcity for drinking water in the Somerset region. However, this setting
also creates some cross-boundary issues that span drinking water supply, environmental flow, and agricultural water use. The water companies have a drought
plan that covers drinking water supply (in balance with other environmental factors
like flow), but the Environmental Agency has another drought plan that includes
both water supply and irrigation issues covering a region rather than just a water
company.
11.4.2 Larger Scales for Long-Term Strategies
Moving up to the regional-level implication in drinking water supply, in Eifel-Rur,
the district level focuses in long-term development of regional water management.
In Vilaine, the regional coherence in terms of water planning is ensured by the
SAGE (Schéma d’Aménagement et de Gestion de l’Eau). The sustainability and the
quality of the drinking water resource is the major issue that framed the SAGE
Vilaine and the debate between all actors involved. Similarly in Flanders, the
regions are the ones responsible for water policy, including drinking water quality.
The economic aspects of drinking water provision (i.e., the establishment of
maximum prices and the approval of price increases) are often managed at the
national level. That is the case with the Federal Government in Belgium and also in
the UK, where the OFWAT (the Water Services Regulation Authority) is the
financial and economic regulator of the water and sewerage sectors. They have a
duty to set the price, investment, and services standards. In France, the legislation
designates that “drinking water pays for drinking water”, imposing an independent
budget of drinking water supply and other water management sectors. The price of
water is also fixed and indexed to the cost of its management.
Drinking water supply is also dealt with in transnational economical arrangements, as the Eifel-Rur drinking water producer sells water to Belgium and the
Netherlands. In Flanders, a key instrument that seems to be missing is the
transnational agreement of flows over borders, particularly with France. Drinking
water companies complain that the water quality is hard to maintain when flows are
226
C. Furusho et al.