Berlakovich: About a decade ago, it was heavily debated whether an organisation structured in smaller units is efficient and up-todate. I believe that, even on an international scale, it has been shown time and again that such a decentralised organisation is not necessarily uneconomical or incompetent.

In Austria, due to the topographical situation, the water abundance and the existing administrative structures, it is mostly the local and regional structure that guarantees a satisfactory and reliable supply in close proximity to the population. In its government programme, the federal government avows itself to a water service structure system where the core responsibility remains with the communities. The local authorities decide how they want to organise water supply and wastewater disposal. Their choice will, of course, also be influenced by economic considerations and exploitable savings potentials.

API: What are the future tools to provide financial support for new drinking water supply projects?

Berlakovich: The Federal Fund for Urban Water Management, which draws on the environmental funding law as a legal base, has supported many communities to expand their public water supply systems in recent years. Since 1993, the federal government has supported more than 7,300 water supply projects with roughly 430 million €.

Additional grants will be awarded until the end of 2013, which means they fall within the current fiscal balance. The financial instrument will, of course, need to be evaluated and adjusted to the changed framework conditions. It is vitally important, for example, that all existing drinking water supply installations are continuously inspected and maintained. For this reason, funds are granted for the development of digital maps including plant condition assessment.

Additionally, many water supply installations already built back in the fifties and sixties now need to be renovated. The Ministry of Environment has responded also in this case by granting funds for the renovation of installations that were built prior to 1973.

A central aim of the funding scheme naturally is to safely supply the population with high-quality drinking water. On one hand, this is achieved by expanding the public drinking water supply networks, thus assuring that households no longer need to rely exclusively on private wells; on the other hand, my ministry (BMLFUW) has been engaged for many years in establishing links between individual networks at regional level and promote supraregional water supply systems to provide even people in regions with less water or in case of emergency with a safe water supply.

To read the full interview please download the file below.

(Source: aqua press Int. 2/2009, Dr. Klaus Fischer, Mag. Christof Hahn)