The proposal of the Central Union of Greek Municipalities (KEDE) for the reform of the public water supply and drainage policy, promoted by the Ministry of the Environment, was presented at today’s meeting of the Board of Directors of the Union.

The proposal is based on a study prepared by a joint scientific group KEDE – Union of Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Enterprises (EDEHA) – Hellenic Association of Local Development and Self-Government (EETAA) in consultation with G. Papanastasiou, 2nd vice-president of KEDE and chairman of the Committee Environment of KEDE and G. Marinakis, president of EDEA, mayor of Rethymnon. As mentioned, the proposal will be submitted immediately to the political leadership of the Ministries of Environment and Energy, Interior and the Regulatory Authority for Waste, Energy and Water Supply (RAAEF), in view of the upcoming changes to the institutional framework for water management.

“The Local Government, consistent with the commitment it had made to the government to submit its own holistic proposal for water management, kept it. With responsibility and seriousness, he proceeds with the deposition, as a basis for discussion and a comprehensive proposal – legislative regulation for the success of the project. If on the part of the government there is a sincere desire for honest, fruitful and creative dialogue, then we will have positive results”, emphasized the president of KEDE Lazaros Kyrizoglou.

The KEDE proposal for the reform of the public water supply and sewerage policy includes the following basic options:

KEDE agrees with the need for administrative reform of the system of Local Self-Government entities that provide water and sewerage services (DEWA and Municipalities). However, he believes that this should have a “holistic” character, i.e. it should concern the public policy of water supply and drainage at the national, regional and local level, lead to the Digital Multilevel Governance of this public policy, connect it with the public irrigation policy and to include it in the broader public policy of water resources management.

Also, KEDE considers that the reform is necessary to be based on the principles of “partnership”, “subsidiarity” and “closeness to the citizens” and that the DEYA and the water supply and sewerage services of the Municipalities should be maintained, because the exercise of their responsibilities is a local matter. It also believes that “economies of scale” should be pursued by making use of inter-municipal cooperation institutions (shared services, inter-municipal cooperation contracts).

Consequently, it proposes to address the inherent weaknesses of the small DEYA and Municipalities that have a municipal water supply and sewerage service, by legislating inter-municipal cooperation at the prefectural level with a Joint Service and at the regional level with an Inter-Municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Committee (DiADEYA).

KEDE considers that the key to the success of the Reform is a three-year Reform Implementation Program, which is implemented in two Phases, Phase A – Preparation and Phase B – Implementation.

This Program should be a separate Chapter of the Draft Reform Law and the Preparatory Phase should precede the implementation of the legislative regulations, so that these regulations are not based on “work cases”, but ensure that the real problems are addressed and the achievement of specific realistic goals.

The three-year Reform Implementation Program includes, among others, the following:

Capture of the existing situation, diagnosis of needs and assessment, per Regional Unit, of the management capacity of water service providers.

In order to address the energy problem, it is proposed to implement a special electricity tariff based on the industrial characteristics of the water supply and sewage infrastructure (wells, pumping stations, desalination and liquid waste treatment facilities), as well as a program of energy saving actions and utilization of renewable energy sources.

Strengthening of the DEYAs with human resources, as well as digital mapping of the infrastructures (water supply sources, networks, Wastewater Treatment Facilities) and dealing with the leakages of the networks.

Also, collection of debts and reduction of VAT on all water and sewerage services.