New water company a blow to local democracy, says Co Council

By tony galvin A STRONG case has been put forward by Galway Co Council arguing against the hiving-off of the county's water services to a new utility, Irish Water. County Hall argues that such a move will represent a loss of local democracy and accountability and also the loss of the benefits and experience which have been built up over a hundred years. The Co Council is already challenged by the very low rate of registration for the Household Charge and the headache of septic tank inspections looming large on the horizon. There is now a major question mark over how consumers will react to the addition of a new water charge in 2014. With Galway Co Council removed from the equation and the need to collect household water bills to fund a massive investment in infrastructure, the fear is that a major campaign of opposition combined with confusion over the new system, could pose a serious threat to water quality and supply throughout the county and country. Households will pay There are growing concerns over the viability of the new water delivery system which is due to be put in place in 2014. At this stage households will have to pay for water, either on a flat rate or on metered consumption. This process will involve metering most households in the country as well as a massive investment in crumbling infrastructure. A new report commissioned by the Government estimated a spend of at least €10 billion to bring our water quality up to EU standard by 2027. This also involves tackling the controversial septic tanks issue. In Scotland the average household water bill is €388 per year and consumption in Ireland is way higher than European norms, estimated at 150 litres per day. Much of this is attributed to waste because of he un-metered nature of our supply. The  Government is proposing to establish a new public utility, Irish Water, and this body will take over the management of all water supplies, similar to the way the ESB controls electricity supplies. Water service central Galway Co Council is arguing that water services are central to many of the other services they provide including housing, road drainage, planning, fire and emergency response, environmental and pollution control. Removing responsibility for water will impact negatively on there coherence of these services. They also argue that the current local system can respond quickly and effectively to emergency situations such as those experienced over the past two years with flooding and freezing conditions. 'The ability within local authorities to deploy additional resources when needed is unlikely to be matched by a regional or nationally based water service provided,' the council argued in a submission on the issue to the Department of the Environment. The council is also worried that the debt it services for carrying out essential water infrastructure improvements, such as the new Tuam main drainage scheme, will be left with them while the infrastructure is transferred to Irish Water. Galway Co Council has had to divert significant resources from other programmes to support water services operation and maintenance. This funding comes from local rates and could otherwise have been spent on road improvement. The council is of the view that the proposal will seriously undermine the local government system of which water services are a significant component and have a negative impact generally on local representation and accountability. In their submission to the Minister for the Environment the body make the following points: â€Â¢ Locally elected representatives will no longer have a role in water services provision, operation and management, further eroding the local government system and the principles of local representation. â€Â¢ The role of Galway Co Council in relation to planning and economic development will be seriously undermined unless it can retain a meaningful influence on decision making with regard to allocation of water service resources. â€Â¢ Economic development will suffer if the infrastructural needs of local authorities are not only fully recognised but satisfactorily addressed. â€Â¢ With little or no role in decision making on direction of water services investment, the council may not be able to deliver on stated planning and development objectives on county and town plans. â€Â¢ Decision-making in relation to individual planning permissions will in future be heavily influenced by the new utility. â€Â¢ It is proposed that the new utility will be organised around river basin district boundaries. While the environmental basis for such boundaries may be sound, they are not recognised and do not correspond with any existing local or regional administrative areas.