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Reports on water companies
International comparisons - Netherlands Water resources management in the Netherlands involves national, provincial and local government. There are 11 drinking water suppliers and two bulk suppliers. The Association of Dutch Water Companies (VEWIN) represents their interests. With the exception of the institution Waternet, which is a foundation, the water supply companies are limited liability companies with associated municipalities and provincial bodies functioning as shareholders. The regional governments agree prices with the water providers on a regular basis, although there is no formal framework for price setting. The government introduced a voluntary benchmarking system in 1997 to encourage comparisons between suppliers. Benchmarking will soon be obligatory under the new Drinking Water Act due to come into force in 2008. Companies in the Netherlands are generally comparable in size to the larger water only companies in England and Wales, serving between 430,000 and 2.4 million consumers. The exception is the much larger Vitens, which with 5.4 million consumers is closer in size to a large water and sewerage company in England and Wales. Operating conditions in the Netherlands are broadly similar to those in England and Wales, although we might expect the flatter nature of the terrain to have some cost implications. Population per connection is also similar, as is the range of mains length per property. Urban areas such as Amsterdam (Waternet) and South Holland (Duinwaterbedrijf Zuid Holland) have a very low connection to network length ratio. Others, such as North Brabant (Brabant Water) are more sparsely populated. Overall, the suppliers in the Netherlands draw a larger proportion of their supply from groundwater than the companies in England and Wales.  |
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