In 2014, around 30 per cent of the purified drinking water leaked out before it reached the taps in Norwegian homes. It was to be reduced to less than 25 per cent in 2020. This target was not reached. – On the contrary, a third of our drinking water still disappears into the ground, says Auditor General Karl-Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen. The National Audit Office has reviewed the work carried out by the Ministry of Health and Care and the Norwegian Food Safety Authority since 2014. They conclude that the situation is worthy of criticism. Part of the problem is a large backlog of maintenance. In 2015, this water pipe from 1867 burst in the center of Mandal. According to the National Audit Office, just as much drinking water leaks out of Norwegian pipes today as then. Photo: Kai Stokkeland / news Pollution can leak in When water leaks out of a water pipe, pollution can leak into the pipes if the pressure becomes too low. – This increases the risk that people may become ill, says Schjøtt-Pedersen. – Hardly any area has seen it as clearly as Western Norway. We all remember the incident on Askøy in 2019, which caused over 2,000 people to fall ill and 75 people to be admitted to hospital, after ingesting bacteria in the drinking water, says the Auditor General. Sintef concluded that the municipal management had lacked focus on drinking water supply. Askøy municipality was fined a million. In 2019, this high-altitude pool on Øvre Kleppe delivered water with campylobacter bacteria that made people sick. The cause was probably animal faeces that had entered the pool. Photo: Even Norheim Johansen / news Price tag of 167 billion The National Audit Office believes that the replacement of old pipes is going too slowly. The national target set in 2014 was that 2 per cent of the pipes for municipal waterworks should be replaced by 2035. Between 2015 and 2021, the percentage was 0.7 per cent. – The longer time passes without renewal, the greater the risk of incidents that could affect the residents. Action must be taken here, says the Auditor General. According to the interest organization Norsk vann, it will cost 167 billion to take up the backlog so that it meets the target. Auditor General Karl-Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen. Photo: Ksenia Novikova Around 4.5 million Norwegians get their water from municipal waterworks, which are usually financed as water and drainage fees according to the self-cost principle. – Many municipal directors tell us that funding is one of the most important obstacles. It may be a long way off for many municipalities to increase the water fee, despite the great need for renewal, says Schjøtt-Pedersen. Nine out of ten municipal directors who responded to the National Audit Office’s survey say that there is a need to renew the water pipes or drinking water basins in the municipalities. Nevertheless, 42 per cent of them answer that the municipality does not wish to increase the water fee to finance new drinking water pipes and pools. The National Audit Office gives this advice to the Ministry of Health and Care. how municipalities use the existing funding model for the drinking water tests aligns the regulations for drinking water so that it contributes to a greater extent to reducing leaks in the pipe network ensures better coordination between the ministries involved in the drinking water area ensures that the management information in the drinking water area is sufficient and is collected in an efficient manner. – Not perceived as an acute crisis Part of the reason why Norwegian municipalities do not want to invest more in upgrading the VA facilities is that it does not feel urgent enough, believes Helge Eide. He is director of society, welfare and democracy in KS. – As long as it is not perceived as an acute crisis, many people will be satisfied with giving the residents of the municipality the added financial burden, he says. The National Audit Office concludes in its report that the drinking water for most citizens in Norway is safe, and that the national targets for drinking water quality for waterworks that supply more than 50 people have been reached. When this water pipe in Sandviken burst in 2019, 58 people had to be evacuated, and there was traffic chaos into Bergen when the E39 had to be closed. Photo: Mette Anthun / news The municipalities are clear that the big investment lies in the future, says Eide. – We must all be prepared for the fact that the fees will increase, he says. Eide also reminds that the VA fee has increased in most municipalities. In the autumn, KS announced a price shock for the fees in 2023.
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The National Audit Office believes that the work with drinking water is worthy of criticism – news Vestland
