The government of intensive work on a new water law. Regulation of this field is one of the 29 pre-conditions, which Poland has to meet to be able to use billion eg. Investment flood.
Controversial encouragement
One of the ideas PiS government is the introduction of fees for discharging rainwater and snowmelt water (up to a few dollars per year per cubic meter of water). For now, the fee is concern in urban areas, ie. With a population density of more than 1 thousand. persons per square kilometer. It is possible, however, that in the future criteria will change and will further areas.
Charges will be imposed on the community. This is to encourage local governments and investors to invest in retention systems (the greater the investment, the lower the fee) to not occurred to local flooding. As we hear in the Ministry of Environment, we are from the municipality depends on where the money will take on the new charges. And here comes the problem.
Most local governments do not want to officially talk to us about where will the additional funds. – It is difficult to talk about the introduction of such charges, even if there are no additional regulation of the minister, which will be specifically determined the rate. Only then you will be able to calculate how much will increase the load on this account – cuts Jan Machowski of the town hall in Krakow.
In unofficial conversations local stewards are already more effusive. – The most likely is that the community will pass these costs on its residents. With the current misery budget is difficult to assume that it still will be the new water law an explicit – said, asking for anonymity, one of the local government.
Some municipalities already some time ago introduced a fee for rainwater – it is an autonomous decision of each local government. For example, in Wroclaw we apply it for several years and amounts to 1.59 zł gross per cubic meter of sewage rainwater and snowmelt, discharged into the storm sewer. So in such cases, the fee would have to be transferred to the Treasury (namely the State Farm Water “Water Polish”), instead of being earmarked for example. For the maintenance of local water supply infrastructure. Following this path, you can expect that the charge deszczówkowa with optional rapidly become common to the community had with which to cover the new expenses.
But not everyone is convinced that the additional cost so easy will be passed on to residents. – At this stage of the legal assessment I’m afraid that transferring profits or counting fee retention in charge for water and sewage will not be possible. In the current system, the functioning of the community will not have exit and will have to bear the costs of the budget of their own – predicts Maciej Lorek, director of environment at the Gdansk city hall.
In addition, as pointed out, municipalities planning to receive significant money and at the same time expects that they will invest. – Undoubtedly, the introduction of fees will be a stimulus to initiate investment proretencyjnych, however, will miss financial funds to start such investments at the local level – indicates.
According to the Deputy Mariusz Gajda municipalities should not be a particular financial problem. In his opinion, the money for the fee can be derived from operating surpluses earned by the company’s water supply. – Sometimes these profits are very high. Then there will be no need to impose additional fees on residents – Deputy Minister argued in an interview with the DGP.
Indeed, the results of some water companies are impressive. According to “Gazeta Wrocławska”, among 16 municipal companies taken by it under the microscope it was The country’s municipal water supply company (MPWiK) closed last year with the biggest profit of approx. 24 million zł. Moreover, in 2015. MPWiK paid Wrocław solid dividend in the amount of 9.5 million zł.
The representatives of water companies argue that their financial situation is not rosy everywhere. – Many water supply in the country has more than 100 years. Pozaciągaliśmy loans for modernization – indicates one of our callers.
will gain Vistula and Odra
Municipalities argue that the imposition of fees for the rainwater is not the only burden financial, with which will have to deal with. – All management investment priorities will be central, and will focus only on the Oder and Vistula. A pity, because experience has shown that the threat of flooding occurs mainly at the local level, also from small streams. It is a pity that the current financial resources, which gathered municipalities and counties, from environmental charges, will be liquidated and transferred to the central level – regrets Maciej Lorek. I note that it probably will not be an incentive to finance small retention. And this is from these funds the city investments co-financed the construction of reservoirs.
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