Legislation

Legislation framework

The legal framework for the supervision by BT&P on the provision of drinking water, is primarily focused on the production and distribution of drinking water by Aqualectra, in order to safeguard the availability of drinking water for the public against an affordable price.

The supervision on the quality of drinking water by the public health authorities of Curaçao is the political responsibility of the minister of Public Health, the Environment and Nature.

In order to carry out supervision, BT&P is dependent on a proper and consistent application of the operational supervision by the Curaçao health authorities on the availability and quality of the drinking water. The political responsibility for this lies with the minister of Health, Environment and Nature.

The legal framework is composed of the following elements that may be downloaded for inspection:

* Note: This National Ordinance has not been adapted yet to the new constitutional structure effective as from 10 October 2010.

Quality drinking water

The quality of the drinking water is reviewed by the minister of Health, Environment and Nature, on the basis of further rules and requirements that have been adopted for the composition of water (among other things the temperature, odor, color, bacteria, metals, hardness, etc.) and the obligatory quality inspections through measuring programs, sample analyses, audit sampling, risk analyses and medical examinations of personnel.:

In the National Ordinance drinking water, (Official Gazette 2006, no. 37) and the National Resolution quality drinking water, (Official Gazette 2006, no. 72), the rules and requirements pertaining to the quality and the quality inspections have been set out in further detail.

Technical quality water

In the framework of quality review, BT&P involves itself with the technical aspects of the production and distribution of drinking water.Technical aspects on the one hand particularly comprise technical losses caused by defective mains and on the other hand administrative losses, for example as a result inaccuracies of meters, errors in the billing process, but also the manipulation of connections to the distribution network (theft). These technical and administrative losses are earmarked as “Non-Revenue Water” (NRW or “leakage loss”): water that does enter the distribution network, but that is not charged to the end user.

Since NRW has a negative effect on the income of Aqualectra, on the level of the production and distribution costs of drinking water and on the level of the end user rates, it is essential that this is reduced as much as possible.

In the period between April 2012 and the end of 2013, BT&P had a study carried out by Vitens Evides International into the losses in water distribution. From this it became apparent that a substantial reduction of NRW can be realized from an average 26% to 17% (the standard set by the World Bank for developing countries is 17.5%).

Within this framework, the objective is to realize this reduction within 3 years. The plan of action for this comprises:

• Detection of losses through District Metered Areas (measurements and analyses on the basis of isolation of district metered areas)
• Inspection of physical connections with the administration
• Repair and replacement of mains, correction of errors in the administration and detection of illegal use

This approach will be carried out by Aqualectra and BT&P will monitor the progress in close consultation with Aqualectra.

Tariffs drinking water

The supervision on the affordability of the drinking water rates for the consumer requires an as efficient as possible production and delivery of drinking water.

In this framework the process of determining the price for goods and services by the minister and the establishment of drinking water rates against the adopted maximum prices along with this, will be facilitated by the Ordinance on Prices 1961, (Official Gazette 1961, no. 117).