Too little central government focus on maintenance of municipal water and wastewater network
The central government is doing too little to ensure that municipal water and wastewater treatment facilities are managed and maintained, according to the Swedish National Audit Office’s audit.
The Swedish National Audit Office has examined the central government’s efforts to ensure that municipalities meet the need for municipal water and wastewater; that is, public water services.
The audit shows that the central government has focused too little on ensuring that municipalities maintain and renovate their water and wastewater treatment facilities. It is the assessment of the Swedish National Audit Office that this is partly because the county administrative boards’ interpretation of their supervisory responsibilities has been too restrictive.
“Clean water and functioning wastewater management are prerequisites for human health and a variety of essential functions. The central government’s work needs to be improved in this respect,” says Auditor General Christina Gellerbrant Hagberg.
In 2023, a provision was introduced requiring all municipalities to develop a municipal water service plan. The aim was to bring about effects on municipalities’ maintenance and renovation of water and wastewater networks.
When the requirement was introduced, the Government observed that there was a need for central government guidance for the municipalities. However, the Government has not instructed any of its government agencies to this effect, and no central government guidance has been produced.
The Swedish National Audit Office also finds that there is no national follow-up of how municipalities are fulfilling the requirement for water service plans.
“All in all, this risks leading to water service plans that do not amount to a description of how municipalities are to meet the long-term need for public water services, as was envisaged when the requirement was introduced,” says Joakim Grausne, project leader for the audit.
The audit findings also show that:
- the supervision of county administrative boards is mainly reactive or event-driven, and only a few county administrative boards carry out planned supervision
- for a long time, there has been no authority providing supervisory guidance for county administrative boards for their supervision of municipalities’ compliance with the Public Water Services Act
- in their supervision, county administrative boards have no powers to request documentation from the municipalities.
Recommendations in brief
The Swedish National Audit Office’s recommendations to the Government include the following:
- task the agencies concerned with deepening their cooperation
- instruct an appropriate government agency to guide and follow up on municipalities’ work on water service plans
- follow up and take steps to ensure that county administrative boards’ supervision covers municipalities’ overall responsibility to meet the need for public water services.
The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management is recommended to clarify county administrative boards’ supervisory responsibility. County administrative boards are recommended to ensure that their supervision covers municipalities’ overall responsibility, pursuant to Section 6 of the Public Water Services Act.
Public water services
Public water services is a collective term for water supply and sewage facilities provided by municipalities. It primarily refers to waterworks, pipeline networks, pump works and sewage treatment plants. About 90% of Sweden’s population is connected to public water services.
Municipalities are required by law to operate public water services. The central government influences municipalities’ ability to fulfil their obligations through legislation, regulation, supervision, guidance and grants.