97227 DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Water and Wastewater Services in the Danube Region Austria Country Note A State of the Sector | May 2015 danube-water-program.org | danubis.org CZECH REPUBLIC UKRAINE DANUBE SLOVAKIA DANUBE AUSTRIA MOLDOVA DANUBE HUNGARY SLOVENIA CROATIA ROMANIA DANUBE DANUBE BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA SERBIA KOSOVO BULGARIA MONTENEGRO FYR ALBANIA MACEDONIA Key Water and Sanitation Sector Challenges XXReducing pollution of water resources used for drinking purposes. Groundwater resources, which are the drinking water resources, face elevated levels of nitrate and pesticides in some regions. The protection of resources against pollution due to the agricultural sector and the industry is an ongoing challenge. XXAdapting to climate change. Adaption of the sewer systems to manage heavier rainfalls due to climate change will be an important challenge to meet in the near future. XXImproving asset management. During the last decades huge amounts of money have been invested into the water supply and wastewater sectors. It is important to maintain these assets to stay on a stable good practice level of service. Rehabilitation of existing infrastructure has been identified as a priority, and a strategy has been planned for 2012–2021. Further resources On water services in the Danube Region XXA regional report analyzing the State of Sector in the region, as well as detailed country notes for 15 additional countries, are available at SoS.danubis.org XX Detailed utility performance data are accessible, if available, at www.danubis.org/eng/utility-database On water services in Austria The following documents are recommended for further reading; the documents, and more, is available at www.danubis.org/eng/country-resources/austria XXBMG. 2015a. Austrian Drinking Water Report 2011-2013. Vienna: Austrian Federal Ministry of Health. XXBMLFUW. 2010. National Water Management Plan 2009 – NGP 2009. Vienna: Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management. XX—. 2014a. Austrian 91/271/EEC Urban Waste Water Treatment Report 2014. Vienna: Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management Acknowledgments. This work is a product of the staff of The World Bank with external contributions. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. The World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on part of The World Bank concerning legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. This note has been prepared by ÖVGW, the Austrian Waterworks Association, with the support of Maria Salvetti, consultant, based on the data collection by ÖVGW. It is part of a regional State of the Sector review led by David Michaud, World Bank, under the Danube Water Program financed by the Austrian Ministry of Finance, whose support is gratefully acknowledged. The authors welcome comments and can be contacted through David Michaud (dmichaud@worldbank.org). Rights and Permissions. The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because The World Bank encourages dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be reproduced, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Publisher, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA; fax: 202-522-2422; e-mail: pubrights@worldbank.org. DANUBE WATER PROGRAM WATER SNAPSHOT Sources for all numbers in the snapshot are provided in full in the body of this country page; a complete description of the methodology is provided in the State of the Sector Regional Report, at SoS.danubis.org. Access to services: Danube Danube average, bottom 40% and poor Value Year best average practice 100% Context for Services 80% GDP per capita, PPP 44,149 2013 16,902 n.a. 60% [current international $] Population [M. inh] 8.474 2013 8.451 n.a. 40% Poverty headcount ratio 20% — — 1.65 n.a. [$2.50 a day [PPP] [% of pop]] Local government units Piped supply Flush toilet 2,354 2014 1,987 n.a. [municipalities] Austria Danube average Danube best For which, average size [inh] 3,600 2013 4,253 n.a. Total renewable water 2008- availability [m3/cap/year] 9,180 2012 7,070 n.a. Sector Structure Self provision 165 Large regional utilities Organization of Services 8% 11% 3,400 Water Number of formal water cooperatives 5,465 2015 661 n.a. service providers 11% Average population served 1,427 2013 9,498 n.a. Water services law? Yes Single line ministry? Yes [BMLFUW] 30 Large Municipal Regulatory agency? No utilities 1,870 Small Utility performance indicators Municipal utilities 38% No publicly available? 31% Major ongoing reforms? No Access to Services Sustainability Assessment Access to piped water (%) 100 2012 83 100 Financing Piped water Access Investment Flush toilet Access to flush toilet (%) 99 2012 79 99 Wastewater treatment Performance of Services Affordability coverage Service continuity [hours/day] 24 2013 20 24 Operating Customer Nonrevenue water [m3/km/d] 7 2012 35 5 cost ratio satisfaction Water utility performance index 94 n.a. 69 94 [WUPI] Non revenue Continuity water of service Financing of Services Staffing level Wastewater compliance Operating cost coverage 1.44 2012 0.96 1.49 Collection ratio Efficiency Quality Average residential tariff [€/m3] 3.25 2012 1.32 n.a. Austria Danube average Danube best practice Share of potential WSS expen- Based on normalized indicators, closer to the border is better 1.0 2012 2.6 n.a. ditures over average income [%] Sector Danube Danube best Value Average annual investment Sustainability average practice 73 n.a. 23 n.a. [€/cap/year] Assessment 96 64 96 State of Sector | Austria Country Note | 1 DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Context for Services EU MS Danube Danube Indicator Year Source Value average average best Socioeconomic Situation Population [M. inhabitants] 2013 World Bank 2015 8.474 8.481 8.451 n.a. Population growth 1990- World Bank 2015 0.43 -0.26 -0.37 n.a. [compound growth rate 1990–2013] [%] 2013 Share of urban population [%] 2013 World Bank 2015 66 63 63 n.a. GDP per capita, PPP [current international $] 2013 World Bank 2015 44,149 24,535 16,902 n.a. Poverty headcount ratio — — — 1.86 1.65 n.a. [$2.50 a day [PPP] [% of pop]] Administrative Organization Statistics Austria No. of local government units [municipalities] 2014 2015 2,354 2,335 1,987 n.a. Av. size of local government units [inhabitants] 2013 Authors’ Elab. 3,600 3,632 4,253 n.a. Water Resources 2008- FAO Aquastat Total renewable water availability [m3/cap/year] 9,180 10,142 7,070 n.a. 2012 2015 Annual freshwater withdrawals, domestic 2013 World Bank 2015 18 38 26 n.a. [% of total withdrawal] Share of surface water as drinking water source [%] 2014 ICPDR 2015 0 16 31 n.a. Economy. Austria, a country with a high standard of living, has been a member of the EU since 1995. Austria has close to 8.5 million inhabitants, according to the 2014 census. Sixty-six percent of the population lives in urban settings, and the country is densely populated, with 102 inhabitants/km2 (World Bank 2015). GDP per capita is $44,149 (in current international dollars), making Austria a high-income country (World Bank 2015). The overall economic situation is good, with unemployment around 6%, but the Gini coefficient is 27.0, which means that a significant share of wealth belongs to only a small percentage of the population. The lowest 50% of households own only 4% of the property. Governance. Austria has three administrative levels (national, regional, local). The central government consists of 13 ministries (BKA 2015), which are responsible for national legislation. Regional ministers administrate the regional money for their specific departments, and supervise the adjoined authorities. The country is divided into 9 regional state administrations, which enforce and implement national laws, and which are legislatively responsible for, for example, land use, construction legislation, and environmental protection. There are 95 administrative districts throughout the country that are integrated into the regional administration within district authorities (Statistics Austria 2015). On the third level, 2,354 self-administrated Austrian municipalities are responsible for local compliance with regional laws. Regions oversee municipal fulfilment of their duties, among which are provision of water supply and wastewater treatment. Water resources. Austria is rich in high-quality drinking water resources. Austria has both a very good hydrogeological situation, with the Alps and the alpine headwaters of the Danube, and a long history of water resource protection of both groundwater and surface water. Large areas of the country can be supplied with native drinking water from springs and wells that are available in great quantity and quality for the resident municipalities. Some flat parts of Austria are affected by lower precipitation, which led to the establishment of water boards owned by the connected municipalities to solve quantity problems and partial overuse of local aquifers. In these areas, there is the need for some coordination among other stakeholders, like agriculture or the mineral raw material industry, with respect to groundwater quality. Water associations have been established over the last 100 years to balance the interests among those stakeholders and to prevent exhausting the resource. All climate scenarios until 2050 show only a small change in precipitation over the year. However, differences between areas have been spotted, and areas 2 | The Danube Water Program | WB & IAWD DANUBE WATER PROGRAM with lower yearly precipitation are expected to have even less precipitation in the future. Based on this knowledge, and due to general (technical) secure supply issues, the water supply systems became more and more interconnected through pipes and through cooperatives. Because of the high general availability of water in Austria, no water shortage is expected. Water supply for households and industry is seen as secure. Water supply sources. Austria meets its drinking water demand with spring water and groundwater. Surface water is not used. Overall water availability is approximately 77.7 Bm³ per year (FAO Aquastat 2015). Austrian water suppliers extract about 800 Mm³ per year for Austrian drinking water. Organization of Services EU MS Danube Danube Indicator Year Source Value average average best Number of formal water service providers 2015 ÖVGW 2015 5,465 1,060 661 n.a. Average population served [inhabitants] 2013 Authors’ Elab. 1,395 6,643 9,496 n.a. Dominant service provider type Local/ municipal utilities Service scope Water and/or sanitation Ownership Local municipalities/boards, cooperatives Geographic scope Local/regional Water services law? Yes Single line ministry? Yes [BMLFUW] Regulatory agency? No Utility performance indicators publicly available? No National utility association? Yes [ÖVGW for water & ÖWAV for wastewater] Private sector participation No Service provision. Municipalities are the dominant service Figure 1: Water services provider providers. Indeed, large and small municipal utilities serve types and market shares nearly 70% of the population. Regional utilities and water supply Self provision 165 Large regional utilities cooperatives each provide water to 11% of inhabitants, and the remaining 8% rely on piped self-provision (Figure 1). Twenty-four 8% 11% 3400 Water percent of Austrians are served by water utilities supplying less cooperatives than 5,000 inhabitants, and 66% are connected to water utilities 11% supplying more than 5,000 inhabitants (ÖVGW 2015). With an average population of 1,427 inhabitants per utility, the water sector is characterized by very small size in regional comparison (Authors’ elaboration.). 30 Large Municipal utilities Policy-making and sector institutions. The sector is regulated 1870 Small 38% at the national and regional levels. There is a clear distinction Municipal utilities between responsibilities borne by each level, and no overlap 31% among the following stakeholders (Figure 2): Source: RZS 2012b. XXThe Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management, which is the line ministry responsible for the definition of environmental policy, including technical and subsidizing regulations for water supply and sanitation (BMLFUW 2015). State of Sector | Austria Country Note | 3 DANUBE WATER PROGRAM XXThe Ministry of Finance, which is responsible for Upper Austria Water subsidising the water sector via the Kommunalkredit Founded in 1946, Upper Austria Water is a rural Austria AG (BMF 2015). association of more than 1,700 cooperatives in the Federal State of Upper Austria. It is in charge of XXThe Ministry of Health, which is responsible for setting tap decentralized, small-scale water supply and sewerage water quality standards and for monitoring drinking water installations, and flood protection and irrigation. It quality compliance (BMG 2015b). provides support to members on technical, legal, financial, and organizational issues. It also provides XXThe nine state governments, which are in charge of operations and maintenance services and proposes implementing and enforcing national regulations via their education and training sessions, as well as networking administrative districts (Parlament 2015). activities and information exchange opportunities. Figure 2: Water services sector organization I National Ministry Ministry R Ministry level I of R of of Finance Agriculture P Health P Finances investments Discusses policies Sets water quality regulation Controls drinking water quality Regional level I Regional governments P Implements policies Controls extractions and discharges, finances investments Owns, governs R - regulation Local I Local Consents to tariffs Water/sewer P - policies level Government S company R I - investments S - service provision Source: Authors’ elaboration. Capacity and training. Key staff qualifications are legally regulated, and the Kommunalkredit Austrian water associations ÖVGW and ÖWAV are key providers of education The Austrian environmental and training in the sector. Austrian legislation requires that staff operating water support scheme has been facilities have adequate qualifications; the water stakeholders have agreed on a managed since 1993 by uniform training scheme, which is implemented in every region by the waterworks Kommunalkredit Public associations. The water supply and sanitation staff is highly qualified and Consulting (KPC), a specialist in staff turnover generally low. In the rural context, local water associations and environmental fund management cooperatives provide support on technical, legal, financial, and organizational issues and development, which mainly to its members. They also propose education and training sessions, as well as acts on behalf of the Austrian networking activities and information exchange opportunities. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Economic regulation. Tariffs are based on a revenue cap. Referring to the cost recovery Management. KPC has appraised principle, water utilities assess the cost for 1 m³ and set a new water tariff accordingly more than 40,000 project under the approval of local municipal governments. According to law, the tariff can be up applications for the water sector, to twice the annual financial requirement of the water utility. Any additional demand to representing investments of raise tariffs must be made with regard to a specific context affecting the water service. nearly €17 billion and more than Many water utilities also link their tariff to the annual inflation rate. €4.8 billion in grants. 4 | The Danube Water Program | WB & IAWD DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Ongoing or planned reforms. There is currently no ongoing reform in the water and sanitation sector in Austria. However, issues that will need to be addressed have been identified in strategic planning documents, such as the National Water Management Plan 2009. Issues include water resource protection from micropollutants, rehabilitation of existing infrastructure (planning strategy for 2013–2021), and climate change adaptation targeted at karst areas and flood risk management. Access to Services EU MS Danube Danube Indicator Year Source Value average average best Water Supply Piped supply – average [%] 2012 Authors’ Elab. 100 91 83 100 Piped supply – bottom 40% [%] 2012 Authors’ Elab. 100 85 76 100 Piped supply – below $2.50/day [PPP] [%] 2012 Authors’ Elab. 100 77 61 100 Including from public supply – average [%] 2012 BMLFUW 2012b 90 83 74 99 Sanitation and Sewerage Flush toilet – average [%] 2012 Authors’ Elab. 99 83 79 99 Flush toilet – bottom 40% 2012 Authors’ Elab. 98 74 70 98 Flush toilet – below $2.50/day [PPP] [%] 2012 Authors’ Elab. 100 63 54 100 Including with sewer – average [%] 2012 BMLFUW 2014a 94 67 66 94 Wastewater Treatment Connected to wastewater treatment plant [%] 2012 BMLFUW 2014a 95 62 45 95 Service coverage. The Austrian population has full access to drinking water and sanitation services. Access to piped water is universal; 90% of the population is connected to a public water supply, and 10% rely on self-provision from their own wells and springs (Figure 3). Ninety-nine percent of the population has access to a flush toilet, and 94% have connections to public sewers (Figure 3). Up to 95% of the population is connected to a centralized wastewater treatment plant, and 100% of the wastewater volume collected is treated. (Authors’ elaboration) 100% Figure 3: Access to water and sanitation: 90% Total total population, 80% 99% bottom 40% of the population and poor 70% Total, bottom Source: BMLFUW 2012b.RZS 2011 40%, poor Bottom and RZS 2012b. 60% 40% 100% 98% 50% 90% 94% 95% 40% Poor 30% 100% 20% 10% 0% Piped water Public supply Flush toilet Sewer Wastewater treatment State of Sector | Austria Country Note | 5 DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Equity of access to services. Poor households and minorities have full access to water and sanitation. One hundred percent of the Austrian population, including the lowest 40% and the poorest share of the population (those living on $2.50/day PPP), have access to piped water. Ninety-eight percent of the lowest 40% of the population and 100% of the poorest population have access to flush toilets. According to official Austrian statistics, minorities represent less than 1% of the total population. They are well integrated and not marginalized in terms of access to water supply and sanitation. Service infrastructure. Austria’s water sector infrastructure has benefited from significant amounts of investments. Around 76,700 km of water pipes supply more than 90% of the Austrian population (Figure 3). There are 1.4 million connections and about 2,600 tapped springs. The Austrian population is mainly supplied with non- treated drinking water (93%). In the wastewater sector, there are around 96,200 km of sewage pipes and 1,842 treatment plants (BMLFUW 2014a). In recent decades, significant amounts of money have been invested in the water supply and wastewater infrastructure. The current and future priority is to implement a long-term asset management policy. Value Value Year Source Water Wastewater Number of treatment plants — 1,842 2012 BMLFUW 2014a Length of network [km] 76,700 96,200 2012 BMLFUW 2012a Average connections per km of network — — — — Performance of Services Service Quality EU MS Danube Danube Indicator Year Source Value average average best Residential water consumption [liters/capita/day] 2012 Expert estimate 140 113 122 n.a. Water supply continuity [hours/day] 2013 Expert estimate 24 24 20 24 Drinking water quality [% of samples in full 2010 BMG 2015a 99.9 96 93 99.9 compliance] Wastewater treatment quality [% of samples in full 2012 BMLFUW 2014a 100 79 79 100 BOD5 compliance] Sewer blockages [number/km/year] — — — 3.0 5.0 0.2 Customer satisfaction [% of population satisfied 2013 Gallup 2013 95 78 63 95 with services] Quality of service. The quality of water utilities in Austria is high, as is the quality of drinking water. Drinking water quality compliance is 99.8% for microbiological and 100% for chemical parameters (BMG 2015a). Water is provided 24/7. Due to higher efficiency levels of household machines and changes in consumer behavior, average water consumption per capita has been decreasing for the last six years, from 147 liters per day to 140 liters per day (Expert estimate). According to the “Austrian Drinking Water Report” (BMG 2015a), in 2010 a relatively high number of utilities serving less than 5,000 inhabitants asked for 118 exceptional derogations due to high values of nitrate or pesticides. The same year, utilities serving more than 5,000 inhabitants asked for 5 exceptional derogations. Around 28,000 inhabitants were affected by these exceptional permissions, 22,000 of whom were served by 3 several utilities (BMG 2015a). 6 | The Danube Water Program | WB & IAWD DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Customer satisfaction. The Austrian population is highly satisfied with the quality of service. According to a Gallup international survey, 95% of the population is highly satisfied with drinking water quality and service quality (Gallup 2013), a rate among the highest recorded in the survey. Eighty-six percent of Austrians think the price of water is acceptable or even low (AQA & ÖVGW 2014). 110% Figure 4: Evolution of billing collection rate for a sample 105% of utilities 100% Source: ÖVGW 2015. Collection ratio (%) 90% 85% 80% 75% 70% 65% 60% 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 Efficiency of Services EU MS Danube Danube Indicator Year Source Value average average best Nonrevenue water [%] 2012 ÖVGW 2015 16 34 35 16 Nonrevenue water [m3/km/day] 2012 ÖVGW 2015 7 14 35 5 Staff productivity [water and wastewater] [number of 2012 ÖVGW 2015 2.0 8.7 9.6 2.0 employees/1,000 connections] Staff productivity [water and wastewater] [number of 2012 ÖVGW 2015 0.39 1.0 1.7 0.4 employees/1,000 inh. served] Billing collection rate [cash income/billed revenue] [%] 2013 ÖVGW 2015 105 102 98 116 Metering level [metered connections/connections] [%] 2012 ÖVGW 2015 100 96 84 100 Water Utility Performance Index [WUPI] n.a. Authors’ Elab. 94 80 69 94 Overall efficiency. Austrian water utilities are generally efficient. In all data surveys performed over the decades, more meters than connections were recorded, indicating that most utilities have a metering level of 100%. Additional meters are installed on transport pipes to monitor losses and zone input values. Only in rural areas do some single, very small water cooperatives (up to 10 connections) not use water meters. The nonrevenue water level is relatively low, at 16% and 7m3/km/day in 2012. Staff productivity corresponds to international best practices, with 2 employees per 1,000 connections. However, staff productivity varies significantly among rural and urban utilities, long-distance suppliers, and water cooperatives. Staff in many small Water cooperatives often works voluntarily (ÖVGW 2015). Recent trends. The efficiency of utilities has been stable over time. From 2007 to 2012, the billing collection rate for a sample of utilities representing at least 50% of the population served was below 100%, showing some difficulties collecting billed volumes of water (Figure 4). However, in 2013, the collection rate was 105%, indicating a capacity to recover unpaid bills (ÖVGW 2015). Nonrevenue water remained stable during the same period. State of Sector | Austria Country Note | 7 DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Financing of Services Sector Financing EU MS Danube Danube Indicator Year Source Value average average best Sources of Financing Overall sector financing [€/capita/year] Authors’ elab. 185 101 62 n.a. Overall sector financing [share of GDP] [%] Authors’ elab. 0.57 0.55 0.45 n.a. Percentage of service cost financed from tariffs Authors’ elab. 87 65 67 n.a. Percentage of service cost financed from taxes Authors’ elab. 13 10 13 n.a. Percentage of service cost financed from Authors’ elab. 0 25 20 n.a. transfers Service Expenditure Average annual investment [share of overall Authors’ elab. 40 42 38 n.a. sector financing] [%] Average annual investment [€/capita/year] Authors’ elab. 73 42 23 n.a. Estimated investment needed to achieve targets 2013–2021 KPC 2014 91 65 43 n.a. [€/capita/year] Of which, share of wastewater management [%] Authors’ elab. 57 64 61 n.a. Overall sector financing. The sector is financed mainly by revenues from tariffs, which entirely cover operations and maintenance costs, as well as a significant share of investment costs. Some subsidies are granted by national local budgets to complement funding for investments, which represent 40% of sector spending (Figure 5). 100% Figure 5: Overall utility sector financing Taxes (national) Investment 90% 4% 40% Source: Authors’ elaboration. Taxes (local) 80% 9% 70% 60% Tariffs (national) 50% 87% 40% O&M 30% 60% 20% 10% 0% Financing Spending The main sources of funding of water and wastewater utilities are described in Figure 6, using the OECD three Ts methodology (tariffs, transfers, and taxes). 8 | The Danube Water Program | WB & IAWD DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Figure 6: Main sources of funding of water and wastewater services State budget Kommunalkredit Subsidies for facilities National (funded by national taxes) taxes Subsidies (funded�by Water and wastewater federal local taxes) utilities Tariff Consumers and polluters Local taxes Local govrnment budget Source: Authors’ elaboration. Investment needs. Financing necessary investments is a challenge for the water sector. Austria has developed a planning strategy for 2013–2021, to implement renovation and new investments for both water and sanitation infrastructure. This total plan amounts to €6.95 billion, with €2.96 billion dedicated to water and €3.99 billion to wastewater, representing an average annual per capita investment of €91 (KPC 2014). Investments. Investment rates are high but declining. Utilities operate with a budget based on revenues from tariffs. For investments such as rehabilitation of pipes or rehabilitation of drinking water tanks, subsidies are granted from national and regional budgets. From 1993 to 2013, €13.29 billion was invested in the sanitation sector, and €3.1 billion was invested in the water supply sector (BMLFUW 2014b). See Figure 7 for a comparison of investment sources and uses. Overall, the annual investment rate per capita was €73 (Authors’ elaboration), not very far from the necessary level; however, recent trends indicate decreases in overall investment levels Figure 7: Evolution of investments levels, sources, and uses 700 600 Investment (M €) 500 400 300 Source: International 200 Source: National 100 Source: Subnational 0 Use: Water/Sanitation 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Source: Authors’ elaboration. State of Sector | Austria Country Note | 9 DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Cost Recovery and Affordability EU MS Danube Danube Indicator Year Source Value average average best Cost Recovery Average residential tariff 2012 Expert estimate 3.25 2.18 1.32 n.a. [incl. water and wastewater] [€/m3] Operation and maintenance unit cost [€/m3] Authors’ elab. 2.43 1.77 1.20 1.20 Operating cost coverage 2012 Authors’ elab. 1.44 1.10 0.96 1.49 [billed revenue/operating expense] Affordability Share of potential WSS expenditures over 2012 Authors’ elab. 1.0 3.1 2.6 n.a. average income [%] Share of potential WSS expenditures over 2012 Authors’ elab. 1.6 4.7 3.8 n.a. bottom 40% income [%] Share of households with potential WSS 2012 Authors’ elab. 1.4 24.7 14.1 n.a. expenditures above 5% of average income [%] Cost recovery. Revenues from tariffs represent 87% of sector funding (Authors’ elaboration). As a result, the subsidy level is low (5%) (Authors’ elaboration). Operating cost coverage (collected revenues over operating costs) reaches a high level at 1.44 (Authors’elaboration) based on KPC 2008 and Vienna MA 5 2014, and the water and wastewater tariff represents on average €3.25/m3 (Figure 8). Figure 8: Evolution of average water and wastewater tariff (absolute and share of expenditure in total income) 2 5% Water 1.8 Sanitation 1.6 4% Average tariff (€/m3) 1.4 1.2 3% 1 0.8 2% 1.6% 0.6 1.0% 0.4 1% 0.2 0 0% 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 Average Bottom 40% Sources: Expert estimate and authors’ elaboration. Tariffs. During the last 12 years, water and wastewater tariffs have increased by 28% (Expert estimate), while the annual average inflation rate was 2.1% (Statistics Austria 2015). With an average price at €3.25/m3, water represent 58% of the tariff and sanitation 42% (Expert estimate). But prices differ from one utility to another, and a large variability is observed. Affordability. In 2012, water and sanitation services remained affordable at only 1.0% of average household income. For the bottom 40% of the population, a potential water and sanitation invoice amounts to 1.6% of the household income. As a result, tariffs are generally considered affordable (Figure 8). 10 | The Danube Water Program | WB & IAWD DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Water Sector Sustainability and Main Challenges To evaluate and reflect the sustainability of services in the region, an overall sector maturity assessment was done taking into account four main dimensions: access to services, quality of services, efficiency of services, and financing of services. Each of these dimensions is measured through three simple and objective indicators. For each indicator, best practice values are established by looking at the best performers in the region, and countries closest to those best performers are deemed to have a more mature sector. A more complete description of the methodology to assess the sector maturity is included in the Annex of the State of the Sector Regional Report from the Danube Water Program. The outcomes of this assessment for the Austrian water sector are presented in Figure 9, which also shows average and best practices in the Danube region. The Austrian sector maturity score is 96, which is significantly higher than the Danube average maturity of 64, and the highest score in the region. The assessment shows that, on average, the country performs very well in terms of access to piped water and flush toilet, wastewater treatment coverage, customer satisfaction, continuity of service, wastewater compliance, collection ratio, and nonrevenue water (Figure 9). Financing Access Figure 9: Sector Maturity Assessment, Austria Piped water Investment Flush toilet Source: Authors’ elaboration. Wastewater treatment Affordability coverage Operating Customer cost ratio satisfaction Non revenue Continuity water of service Staffing level Wastewater Austria compliance Collection ratio Danube average Eficiency Quality Danube best practice The main sector challenges are: XXReducing pollution of water resources used for drinking purposes. Groundwater resources, which are the drinking water resources, face elevated levels of nitrate and pesticides in some regions. The protection of resources against pollution due to the agriculture sector and the industry is an ongoing challenge, since high levels of nitrate and pesticides have been recorded in some regions of the country. XXAdapting to climate change. Adaption of the sewer systems to manage heavier rainfalls due to climate change will be an important challenge in the near future. In addition questions of energy recovery and sludge treatment are currently being discussed. XXImproving asset management. During the last decades huge amounts of money have been invested into the water supply and wastewater sectors. It is important to maintain these assets to stay on a stable good practice level of service. Rehabilitation of existing infrastructure has been identified as a priority, and a strategy has been planned for 2013–2021 with a total investment plan of €6.55 billion (2.8 billion for water and 3.75 billion for wastewater). State of Sector | Austria Country Note | 11 DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Sources XXAQA & ÖVGW. 2014. Water Report. Vienna: AQA GmbH gallup.com/services/170945/world-poll.aspx. & Austrian Association for Gas and Water. XXICPDR. 2015. International Commission for the XXBKA. 2015. Austrian Federal Chancellery. Accessed Protection of the Danube River. Accessed 2015. http:// 2015. https://www.bka.gv.at. www.icpdr.org. XXBMF. 2015. Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance. XXKPC. 2008. Financing in the field of communal water Accessed 2015. https://www.bmf.gv.at. supply and sewage disposal services in Austria. Vienna: XXBMG. 2015a. Austrian Drinking Water Report 2011-2013. Kommunalkredit Public Consulting GmbH. Vienna: Austrian Federal Ministry of Health. XX—. 2014. Kommunalkredit Public Consulting GmbH: XX—.2015b. Austrian Federal Ministry of Health. Accessed Results of the Evaluation of Investment Costs in Sanitary 2015. http://www.bmg.gv.at. Engineering 2012. Accessed 2015. http://www.bmlfuw. gv.at/wasser/wasser-oesterreich/foerderungen/ XXBMLFUW. 2012a. Technical Challenges in Sanitary trinkwasser_abwasser/aktuelle_projekte/ Engineering. Vienna: Austrian Federal Ministry investitionskosten.html. of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water XXÖVGW. 2015. Austrian Association for Gas and Water. Management. Accessed 2015. http://www.ovgw.at. XX—. 2012b. Water Consumption and Water Demand - XXParlament. 2015. Parliament of the Republic of Austria: Evaluation of Empirical Data on Water Consumption. Vienna: Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, The Federal State of Austria. Accessed 2015. http:// Forestry, Environment and Water Management. www.parlament.gv.at/ENGL/PERK/BOE/index.shtml. XX—. XXStatistics Austria. 2015. Accessed 2015. http://www. 2014a. Austrian 91/271/EEC Urban Waste Water Treatment Report 2014. Vienna: Austrian Federal statistik.at/web_en. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and XXVienna MA 5. 2014. Balance of Accounts of the Federal Water Management. Capital of Vienna for the Year 2013. Vienna: Vienna City XX—. 2014b. Federal Environmental Subsidies 2013. Administration: Municipal Department 5 - Financial Vienna: Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Affairs. Forestry, Environment and Water Management. XXWorld Bank. 2015. World Development Indicators. XX—. 2015. Austrian Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Accessed 2015. http://databank.worldbank.org/data/ Forestry, Environment and Water Management. views/reports/tableview.aspx. Accessed 2015. http://www.bmlfuw.gv.at/. XXFAO Aquastat. 2015. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - AQUASTAT Database. Accessed 2015. http://www.fao.org/nr/water/aquastat/data/ query/index.html?lang=en. XXGallup. 2013. World Poll. Accessed 2015. http://www. 12 | The Danube Water Program | WB & IAWD DANUBE WATER PROGRAM Austria Country Note The World Bank / IAWD Danube Water Program supports smart policies, strong utilities, and sustainable water and wastewater services in the Danube Region by partnering with regional, national, and local stakeholders, promoting an informed policy dialogue around the sector’s challenges and strengthening the technical and managerial capacity of the sector’s utilities and institutions. DANUBE WATER PROGRAM www.danube-water-program.org | www.danubis.org | SoS.danubis.org office@danube-water-program.org