Water supply and sanitation in Russia

This article has been written in 2010. Please feel free to update this article.

Russia: Water and Sanitation
Data
Water coverage (broad definition)
Sanitation coverage (broad definition)
Continuity of supply (%)	continuous
Average urban water use (liter/capita/day)	248 liter (2004)
Average urban water and sewer bill for 20m3
Share of household metering
Share of collected wastewater treated
Annual investment in WSS
Share of self-financing by utilities
Share of tax-financing
Share of internal debt financing
Share of foreign financing
Institutions
Decentralization to municipalities	Partial
National water and sanitation company	No
Water and sanitation regulator	No
Responsibility for policy setting	Ministry of Natural Resources
Sector law	Various laws
Number of urban service providers	About 2,800
Number of rural service providers	n/a

The total access to water supply and sanitation in Russia in 2004 was between 76 and 90 per cent, while the total water supply coverage was between 91 and 100 per cent. The Russian municipal water supply system includes water inlets, pumping stations, water preparation and purification stations, water supply networks and water sanitation stations. There are approximately 40,000 water supply stations and 20,000 water sanitation stations. In addition, there are 4,876 local water supply networks with a total length of 463,000 km. Approximately 70 per cent of drinking water supply comes from surface water and 30 per cent from groundwater. In 2004, water supply systems had a total capacity of 90 million cubic metres a day. The average residential water use was 248 litres per capita per day.

Service quality

Water purification station (two round towers) on the Volga waterfront in Kstovo

Water supply According to a 2004 UN report, in some cities and towns drinking water quality is poor. Typical of the majority of surface waters is the increase in the intensity of the bacterial and viral load, the poor functioning of wastewater treatment plants, the virtual absence of purified wastewater, and infringements of the rules governing the use of water in water protection zones. However, the requirements regarding the quality of drinking water have been made stricter. The relevant recommendations of the World Health Organization have been put into effect. New standards now determine the water treatment technology and the policy of organizations monitoring the quality of water at all stages from the time it leaves the water supply point until it reaches the consumer.

Sanitation In 2002, the capacity of the wastewater treatment plants was 56.1 million cubic metres a day, which is more than twice the 1995 level. The length of the sewerage network was 118,000 km. The amount of wastewater passing through the plants in 2002 represents 86 per cent of wastewater emitted. Of this, only 28 per cent is treated in accordance with the established regulations, while the remainder is discharged, insufficiently treated, into rivers, lakes and the sea. 60 per cent of the wastewater treatment plants are overloaded and 38 per cent have been in operation for 25 to 30 years and need to be reconstructed. The deficit in the capacity of sewerage systems at present is more than 9 million cubic metres a day. 9,616 sewerage systems are in operation, but 44 towns (4 per cent) and 582 urban type settlements (27 per cent) still had no central sewerage system in 2002.

Responsibility for service provision

In Russia, the federal law on local government stipulates that the organisation, maintenance, and development of municipal water supply and sanitation are responsibilities of local governments, although the central government retains ownership of a few systems (including Moscow and St. Petersburg). 2004 In the majority of locations (95 percent) municipalities own both the water supply and sanitation properties and manage them as municipal unitary enterprises, or “vodokanals.” Vodokanals are responsible for supplying drinking water and cleaning wastewater. Tariffs can be set by municipalities, and rose from 2000 because of economic growth, but there remains a chronic problem of unpaid bills.

Service provision by the private sector

Since 2003 there has been rapid growth in the introduction of private companies to take over the management and operations of water systems. By mid-2004 private Russian operators controlled about 50 large utilities and many other municipalities were negotiating with one private financial group or another. Operators do not usually become the owner of the assets, but take over under a lease, rent or concession arrangement running for 25–49 years. These contracts are not subject to competitive tendering or review by a federal or regional property committee - municipalities can simply announce their intention to hire an operator; there is no requirement for financial disclosure; and investment obligations are rarely clearly spelled out. There is a high risk of bankruptcy and exit by the private operator, especially as many of the companies have little or no experience in running water utilities, and in that case the liabilities will all fall on the municipality and/or central government. There are also dangers from the probability that private operators will use disconnection more freely as a method of gathering bills.

Industrial waste

Until the early 1990s most industries managed to discharge wastewater without treatment since legislation lacked the teeth to penalise polluters. The federal government and local authorities have amended laws to impose stiff penalties for water polluters, charging industries for the use of natural resources such as fresh water, and offering credit facilities and benefits to those that implement environmental-friendly technologies and practices. This has provided an incentive for industries to implement their own water and wastewater treatment programs. Industries are emerging as an attractive end-user group for suppliers of water-treatment products. The Federal Act on industrial waste and consumption was adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation in June 1996. This Act, which is a further development of the Act on environmental protection, sets out the State policy concerning the treatment of industrial waste and consumption. With a view to preventing environmental pollution and enhancing the effectiveness of the use of domestic and industrial waste, the Government of the Russian Federation, in decision No. 1098 of 13 September 1996, confirmed the special Federal Programme on waste.