Vol. 560 No. 3
405 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the number of projects which will be the subject of design building operate contracts in 2003 in co-operation with the National Federation of Group Water Schemes. [2537/03]
406 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the projects which will be completed under the national development plan to resolve the problem of contaminated private water schemes. [2538/03]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 405 and 406 together.
Rural water quality deficiencies are mainly associated with privately sourced group water schemes, some 750 of which serve 50 persons or more, approximately 50,000 households in all, and are subject to the Drinking Water Regulations 2000. In the region of 500 of these schemes require the provision of water disinfection and/or treatment equipment at source in order to consistently maintain compliance with the regulations. Connection to local authority public supplies will provide compliance in other cases.
Some €644 million is being provided under the National Development Plan 2000-2006 for the improvement of rural water services infrastructure. Group schemes dependent on quality deficient private sources are eligible for a 100% capital grant for the provision of water disinfection and treatment equipment. In order to ensure the most cost effective delivery and operation of such equipment, and to secure the long-term protection of the related capital investment, procurement policy in the group water sector, in common with small public schemes, is based on design build operate contracts, coupled with the bundling of numbers of projects under a single contract.
Under the devolved rural water programme the prioritisation and approval of improvement works to individual group water schemes are the responsibility of the local authorities and are funded by way of annual blocks by my Department to county councils. On the basis of councils' most recent returns to my Department, I understand that 16 bundled DBO projects involving 131 individual group schemes, serving over 23,000 houses, are now either under construction or being progressed through the tendering process. A further ten bundled DBO projects involving 62 group schemes, serving an estimated 5,000 houses, are at an earlier stage of planning. Local authorities also currently have proposals to connect 182 quality deficient group schemes, serving around 5,500 houses, to public supply networks.
I will shortly be announcing the 2003 block grants under the rural water programme.
Questions Nos. 407 and 408 answered with Question No. 122.
