Municipal water supply, 2013

Today’s renewal rate means that it will take almost 160 years to renew the whole pipeline system, assuming that no new pipelines are installed in the coming years.

Half the pipeline system laid between 1971 and 2000

The length of the municipal water pipelines is estimated to be nearly 43 800 kilometres; the same as the earth’s circumference at the equator. About half of the municipal pipeline system was laid between 1971 and 2000, around 3 per cent was laid before 1940 and 17 per cent between 2001 and 2012. The age and quality of the pipeline systems vary considerably between municipalities.

The age of the pipeline system for the country as a whole is estimated at 33 years. When corrected for pipelines laid in an 'unknown time period', the estimate changes to 34 years.

Drinking water under “pressure”

Booster pumps are used in many areas of Norway to transport drinking water to consumers. There are a total of 2 400 such pumps in the country, which corresponds to an average of 1 booster pump every 20 kilometres of water pipeline. If the pressure was to drop, there is a risk that polluted water from the outside may come into contact with the drinking water inside the pipelines. Thus, it is important to reduce pressure drops to a minimum by renewing old pipelines and ensuring effective routines are in place for planned stops in the water supply.

45 minutes of delivery failure

The estimated average annual technical delivery failure in the municipal water supply in 2013 is around 45 minutes per person. Forty per cent of this or around 20 minutes is related to unplanned incidents by the water works.

Around 4 100 leakage repairs were also estimated to have been carried out on the water pipeline system in 2013, corresponding to 1 leak repair per 10 kilometres of pipeline. This is around the same level as in 2012.

208 litres a day per person

KOSTRA statistics on water supply show that more than 42 per cent of water to the municipal water pipeline system is consumed by households. An additional 2 per cent is consumed in holiday cottages or holiday homes. In one year, this corresponds to 208 litres a day per person; a 10-litre increase compared to 2012.

Altogether, the municipal waterworks produced 760 million m3 of water, compared to 730 million m3 in 2012. One out of three litres, or around 32 per cent, of the water supplied is “lost” through leakage.

Satisfactory water quality

Around 4.3 million inhabitants in Norway were connected to the 1 100 municipal water works located in the country (not including those serving only schools and kindergartens). This corresponds to a share of 85 per cent of Norway’s population. Dispersed across the water distributing system, this implies an average of 100 persons per kilometre of pipeline. If also including private water works, it totals around 4.5 million people and 2 000 water works.

In 2013, a total of 100, 98 and 94 per cent of inhabitants respectively were connected to municipal waterworks that provided water with an acceptable content of thermo-tolerant intestinal bacteria (E. coli), colour and levels of acidity (pH).

Income from fees and fee calculation basis almost equal

In 2013, the fee calculation basis per inhabitant was NOK 1 264, which constitutes an increase of 10 per cent compared to 2012. Income from fees was NOK 1 250 in 2013; an increase of 5 per cent since 2012.

Municipal costs in the water sector are predominantly covered by fees paid by the users of the service. Regulations stipulate that fees in the municipal water and wastewater sector cannot exceed the municipality’s actual costs for providing that particular service (“self cost”). Accurately stipulating income from fees to cover the real calculation basis in a single year is complicated. Thus, the municipalities are allowed to decide on fee levels so that income from fees over a five-year period equals the fee calculation basis.

The income from fees was 1 per cent lower than the fee calculation basis in 2013; the same trend as for the five-year period 2009-13.