حقائــق وبيانــات مقدمــي خدمــات ﺑﺮج ﺧﻠﻒ، ﺷﺎرع اﻟﺮوﺿﺔ Khalaf Building, Al-Rawda St. اﻟﺒﻴﺮة، ﻓﻠﺴﻄﻴﻦ Al Bireh- Palestine المياه والصرف الصحي في فلسطينPERFORMANCE 1294 240 2 +970 +970 2 240 1295 [email protected] MONITORING wsrc.ps wsrcps The Performance of Water and REPORTWastewater FOR WATER Service Providers AND WASTEWATERin Palestine PROVIDERS IN PALESTINE2019 ملخص WSRC Summary 2016 - 2017 2020 © DECEMBER 2020 +970 59 7720001 [email protected] © 2020 WSRC PERFORMANCE MONITORING REPORT FOR WATER AND WASTEWATER PROVIDERS IN PALESTINE DECEMBER 2020 +970 59 7720001 [email protected] © 2020 WSRC 1 President of the State of Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas State of the Prime Minister Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh 2 3 7 Preface 9 Forward 10 Significance of the Performance Indicators Report 12 CHAPTER 1: Water and Wastewater Service Providers in the State of Palestine 24 CHAPTER 2: Detailed Review of the Performance of Service Providers According to KPIs 25 Technical indicators 40 Financial indicators 50 Water Quality Indicators 52 Other Indicators 59 General Recommendations Graphs 26 Average daily water consumption per capita for domestic usage in the West Bank 27 Average daily water consumption per capita for domestic usage in the Gaza Strip 28 Average daily sold water per capita in the West Bank 29 Average daily sold water per capita in the Gaza Strip 33 Percentage of non-revenue water in the West Bank 34 Percentage of non-revenue water in the Gaza Strip 36 NRW per km of the network per year in the West Bank 37 NRW per km of the network per year in the West Bank 4 38 Daily NRW per connection in the West Bank 39 Daily NRW per connection in the Gaza Strip The average selling price per cubic meter of water and the operating cost per cubic meter 40 of sold water in the West Bank The average selling price per cubic meter of water and the operating cost per cubic meter 41 of sold water in the Gaza Strip 42 The operating costs of service providers in the West Bank 43 The operating costs of service providers in the Gaza Strip 45 The working ration (efficiency) for water service in the West Bank 46 The working ration (efficiency) for water service in the Gaza Strip 47 The collection efficiency of water service fees in the West Bank 48 The collection efficiency of water service fees in the Gaza Strip 49 The collection efficiency of wastewater service fees in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip 52 Staff productivity index for water service in the West Bank 53 Staff productivity index for water service in the Gaza Strip 54 Water service employment by gender in the Gaza Strip Water service employment by gender in the West Bank Maps Map 1: Locations of water service providers in the West Bank Map 2: Locations of water service providers in the Gaza Strip 5 Preface 6 Chairman’s Preface For the sixth year in a row, the Water Sector Regulatory Council (WSRC) publishes the Performance Monitoring Report of Water and Wastewater Service Providers in the State of Palestine against all the odds of the political situation. As is customary, this year’s report provides more comprehensive coverage of service providers. The direct and indirect support, offered by the government of Palestine, represented by the Prime Minister, has been instrumental to the WSRC’s sustainability and development. In a similar vein, the generous financial support conferred by the Netherlands’ government has the most significant impact on the WSRC’s progress and performance. This year saw further harmony between the Water Authority (PWA) and the WSRC – a match that led both stakeholders to enter into a memorandum of understanding. This cooperation is to be brought into fruition by delegating the responsibility of collecting all the water and wastewater service providers’ data to the WSRC. The WSRC also expressed willingness to share such data and their analysis and significance with the PWA. The WSRC board played a useful role in sustaining the WSRC service. Such a part was manifest in the direct dialogue it entered into with the Prime Minister to surmount obstacles and facilitate communication with relevant ministries and institutions such as the Ministry of Local Government, PWA, the Ministry of Finance and Planning, and the Ministry of Agriculture. Furthermore, the board took part in reviewing the WSRC strategies for the three years to come, the WSRC modus-operandi, annual work plan, and performance indicators. WSRC was able during the year to provide the PWA with specific data, set the WSRC objectives, and develop the SPs financial sustainability report. It also reviewed a number of tariffs charged by service providers and responded to many complaints by water and wastewater service providers and users. Moreover, the council has developed the roadmap and agreed with the relevant stakeholders, such as the PWA and the MoA, on its role in the project to water banking project in the North Gaza. The WSRC is much obliged to the government of Palestine, represented by the Prime Minister, and the government of the Netherlands, represented by the Netherlands Representative Office in Ramallah, for their massive support. Last but not least, the BOD is particularly indebted to the council team for their considerable effort in the face of all challenges.. Mohammad Awny AbuRamadan Water Sector Regulatory Council Chairman 7 Forward 8 CEO’s Forward This year, the collection of data was not a breeze. It even went beyond the bounds of possibility due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of pandemic paralyzed many aspects of public life. And, the WSRC office was not an exception. Many of its staff, as well as service providers’, were under quarantine. Not to mention the restrictions on movement and meetings. All these factors have unavoidably delayed data collection. Unlike previous years, data was not verified in a general meeting with the service providers. The WSRC communicated with each service provider individually; this measure did not allow any direct exchange of knowledge and lessons among the providers’ community. Under the emergency state, the WSRC had to cancel its field visits to service providers for monitoring. Nonetheless, the coverage of the population served by monitored service providers was 85%; noting that the Gaza Strip percentage was 100%. Within this report, a number of localities, particularly in southern governorates, were reported to receive less than the minimum daily amount of water per capita, i.e., 50 liters/capita/day. The WSRC identified over ten communities that received less than 30 liters/capita/day. The non-revenue water (NRW) percentage hovered above 50% in eight localities, four in the West Bank and four the Gaza Strip. Considering the history of this problem in the affected areas, the figures underline the failure of the service providers to address this issue. Although energy cost per cubic meter of water still stands for 40% of the total cost, some service providers’ personnel cost is still too high. Of note, over half of the service providers supply water to their customers at below-cost prices. Considering this indicator and the low tariff collection, service provision’s sustainability is more likely to be at stake. Although prepaid meters provide a safe option to address collection issues, thefts persist as a serious cause for concern to many service providers. Concerning water quality, several service providers rely on the Ministry of Health (MoH) to carry regular sampling even though the MoH does not report tests results unless it is requested. The service providers are, therefore, the farthest from staying informed on the quality of potable water. Upon the recent MoU with the PWA, the WSRC intends to cover 100% of the water and wastewater service providers as of the next year. Mohammad Said al-Hmaidi Water Sector Regulatory Council CEO 9 Significance of the Performance Indicators Report In view of the instrumentality of performance reports, article 20 of the Decree NO. 14 for the Year 2014 Relating to Water Law provides that these reports are to be furnished to the Cabinet of Ministers. Article 24 of the cited law further requires the council to establish and publish a database containing all relevant statistical, technical, and financial information. The primary beneficiary of performance monitoring reports is the members of the public, followed by the service providers, government, donors, researchers, and human rights and consumer protection organisations. The report benefits the stakeholders mentioned above as follows: Service providers With a the list of performance indicators (KPIs), this report provides a guiding compass for service providers to chart the next year by diagnosing their operations in relation to water and wastewater service, and thus help service providers to identify where they stand. The performance report compares the performance of service providers as a tool for encouragement and peer- learning. The performance report provides a token of compliance by the service providers with the governance principles by publishing their performance data during the reporting period. The performance report informs the decisions made by higher authorities based on the (KPIs) to address weaknesses such as low collection rates, which warrant interventions to build the service provider’s collection capacity. 10 Government of Palestine The performance report results inform and guide the government support and projects; The performance report informs sectoral planning, compliance with the role and responsibilities stated by law and institutional structures, and decisions related to the water sector reforms. Members of the public The performance report ensures public access to the performance of service providers who were elected by the public to assume this role. The performance report ensures that the public is aware of critical information that impacts the citizens, such as operating costs, average selling price, and compliance with governance principles and justice.