For decades, citizens in the Spanish city of Valladolid had endured poorly run and expensive water provision. But in 2015, municipal elections ushered in a new three-party coalition government – and though each of the three had differing platforms, all included the remunicipalization of public water management in their electoral programme. As the contract (held by private company Aguas de Valladolid) was about to expire, water management emerged as a key political topic for the first time in 20 years.

Valladolid Toma La Palabra (VTLP), the municipalist movement running the environment department of the new City Council, held lectures and open debates, and, once the decision to remunicipalize through a public enterprise was reached, the 100% Public Water Management Platform (PWMP) was set up. Its member organizations were ecologists, neighbourhood associations and others.

Despite lobbying by the private sector, and laws restricting local government from ‘indebting’ itself by investing in water infrastructure, a new public company was set up and is now successfully managing the water supply in Valladolid. The management has been democratized through the composition of the board, new investment will start soon, and charges to customers remain frozen. The new public company will apply low tariffs according to income levels, resulting in a higher number of beneficiaries.

Other big Spanish cities such as A Coruña, Santiago de Compostela, Vitoria, Sevilla, Zaragoza, Madrid and Barcelona have requested information about the Valladolid case in order to start their own processes.

“ This reflects a well-focused and politically engaged approach. The initiative saw collective action concentrate on water ownership and access in cooperation with political parties to identify and seize a ‘window of opportunity’ politically.”

– Evaluator David Sogge

Would you like to learn more about this initiative? Please contact us.

Or visit  valladolidtomalapalabra.org/

The post Valladolid, Spain: Residents regain public control of water appeared first on P2P Foundation.

Here’s how the country is working on the problem: Fortunately, the Dutch have created water policies that ensure that communities are safe and resilient despite changing conditions. They have done this by taking the mandate of water management out of central government control and putting it instead in the hands of “Waterschappen” — regional water governments around the country.

In each municipality, the board members who will lead these governments are elected every four years. These organizations then determine what their bioregion’s water-management needs are, covering water levels, sewage treatment, infrastructure management, water quality control, and aquatic ecosystem health. Based on the projects that must be completed, they calculate how much they will need to perform what is required of them. The water governments are supervised by the higher government (the province) to ensure that mandates are met, wage increases are fair, and project costs are reasonable. Once their budgets are approved, the public is taxed according to property ownership, with the reasoning that water management is helping to protect land and properties, and those who own more should pay more.

Results:

• By separating water management from the central and regional governments, the Dutch protect their relationship with water from party politics. Their work with water doesn’t have to compete for a piece of the pie with education, arts, and health services and isn’t at risk if a government implements austerity measures or increases military spending.
• This model has been so successful at helping them have a healthy and flourishing relationship with water that they were deemed “a global reference” by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and are advising governments around the world, including Myanmar and Indonesia, which are facing similar challenges.
• This case of localizing power, catering to bioregional needs, and caring for important work has a lot to teach us about our relationships with the commons and the natural world in general, as well as about how to create political processes to meet our complex, critical, and changing needs.

Learn more from:

• The Dutch Water Authorities
• Report on the Dutch water governance model

This case study is adapted from our latest book, “Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons.” Get a copy today.

The post In the Netherlands, water policies are protected from politics for the common good appeared first on P2P Foundation.