Human faeces killing rivers

post by Susanne Chi

Human faeces killing rivers

By SIRA HABIBU

LANGKAWI: Human faeces, and not industrial waste, make up the bulk of organic pollutants in the heavily polluted rivers of the country.

Drainage and Irrigation Department director-general Datuk Keizrul Abdullah said a study carried out by the Department of Environment two years ago showed that 91% of the organic pollution was caused by faecal matters.

He said this occurred because many residents who used septic tanks refused to engage Indah Water Konsortium to carry out de-sludging periodically.

“There is general misconception that the main sources of pollution are from industrial waste and landfills.

Causing damage: Rubbish filling up the rubbish trap at Sungai Keladi in Kelantan as a DOE study found that faecal matters has been the cause of 91% of organic pollution in rivers. — Bernama

“But we, the individuals, are the main source (of pollution). If we realise this, we will stop pointing fingers at others,” he said after visiting the Kilim River here yesterday.

Keizrul said earthworks that caused siltation make up the bulk of the physical pollutants.

“We have imposed erosion and sediment control plan on developers to control physical pollution,” he said.

On a recent statement made by Environment Minister Datuk Azmi Khalid that the Love Our River campaign initiated in 1993 was a failure, Keizrul said the programme had at least succeeded in creating awareness on river pollution.

“Now, we are taking our campaign a step further, through education. We are formulating a curriculum for schools to teach children how to assess levels of pollution using a bio indicator technique,” he said.

Keizrul said children were the best agents for change.

Of the 2,000 rivers in Malaysia, 16 have been identified as dead rivers. “The worst polluted rivers are in Penang, Selangor and Johor,” he said.

He said RM200mil was allocated under the Ninth Malaysia Plan for the One State, One River project to clean up the most polluted river in each state.

“Our ultimate aim is to ensure all the 189 river basins in the country are clean by 2020,” he said, adding that Malaysia has 35,000km of rivers.

M'sians Use Four Times More Water Than Necessary, Says Expert

post by Susanne Chi

Dr K. Kalithasan of the Global Environment Centre (GEC) said Malaysians were using between 184 and 500 litres daily.

Much of the water is wasted for "businesses" in the toilet and bathroom, he told reporters after presenting a talk at a workshop on water conservation for 70 students, here.

Kalithasan said the daily water usage per Malaysian was about 184 litres but in bigger towns and cities the usage could reach as high as 300 to 500 litres.

He said Malaysians were generally living in a comfort zone where water scarcity was still not a huge issue.

"We only appreciate it (water) when crises arise," he said.

The two-year national water conservation campaign, which started in July last year, is jointly organised by the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry, the Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) and GEC.

On the role of the public in river conservation efforts, Kalithasan said the government should transfer the responsiblity and let the general public hold ownership of such projects if it is serious about the efforts yielding positive results in the long run.

He said the government was now holding the responsibility of river conservation and the participation from the grassroots in the effort was too scarce and not consistent.

He said many of such projects failed because the allocated money was largely spent on advertisements rather than proactive action that involved people at the grassroots level.

"When the community doesn't hold the ownership, it doesn't feel the need to be responsible for the rivers. Ideally, such projects should be focused on the grassroots level where the community is provided with some resources to launch their campaigns," he said.

post by Susanne Chi

17-08-2007: Puncak Niaga signs deal on water plant

KUALA LUMPUR: Puncak Niaga Holdings Bhd has entered into a 28-year concession agreement with the Selangor state government for the operation and maintenance of the Sungai Lolo water treatment plant in Hulu Langat.

In a statement yesterday, Puncak Niaga said its 82.5%-owned subsidiary Puncak Niaga (M) Sdn Bhd (PNSB) has been appointed as the operator to manage, maintain and refurbish raw water intake, and the extended treatment plant.

It said a separate novation agreement was also signed between the Selangor government, PNSB and Puncak Niaga’s 70%-owned subsidiary Syarikat Bekalan Air Selangor (Syabas) through which Syabas assumes all of the state’s rights under the operation and maintenance agreement.

Puncak Niaga said under the concession period from Dec 1, 2006 until Dec 31, 2034, PNSB had been granted the right to abstract raw water from Sungai Lolo or other sources as agreed by the director of Water Regulatory Department.

It would also have access and exclusive use of the plant area as well as the right to sell in bulk treated water produced from the operation of the facility to the state government.

Under the novation agreement, Syabas will assume the state government’s obligations with regards to the purchase of treated water from PNSB, payment for the bulk supply and all of the other obligations. Puncak Niaga said the execution of the agreements was not expected to have any effect on its earnings for the current financial year.

post by Susanne Chi

Response to Talkings points for Yang Berhormat Metery KTAK for the senior EditorsMeeting on 2d May 2006

1. Sovereignty Over Water Supply

Minister’s Statement:

CAWP alleged that if a service like water supply is provided on a commercial and profit basis it will be subjected to take over by foreign corporations which will have the same rights as local companies. Government not aware of how the World Trade Organisation (WTO) General Agreement on Trade and Services (GATS) to which Malaysia is a signatory will impact the industry if the Bill is passed.

KTAK has consulted Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), which has confirmed that Malaysia will not make a liberalisation commitment in the WTO regarding water supply or water services. Thus the water industry will not be subjected to take over by foreign corporations despite there would be pressure for Malaysia to do so.

However, according to MITI the Government is firm that Malaysia would not liberalise the water industry as it is considered a basic utility and should not be opened for international market forces to determine.

MTUC/CAWP’s Response:

a) We welcome the Malaysian government’s commitment not to liberalise the water sector. However, we believe that this intention to be more meaningful should be made into law. In the real politics of WTO negotiations, trading off the competitive advantage of one country for another is a key feature. Only a legally binding provision can protect the countries sovereignty and natural resources.

b) Developing countries such as Malaysia, very often come under pressure to open up their service sectors, as a ‘trade-off’ for developed countries’ concession in other areas such as agriculture and better market access for industrial goods.

c) Given that Malaysia’s main exports are agriculture (Agreement on Agriculture) and manufacturing products (Non Agricultural Market Access), this ‘trade-off’ can be an extremely powerful tool for industrialised countries to extract offers in the sectors of their choice.

d) By committing a services sector to liberalisation a WTO Members (such as Malaysia) is legally bound by GATS to provide national treatment and market access to all foreign service suppliers of other Members in that sector. For example, Malaysia has made some commitments in opening its private hospital services. It therefore cannot restrict, for instance, any foreign based medical laboratories from providing electronic diagnostic tests to customers in Malaysia.

e) Furthermore, once a GATS commitment is made, it cannot be withdrawn or modified, unless compensation is given to all Members affected. Therefore, it is important to realise that by making a commitment, a government is effectively “locked” into its schedule, which limits its future policy options. The GATS is essentially about progressive liberalisation.

f) The European Commission has made bilateral and plurilateral requests on environmental services including drinking water and sewerage.

g) The European Commission (EC) in its bilateral requests and offer process to Malaysia is entitled: ‘GATS 2000, Request from The EC and its member states to Malaysia’

Water for Human Use and Wastewater management, which includes “Water collection, purification and distribution services through mains. The Mode used is Mode 3, which demands Malaysia to take commitments under Market Access and National Treatment.

At the plurilateral level the EU has requested for sewerage services for liberalisation

MTUC/CAWP’s Recommendation

MTUC/CAWP reiterates that the only manner to ensure that water resources and management remains in the hands of the nation is define the word “person” in the Water Services Industry Bill (WSI) 2006 as “state party” and “fully owned state corporation”

2. Absence of Consumer Protection Clauses

Minister’s Statement

It is not true that there is an absence of consumer protection clauses in the bill. In fact the ten national policy objectives for the water supply services and sewerage services industry as outlined in the explanatory statement of the Bills clearly encapsulates the intention of the bill. More specifically 7 out of 10 objectives stated in the explanatory statements are on consumer protection i.e. 2(a), (b), (d), (f), (g), (h) and (j).

In addition, there are many clauses that are drafted to promote consumers’ interest covering the following areas. Explanations of the Clauses are in Appendix 1

MTUC/CAWP’s Response:

a) We had argued with the Minister that in making judgments, learned judges would refer to the clauses in the Act rather than the explanatory statement. MTUC/CAWP had requested that the Ministry make the explanatory note, the preamble of the WSI Bill, thereby giving it the effective legal power to ensure the intent of the Bill were achieved should disputes arise.

b) As reflected by the Minister’s answer above, there is no specific clause which guarantees consumers their rights or the highest consumer standards. In fact, consumers are not even guaranteed their right to redress or compensation in these bills.

c) Below we provide the Clauses, which relate to consumer protection to demonstrate how weakly they are worded, rendering them totally ineffective.

WSI Section 33	A service licensee providing water supply services or sewerage services has a general duty to - (a) deal reasonably with consumers; and (b) adequately address consumer complaints This is a very general and fuzzy requirement on the part of the service licensee to consumers.
WSI Section 41	(1) The water distribution licensee shall, when supplying water to any premises, ensure that at the time of supply the quality of water supplied complies with the minimum quality standards as prescribed by the Minister. Water Quality – minimum quality standards as prescribed by the Minister. This statement does not ensure that water quality in Malaysia is of the highest standards.
WSI Section 88 and 89	Section 88 (1) Any sum of money in respect of – (a) water supplied or services rendered in connection with such supply; or (b) the provision of sewerage services, shall be payable, within thirty days from the date of presentation of the bill, to the service licensee and if such sum is not so paid, the sum shall be recoverable by the service licensee through civil action in court. Section 89 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a water distribution licensee may – (a) disconnect the supply of water to a consumer by severing the service water pipe or cut off the water supply including the right to reduce the supply of water or pressure of the water supply; and (b) take such other means as it deems fit and proper. Provides for automatic disconnection of water supply after 30 days. The Bill does not make it mandatory for the water operators to resolve the matter with the consumer such as sending notices, rescheduling payment, providing for flexible payments, etc.
WSI Section 68	“The Commissioners may develop consumer standards on its own initiative or upon recommendation from the Water Forum…” There is no guarantee that the highest consumer standards will be developed.
WSI Section 69	(1) The Commission shall designate a body to be know as the “Water Forum” for the purposes of this Act by notifying the body in writing, if the Commission is satisfied that – (a) the membership of the body is open to all persons; (b) the body is capable of performing as required under the relevant provisions of this Act; and (c) the body has a written constitution. The Water Forum is open to any “relevant persons”. This creates barriers to civil society is setting best practices and highest standards as they will be confronted by the industry players even at the conceptual stage. Water Forum will be weighted in favour of industry.
SPAN Section 15	There is also no explicit statement that among the functions of the Commissioners is to protect the consumer interest.

3. Minister’s Power

Minister’s Statement

There is no absolute power accorded to the Minister because most of the decisions to be made are either based on Cabinet decision or SPANs recommendation. However under circumstances for the purpose of national interest, prompt decision has to be made. The Minister shall exercise its authority as the Minister in charge of the water services. For the appointment of the Chairman of SPAN, administratively it is still bound to the Prime Minister’s decision. List of powers accorded to the Minister are listed in Appendix 2.

MTUC/CAWP’s Response:

a) The Minister is the final decision maker in all matters in this legislation;

b) Section 5(1) states that the Minister is to appoint Commissioners. However, the criteria stated (Section 5(1) (c) … have experience and shown capacity and professionalism in matters relating to finance, engineering, business or administration, or to be otherwise suitable for appointment because of their special knowledge and experience. These favours ex – civil servants and industry actors and may discriminate against civil society, especially environmentalists and consumer advocates.

c) Section 11(1) Minister may at any time revokes the appointment of any member of the Commission without assigning any reason for the revocation

d) Section 18(1) The Commission shall be responsible to the Minister

There is no language as “the Minister shall give due regards to the recommendation of the Commissioners.” Instead the various clause which the refer to the Minister’s decision making ability as “may upon the recommendation of the Commission”

The issue of collective responsibility of the Cabinet and referring to the Prime Minister do not apply, as it is matters relating to Executive powers. In relation to powers granted to the Minister through this legislation, this is the first Bill, which provides far-reaching powers to the Minister with no bounds, safe the powers of the Executive.

4. Lack of an effort to benchmark water quality (CAWP)

Minister’s Statement

Clause 41 on water quality require that the water distribution licensee shall, when supplying water to any premise, ensure that at the time of supply, the quality of water supplied complies with the minimum standards as prescribed by the Minister. Currently the standard is based on standard set by the Ministry of Health guidelines on water quality (World Health Organisation minimum standard). Failure to comply commits an offence under the Act.

Commission may, under Clause 68, on its own initiative or upon the recommendation of the Water Forum, prepare or caused to be prepared consumer standards and this may include benchmarking on water quality.

Under Clause 175, the Commission is required to monitor all significant matters relating to water supply and sewerage services industry and report to the Minister at the end of each financial year of the Commission. This shall include the services and performance standards of licensees. The Commission shall publish the report in a manner deems appropriate as soon as practicable following the date on which the Commission conveys the report.

MTUC/CAWP’s Response:

a) Clause 41 gives the power to the Minister to decide on the minimum water quality standard. This can erode existing high water quality standards in Malaysia.

b) The technology used by water treatment operators is of the lowest level treating water only for bacteria and sediments. The current technology (except for Seremban) does not address the toxic waste in Malaysian rivers. There is no incentive or rewards to force the water operators to increase the water quality.

c) The Minister does not have any power to regulate issues relating water catchments and upstream of water intakes.

5. Infringement on Fundamental Human Rights to Affordable Access of Water (Query raised by the DAP)

Minister’s Statement

The objective of restructuring the water industry by the government is to ensure affordable and accessibility of water to all citizens. There will be no more privatisation, as the water operators would be given license to operate. The government has also instructed that all state government are to corporatise their state water authorities. This is to ensure that the water operators are run efficiently even if they are government owned corporations.

Water is an essential necessity thus the government will ensure the public will have access to continuous supply of clean, treated water.

MTUC/CAWP’s Response

a) The MTUC/CAWP has requested that the phrase “…that water is an entitlement” be inserted into the Bills. The Minister agreed but unfortunately did not deliver on his pledge.

b) The MTUC/CAWP had asked that the word “person” be defined as state parties and state owned corporations be inserted into the interpretation section. This will ensure that water will be managed by the state and/or its agencies.

6. Allowing Market Forces to Decide on Water Supply Unethical and Immoral (Query raised by the DAP)

Minister’s Statement

The water services industry is a strictly regulated service and unlike other services there is no intention of liberalising it by allowing the market forces to decide on water supply to the public. In the new industry structure every service provider in the industry would be licensed.

MTUC/CAWP’s Response

Section 191 provides a list of 15 private companies managing the water supply in Peninsular Malaysia. The government has already liberalised the market as these private companies operate in response to market forces. Water companies such as Puncak Niaga, and Ranhill are listed in the stock market and have to meet financial projections, especially tariff increase for increase in stock value.

7. Failure to Address Environmental Concerns by Protecting Water Sources. (Query raised by the DAP)

Minister’s Statement

This is not true as under Clause 55 of the Water Services Industry Bill if the licensee is of the opinion that the supply of water is unsafe for the purpose of normal supply to the public or poses a health risk to the public the water distribution licensee shall immediately temporarily cease the supply of water to any premises.

MTUC/CAWP Response

a) Clause 55 allows for the water operators to shut down the treatment plant without compensating the water users or providing the water users with alternative water supply. This will further cause hardship to water users as they will have to source for water.

b) The Minister does not have any power to regulate issues relating water catchments and upstream of water intakes.

c) Furthermore, the Water Bills do not promote water demand management but continuous to promote meeting water supply needs.

8. Lack of consultation with the Rakyat on Impact of Bills (DAP)

Minister’s Statement

This is not true of the Water Services Industry Bill and the Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Air Negara Bill is the first 2 bills that the government has declassified to enable the Ministry to have public consultations with all stakeholders and the public at large. Altogether there been public consultations made before and after the drafting of the 2 Bills. Details of the consultations are as detailed below.

Item	No. of Consultations
Consultation before and during drafting of Bills	43
Consultation after approval of Cabinet	13

MTUC/CAWP Response

We welcomed the Minister’s mature decision to declassify the Bills. This provides the Ministry with the opportunity to tap into the expertise of the private sector and civil society to scrutinise the Bills thereby further enhancing them. However, after various parties submitted 350 recommendations, only 3 minor changes were made. This is most disappointing especially when both the private sector and civil society acknowledges that the Bills are seriously flawed.

9. No guarantee of Efficiency, cost and Quality of Water (Query raised by the DAP)

Minister’s Statement

The Bill does not make any provision for privatisation of supply of water. However, with the existence of the national water regulator, this would enable the government to ensure that the water operators would perform efficiently supplying water at the cost that is affordable and according to the quality determined.

MTUC/CAWP’s Response

a) The Bills allow for the licensing of private companies to manage water services in the country. If it is true that that the Bill does not make any provision for privatisation, why isn’t it unambiguously stated in the Bill.

b) Clause 175 is about the “Reporting to Minister on industry performance.” MTUC/CAWP calls that full disclosure of all information related to industry be made mandatory for public scrutiny. As the provision of water is a natural monopoly, only through full transparency can benchmarked competition be effective. Furthermore, the Water User Forum shall have full oversight over these industry data.

10. Apparent advantages that will be given to water industry players to dominate the water forum and Commission (Query raised by the DAP)

Minister’s Statement

This is not true as the Commission may decide that an existing body that was previously designated as the Water Forum is no longer an appropriate body for the purpose of the Act if it is not satisfied that the body no longer meets the requirements set out in Clause 69(10) (b) i.e. the body is incapable of performing the functions imposed on it as a Water Forum.

MTUC/CAWP’s Response

The MTUC/CAWP wants the Bills (Clause 69) to make it explicit that the Water Forum is restricted only to water users and civil society. Examples of these groupings are consumer groups, residents associations, environmental groups, human rights groups, farmers’ organisations, associations representing small and medium scale enterprise, etc. No water industry player is allowed in the forum.

Giant water-filled caverns discovered

searched by Wee Beng Wah

2007/08/29 NSTP
By : Goh Thean Eu


KUALA LUMPUR: Underground water caverns with a combined size comparable to that of Singapore have been discovered in Batang Padang, Perak.

Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Seri Dr Lim Keng Yaik said, with the discovery, Perak could supply Selangor additional water to ensure its taps won’t run dry in three years as some fear.

"Huge! The underground caverns are as big as Singapore. You can imagine the amount of water that’s inside," said Dr Lim after the opening of the 4th National Utilities Summit here yesterday.

Dr Lim said the water-filled granite caverns could be tapped for use as early as 2009.

The country’s water resources are depleting fast, driven by population growth and industrialisation.

The demand for water is projected to increase by 63 per cent from 2000 to 2050. Some experts have warned of acute water shortages by 2012.

However, Dr Lim said, the problem could be solved if users cut down water consumption and water companies repaired their pipes to reduce non-revenue water (NRW) loss.

"A total of RM640 million has been allocated for this purpose (to reduce NRW) under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP).

"I believe we will be able to reduce the NRW loss rate of 38 per cent to 30 per cent in 2010," he said.

Dr Lim said the government had allocated more than RM8 billion to develop the water supply infrastructure under the 9MP.

"I am proud to say that almost everyone in this country has access to safe potable water supply. I am confident that we will be able to achieve 97 per cent coverage by the end of the 9MP in 2010," Dr Lim said.

Besides the water-filled caverns, the government also expects the Pahang-Selangor interstate water supply project to help meet the growing demand for water. Construction work on the project is expected to start early next year.

NST Online » Local News 2007/09/18

Reported By : Ranjeetha Pakiam

Posted by NEO SEP 060157

Priority to safe closure of landfills

KUALA LUMPUR: The closing of the country’s 16 most polluting landfills will be done in the safest and most environment-friendly manner possible, the deputy prime minister said.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak said consultants had been engaged to conduct site investigations and devise safe closure methods.The closure of the 16 landfills will start next year at an estimated cost of RM160 million.The 16 critical landfills are in Perlis, Kedah, Perak and Pahang (one in each state), and Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Johor (four each).They are among the hundreds of landfills near water intake points, along rivers or by the sea without leachate treatment plants.

"The government is committed to taking positive steps to protect our environment," he said after officiating at the completion of the safe closure of the Taman Beringin landfill in Jinjang Utara, Kepong, yesterday.Najib expressed his approval of the methods employed by Cypark Sdn Bhd, through its environmental arm CyEn Resources Sdn Bhd, to close the Taman Beringin landfill and rehabilitate the area.Asked if Cypark would be chosen to close the 16 landfills, Najib said the government would decide later but added that the company had "made a strong bid for it".The Taman Beringin landfill was the subject of complaints due to its proximity to residential areas and development projects.
Cypark, one of the largest integrated landscape development services firms in Asia, was appointed by City Hall in March 2004 to engineer the safe closure of the landfill.According to Cypark Group chairman Tan Sri Razali Ismail, the 14ha landfill at Taman Beringin had received around eight million tonnes of rubbish since 1984."The height of the dumpsite was about 40 metres from the ground and it was estimated that the rubbish went another 40 metres underground, as it was on disused mining land," he said.
CyEn commenced work on Aug 20, 2004 and transformed the "waste mountain" into a mound covered with grass.The restoration process included engineered capping, leachate collection and management, master planning for after-care and post-closure use, monitoring and beautification.The project initially cost RM24 million but Cypark Group chief executive officer Daud Ahmad said RM33 million was spent after new areas for rehabilitation were identified and a RM7 million leachate treatment plant was set up at the former landfill.

Domestic Water Consumption, 1999

Post By Voon Chen Li

Abstract
The map shows total municipal needs by province and territory. Domestic water consumption includes the quantity of water used for household purposes such as washing, food preparation, and bathing. Across Canada, nearly all of the water used by municipal water systems comes from lakes and rivers the remainder (12% of the total) comes from groundwater. Establishing

and maintaining water systems is costly. There are three major costs: water supply, infrastructure maintenance, and administration. Water prices across Canada are generally low compared to other countries. Monthly bills range between $15 and $90, the lowest being in Quebec, Newfoundland, and British Columbia, and the highest in the Prairie Provinces and northern Canada. Although water usage rates vary across Canada, the overall per capita use is very high compared to that of other industrialized countries. Only the United States has higher rates of municipal water usage.
Can you imagine a city without water? We use it for drinking, cooking, and for other household needs. In 1998, Canadians, on average, used 343 litres of water per person per day. Water is also needed to clean our streets, fight fires, fill public swimming pools, and water lawns and gardens. And then, where would this water go without a sewerage system? It is not surprising that some of the oldest infrastructure built by human society consisted of aqueducts and sewerage systems. Even in Canada, many cities still use parts of water systems that were built not long after the cities were first settled.
Municipal water use refers to all water supplied by a municipality for its residents, businesses and industries. Although municipal water use is a small part of water consumption in Canada (just 11% of all withdrawals for 1991), it is the most visible use for most Canadians.

Sources of Municipal Water
Across Canada, nearly all of the water used by municipal water systems comes from lakes and rivers, the remainder (12% of the total) comes from groundwater. In many places, water is distributed through a series of pipes connected to a municipal water supply system. In smaller centres and in rural areas, it is usually obtained from wells. Water supply systems typically have intake, treatment, storage, and distribution components. Rural residents usually have individual groundwater supplies. Wells must be carefully prepared and maintained to prevent pollution.
In some remote areas, water is delivered by trucks. For example, in the far North, water may have to be trucked to homes that do not have conventional water supplies because the ground is frozen. Water is also delivered by truck in some rural areas where shallow wells tend to go dry.
Where there are piped systems in the North, the pipes are often buried well below the surface (up to 3 or 4 metres down) to get below the worst of the frost. The pipes are also insulated to prevent the water from freezing.
In permafrost areas, there is a different problem. The heat lost from even insulated underground pipes would melt the permafrost and cause the ground to cave in. Therefore, above-ground utilidors (insulated boxes) are used to carry water pipes and sewer pipes to individual residences. These pipes may also carry hot water for heating. The utilidors are heated, insulated, metal or wood-clad enclosures that are generally installed on piles or blocking.

Cost of Water
Establishing and maintaining water systems is costly. There are three major costs:
Water supply: Water usually has to be pumped, stored, moved and treated to make it available in safe form for consumers. It then has to be taken away after use. At all of these stages, infrastructure is needed.
Infrastructure maintenance: Maintenance includes on-going maintenance, but also periodically being upgrading and being increased in capacity.
Administration: There are numerous overhead costs in running a water system.
Water prices across Canada are generally low compared to other countries. Based on 1996 data, the average household pays $27.65 per month, and uses about 30 000 litres per month, for water delivered to the residence. Monthly bills range between $15 and $90, the lowest being in Quebec, Newfoundland, and British Columbia, and the highest in the Prairie provinces and northern Canada.
Although the operating costs for trucked-in water service are very high, the lower capital costs make it more economic than piped service for most northern communities. Consumption is much lower for areas with trucked service, about 200 litres per capita per day in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.