Water board

A water board (Dutch: waterschap or hoogheemraadschap, Flanders and Northern France: watringue, France: agence de l'eau, German: Wasserverband) is a regional or national organisation that has very different functions from one country to another. The functions range from flood control and water resources management at the regional or local level (the Netherlands, Germany), water charging and financing at the river basin level (France), bulk water supply (South Africa), regulation of pricing and service quality of drinking water supply at the national level (Kenya) or the coordination of water resources policies between various Ministries and agencies at the national level together with the regulation of drinking water supply (the Philippines).

Germany

In Germany water boards (Wasserverbände or Wasserwirtschaftsverbände), also sometimes translated as water associations, are organizations set up under public law for different purposes ranging from wastewater treatment, flood protection, groundwater management, bulk water supply, irrigation, drainage, the restoration and protection of ecosystems to water resources monitoring.

Water board (Netherlands)

Dutch water boards (Dutch: waterschappen or hoogheemraadschappen) are regional government bodies charged with managing water barriers, waterways, water levels, water quality and sewage treatment in their respective regions. These regional water authorities are among the oldest forms of local government in the Netherlands, some of them having been founded in the 13th century.

Around 26 percent of the area of the Netherlands is at or below sea level and several branches of the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta run through this relatively small country. Historically there always was a good deal of coastal and river flooding. Flood control in the Netherlands is a national priority, since about two thirds of the country is vulnerable to flooding, while at the same time it is one of the most densely populated countries on Earth. Natural sand dunes and man-made dikes, dams and floodgates provide defense against storm surges from the sea. River dikes prevent flooding of land by the major rivers Rhine and Meuse, while a complicated system of drainage ditches, canals and pumping stations (historically: windmills) keep the low-lying parts dry for habitation and agriculture. Water boards are independent local government bodies responsible for maintaining this system.

Water Board (South Africa)

Water Boards play a key role in the South African water sector. They operate dams, bulk water supply infrastructure, some retail infrastructure and some wastewater systems. Some also provide technical assistance to municipalities. Through their role in the operation of dams they also play an important role in water resources management. The Water Boards report to the Department of Water Affairs (DWA). There are 13 Water Boards in South Africa (see list below), together indirectly serving more than 24 million people in 90 municipalities in 2005, or about half the population of South Africa.

The three largest Water Boards - Rand Water in Gauteng Province, Umgeni Water in KwaZulu Natal Province and Overberg Water – indirectly serve 10 million, 4 million and 2 million people respectively. This is three times as much (18 million) as all the 12 smaller water boards together (6 million). Rand Water has a more than 100-year history in the Gauteng area, the industrial heartland of South Africa. It buys water from DWA, treats it and sells it to large industries, mines and municipalities.