On 28 December 2010, Pratdip Town Council and the Consell Comarcal del Baix Camp signed an agreement concerning the management of the drinking water service in Planes del Rei.
The document shows that, by that time, Pratdip Town Council had already taken over the management of water billing and collection in the development.
It then asked the Consell Comarcal to help organise several practical aspects of the service: water quality control, meter reading, billing and collection.
To carry out these tasks, the Consell Comarcal relied on the company Secomsa Aigües, S.L.
In simple terms: from 2011 onwards, the day-to-day management of water billing and control in Planas del Rey was organised within an official framework involving the Town Council and the Consell Comarcal.
An agreement between the Town Council and the Consell Comarcal
Contrary to what the former title of this article may have suggested, this was not a contract signed by three parties.
The two signatories to the agreement were:
- the Consell Comarcal del Baix Camp;
- Pratdip Town Council.
Secomsa Aigües did not sign the agreement. The Consell Comarcal entrusted it with the practical execution of the services covered by the agreement.
The document concerns the drinking water supply service in Planes del Rei. It does not concern waste collection.
The Town Council had already taken over water billing
An important point is stated clearly from the beginning of the document.
Pratdip Town Council explains that it requested the cooperation of the Consell Comarcal in order to improve certain aspects of the drinking water service in Planes del Rei, after having taken over the management of its billing and collection.
This agreement therefore did not mark the start of municipal involvement in water management. Rather, it set out in more detail how that management was to operate from then on.
It followed the agreement signed in September 2009 between Pratdip Town Council and the EUCC, which had already established a shared and transitional system for water management.
What was the new operator expected to do?
The agreement lists very clearly the tasks entrusted to the Consell Comarcal and its operator, Secomsa Aigües.
These included:
- water quality control;
- disinfection and chlorination control;
- meter reading;
- preparation and issuing of bills;
- collection of payments;
- management of unpaid bills;
- procedures relating to the water levy with the Catalan Water Agency;
- the gradual replacement of some older meters.
The document provides in particular for the replacement of 30 meters per year, giving priority to the oldest ones.
In simple terms: this was not only about sending out bills. The agreement organised a significant part of the day-to-day operation of the water service.
Quarterly billing
Meter readings and billing were to be carried out every three months.
The rates applied to users in Planes del Rei were those approved by Pratdip Town Council.
The operator prepared the bills, sent them to customers and organised collection.
The amounts collected were then transferred to the account designated by the Town Council, after deduction of the management costs provided for in the agreement.
€35,518.62 per year for the contracted services
The agreement sets the annual amount for the services entrusted to the operator at €35,518.62, plus VAT.
This amount covered, among other things, billing, meter reading, administrative management, water quality controls and the other services detailed in the agreement.
It should not be confused with the total cost of the water consumed in Planas del Rey: it was the amount charged for the services provided under this agreement.
The new system was due to begin in 2011
The agreement provided for the new system to start with the billing for the first quarter of 2011.
Initially, the agreement was to remain in force until the billing for the fourth quarter of the same year.
It could then be automatically renewed from year to year, unless one of the two parties gave notice at least three months before the end of the agreement.
A new stage in water management in Planas del Rey
This agreement marked a new stage in the organisation of the water service in Planas del Rey.
In 2009, an initial agreement between Pratdip and the EUCC had organised a transitional management system for the service.
And in July 2010, the court had again intervened to secure enforcement of the judgment concerning the disputed charges.
At the end of that same year, the agreement of 28 December introduced a much more concrete organisation for water management from 2011 onwards.
What should be remembered
The content of this agreement can be summarised quite simply:
- Pratdip Town Council states that it had taken over the management of billing and collection for drinking water in Planes del Rei;
- it entrusted the Consell Comarcal del Baix Camp with several practical tasks relating to the service;
- Secomsa Aigües carried out these services on behalf of the Consell Comarcal;
- meters were to be read and bills issued every quarter;
- the rates applied were those approved by Pratdip Town Council;
- the new system was due to begin in the first quarter of 2011.
In simple terms: in December 2010, the management of drinking water in Planas del Rey entered a more structured administrative framework, officially organised by Pratdip Town Council together with the Consell Comarcal del Baix Camp.
The document is important for that precise reason. There is no need to make it say more than it actually does: it shows concretely how the public authorities decided to organise the water service in Planes del Rei from 2011 onwards.
Jim – La Tribune de Planas
Translated summary of the key passages of the document
On the Town Council’s involvement
Pratdip Town Council requested the cooperation of the Consell Comarcal in order to improve certain aspects of the drinking water distribution service in the Planes del Rei development, after having taken over the management of billing and collection for that service.
On the services entrusted
The tasks included water quality testing, chlorination, meter reading, billing, collection of charges for the drinking water service and procedures relating to the water levy with the Catalan Water Agency.
On billing
Billing and collection were to be carried out quarterly, applying in Planes del Rei the rates approved by Pratdip Town Council.
On the duration of the agreement
The services were to begin with the billing for the first quarter of 2011 and remain in force until the fourth quarter of that year. The agreement could then be tacitly renewed for successive one-year periods.
On the cost of the services
For the tasks entrusted under this agreement, the operator charged Pratdip Town Council an annual amount of €35,518.62, plus the applicable VAT.
