A sewer network transfer is the transfer of a legally regulated task from one public authority to another.
In the case of a sewer network transfer, a municipality that is a member of a water association established under special legislation (e.g. the Ruhrverband) transfers the sewer network-related tasks of wastewater disposal to its water association. By virtue of legal regulation, the latter thus becomes responsible for collecting and transporting the wastewater produced in the municipality. As this task can only be fulfilled with the existing local sewer system, the transfer of the sewer network to the association takes place at the same time as the transfer of tasks.
No, a sewer network transfer is not privatisation.
A sewer network transfer is an act of state organisation between public authorities which, as non-profit institutions, do not pursue the intention of making a profit by performing sovereign tasks, but rather perform tasks of public service provision in the general interest. In contrast, privatisation shifts tasks that were previously the responsibility of public authorities into the hands of private companies whose interest in performing these tasks is to make a profit. In the context of privatisation, profits automatically lead to higher fees.
No.
In Germany, wastewater disposal is regulated as a public service and therefore cannot be privatised.
Yes, seven sewer networks have been transferred to the Ruhrverband to date (as of 2024).
The first sewer network transfer to the Ruhrverband took place in Meschede in 2007/2008 on the basis of existing association law at the time. Due to an amendment to the North Rhine-Westphalian Water Association Act in 2007, no sewer networks could be transferred to the special water associations until the amendment to the state water law in 2016. When this became possible again in summer 2016, sewer networks were transferred to the Ruhrverband in Schmallenberg (2017), Schalksmühle, Hattingen (2020) and in Balve and Ennepetal in 2023. This was followed by the municipal council resolution to transfer the network in Halver in mid-2024. The Ruhrverband is currently in talks with several municipalities in the association area to prepare for further sewer network transfers.
The State Water Act contains an explicit legal basis for a sewer network transfer.
Since its amendment in 2016, Section 52 (2) of the NRW State Water Act (LWG) stipulates that member municipalities of special water boards can transfer their sewer network-related wastewater disposal tasks (collection and transport of wastewater) to their water board. This regulation gives the municipalities belonging to the association an option. However, the provision does not give the association the right to access the sewer networks of its member municipalities.
The authorised committees of the municipality and association decide on a sewer network transfer.
The decision on the implementation of a sewer network transfer is made by the transferring municipality and the acquiring association in the respective responsible bodies (municipal council and association assembly).
Yes.
A sewer network transfer requires authorisation from the association supervisory authority, which is granted by the state environment ministry at the request of the acquiring association; it is not subject to any other authorisation requirements, in particular those under municipal supervisory law.
No.
A sewer network transfer is not a procurement process, but an organisational act between public authorities. This means that public procurement law does not apply.
No, the association does not buy the sewer network.
A sewer network transfer is not a legal transaction, but a state organisational act with which a sovereign task is transferred from a regional authority to a water association structured as a public corporation. Therefore, no unfavourable VAT effects are to be expected. This has been confirmed by numerous favourable applications for binding information from the tax authorities.
The municipality owns the sewer network in the legal sense after a sewer network transfer; the association owns it economically.
The legal ownership of the sewer network remains with the municipality. However, with the transfer of tasks, the association receives the unrestricted right to use the sewer network. This right of use has the quality of so-called economic ownership, as regulated in the German Commercial Code. This means that the sewer network is treated economically as an asset of the association and is recognised and depreciated accordingly.
Yes, the association reimburses the municipality an equalisation value for the sewer network on the transfer date.
For the transfer of economic ownership, the association pays the municipality an equalisation value to compensate for the loss of an asset in the municipal budget. This prevents the balance sheet of the transferring municipality from becoming imbalanced.
The association finances its expenses resulting from a sewer network transfer through a special contribution from the transferring municipality.
The association finances the entire expenditure incurred in connection with a sewer network transfer by assessing the municipality with a corresponding association contribution to be determined annually. This so-called special contribution is in addition to the other association contributions of the respective municipality. This guarantees that the other members of the association do not have to bear any of the costs arising from the transfer of tasks. The municipality can finance the assessed costs via its municipal drainage fees, the amount of which does not change for the citizens.
The municipality may freely dispose of the funds within the framework of municipal budget law.
The municipality may freely dispose of the funds generated by the equalisation value in accordance with the provisions of municipal budget law. In particular, it may use the funds in its general budget for important municipal projects or to reduce debt.
The equalisation value is calculated using fair and financially sound valuation methods.
The equalisation value is initially based on the value at which the sewer network is recorded in the municipality's books on the transfer date, i.e. the so-called residual book value. This forms the basis for calculating the value of the income that the municipality would generate via its calculation in the fee budget if the sewer network transfer were not to take place. The procedure has been confirmed by external auditors.
Yes, it retains tasks that arise from its planning, statute and fee sovereignty.
The municipality retains certain partial responsibilities for wastewater disposal in accordance with the State Water Act. It remains responsible for planning sovereignty, it retains sovereignty over the municipal drainage and drainage fee statutes, it remains responsible for levying drainage fees and it must continue to draw up the wastewater disposal concept and submit it to the water authority.
The acquiring association as duty bearer.
The association as duty bearer.
The association as duty bearer.
The municipality on the basis of the authority to charge fees assigned to it under municipal tax law.
By instructing the association.
By the municipality instructing the association, on the basis of its urban land-use planning, to carry out the wastewater development of a new construction area or to take it over from a property developer commissioned to do so.
No, a sewer network transfer rather contributes to the relief of the fee budget.
Transfer-related additional costs that could burden the fee budget are not incurred. On the contrary, the fulfilment of tasks by the association generates potential cost savings, which the association raises and passes on to the municipality with a relieving effect on the fee budget. The municipality remains responsible for the fees and controls the investments in the sewer network via its economic planning. As a non-profit organisation, the association does not make any profits from the operation of the sewer network. The fulfilment of its tasks is exempt from VAT.
The employees have the choice of transferring to the association or remaining employed by their municipality.
The employees of the transferring municipality can transfer to the Ruhrverband and continue to fulfil their previous duties there on the basis of the public-law collective agreement law of the NRW water industry. However, there is no obligation to do so, meaning that they can also remain employed by the municipality and take on new tasks there.
Yes.
The transferring municipality can take back the task of collecting and transporting wastewater after a minimum term to be agreed with the association.
Financial added value with simultaneous reduction in the number of tasks.
There are advantages at various levels: A sewer network transfer relieves a municipality that is often overburdened with personnel from a task with increasing technical and legal requirements. By freeing up previously tied-up funds, the transferring municipality increases its financial scope for other public service tasks. Unlike in the case of privatisation, it does not run the risk that the transfer of the task to other hands will lead to an increase in fees or that the partner will become insolvent. There are no negative effects to be feared due to the loss of imputed effects (from depreciation and interest).
People and the environment benefit equally from a sewer network transfer.
The association is legally obliged to serve the common good. Advantages of the association are expressed in advantages for the general public. In the case of a sewer network transfer, these consist in the fact that a sovereign task can be performed more economically in future by creating synergies, without leading to additional costs for the fee payer or compromising the implementation of applicable standards for the protection of the environment. This is because a sewer network transfer makes it possible to organise the operation of sewer networks, association sewage treatment plants, rainwater treatment plants and pumping stations from a single source and therefore more efficiently. The association has the opportunity to take a complete view of water management (sub)catchment areas and optimise their wastewater disposal.
Nothing will change for residents.
The sewer network in the municipal area remains a public wastewater facility that is available to citizens for use unchanged. Citizens' points of contact will remain the responsible offices of the municipality, which will continue to determine the development of charges and levy drainage charges on citizens on the basis of the user relationship.