"Sharing the Costs for Sustainable Water Management" European Conference

European water management is facing crucial challenges in 2010 and the coming years. European Member States and their water authorities are not only obliged to transpose the European water directives, but also to create effective incentives and measures for their smooth implementation. Meeting the aims of the Water Framework Directive, Floods Directive, Drinking Water Directive and the complementary directives requires costly actions all over Europe. Water authorities and water companies are faced with the problem on how to implement the legal requirements, secure equal sharing of costs among stakeholders and finance the consequential investments.

Besides the legal requirements, water utilities nowadays operate in a more complex market environment with increased financial market volatility. The introduction of the full cost recovery principle for water utilities and the use of new environmentally friendly technologies results in a decrease of water consumption and launches a saving-price spiral. How to manage the new entrepreneurial risks, to overcome the financial problems stemming from the necessary investments and to secure sustainability in times of decreased demand and a pressing necessity for acceptable prices? What are the real advantages and potential of the different benchmarking systems and practices?

CONFERENCE CONTENT
The European conference focuses on the EU water regulation and its impact on water authorities, water industry and citizens and offers win-win solutions for sustainable water management. Furthermore, it deals with cost covering water prices and the comparison of different European water and waste water prices. Market leaders explain the new risks for water utilities and how to manage them for entrepreneurial success. Experienced and highly qualified water experts present the potentials and advantages of benchmarking as a tool for continuous performance improvement and achieving a better market place. They advise on how to choose the right solution for your individual situation.

TEACHING METHODS

• Lectures and best practice reports
• Discussions and Q&A sessions
• Rich course material and handouts

TARGET GROUP

• Water and waste water companies - public and private:
  • Managing Directors, Heads of Department responsible
    for water and waste water management, operations and
    investments at the European, regional and local level
• Public Authorities and Inspectorates:
  • Heads of Unit and Officials responsible for water and waste water legislation, water and waste water management and environmentat national, regional and local level
• Business Associations for Water and Waste Water
• Environment and Environmental Protection
• Consultencies and specialists in Water Industry

YOUR BENEFIT

• Receive a comprehensive overview of the latest European egislation and learn how to implement it
• Get familiar with the consequences of the EU water legislation on the water and the waste water management ndustry
• Learn how to manage a company’s new risks for ntrepreneurial success and how to secure long-term nvestments
• Learn about the latest developments of benchmarking ater and waste water utilities and how to further improve the utilities performance
• Benefit from experts’ experiences in water management, maintenance of water utilities and investment instruments
• Learn from experts’ knowledge of the possibilities for sustainable and profitable linkage between economy and ecology
• Exchange professional experience with peers from other Member States and establish new networks