When in the beginning of the current year, the Tariff Council made a decision to introduce new overpriced tariffs on oil products, electricity, water, passenger transport, this rise in prices did not avoid water collection services for the population of Baku, Sumgayit, Khirdalan, Mingachavir, Ali-Bayramli, and the entire Absheron Peninsula. Thus, the population are to pay 4 gapiks (AZN 0.4) per one cubic meter of wastewater, the other consumers - 20 gapiks. The population of the other Azerbaijani regions have already paid 3 gapiks, while the other consumers - 20 gapiks.
Correspondingly to the reason of increasing tariffs on electricity and water, the increase in water collection services was the continuation of reforms carried in the economy and communal sector, ensuring the efficiency of the activity of economic subjects in the given sector through bringing the tariff to the level of self-repayment. It should be accepted that it is virtually impossible to ensure the rational consumption through the installation of special meters.
Many facts justify a bad condition with this kind of public utilities in Azerbaijan. Suffice it to remember the grief situation during the height of beach season, when the Health and Epidemiological Service of the Azerbaijan Health Ministry imposed a ban on using of some Absheron beaches since July 1, 2006. The causes were first of all the waste waters collected from surroundings Baku suburbs. These waters reach the Caspian Sea without any preliminary cleaning. The same situation was observed in some northern Absheron beaches. Secondly, the researches showed that as compared with April-May, 2005, when the level of polluteness of sea waters was 52,3%, in 2006, this indicator increased by 85,5%. Particularly, the number of bacteria of colibacillus in such Absheron beaches like Shikh, Novkhana, and Shuvalan from 10 to 20 times.
The ecology of Azerbaijan's water basins is in a grave condition. It is directly linked with the situation with the water supply system of the country, as well as lack of required cleaning of sewage. That is not a new difficulty. Its roots lead to the Soviet period. Thus, in 1958, it was decided to take a temporary measure: sewage should be drawn aside via the rain water collection system right to the sea. However, this temporary measure has not found its constant decision, and the City has lost a significant part of the extremely lacking rain water collection network.
According to the data provided by Azerbaijan Ecology Ministry in 1994, only 40 cities, towns, and settlements of a town type out of the total 80 ones in the country had their own water collection networks. At the same time, only 22 ones had cleaning water collection equipment with many of them old-fashioned and in out-of-date condition. These cleaning water collection plants were operated inefficiently and did not ensure the regulations of the cleaning of sewage. Due to it, some 262 mln. Cubic meters of non-cleaned waste waters were thrown to the water basins in the country.
The most unfavourable situation has formed around Baku City, where, according to some non-official data, over 50% of the population of the Country and more than a half of the Azerbaijan's industrial potential have been concentrated. The concentration of raw waste waters in the Baku Bay exceeds the norms in tens of times. Taking into consideration, the non-significant sea area (50 км3) and shallow waters in the Bay, it is not so difficult to realize the results and scope of raw waste waters, which have been poured to the sea.
In addition to the above-mentioned reasons, the most substantial water collection facilities in Baku could not ensure the effective toilet facilities because of the centralized water collection system, constructed in the Soviet Era, was considered for a certain number of population. However, due to both the Karabakh conflict and domestic migration, the Baku population was set up to increase. As a result of expanding construction activities in the Capital, the consumption of water increased. The Baku water collection system began glitching. It is presently unable to cope with so great volumes of waste water.
As a result of it, the waters thrown to the sea wasted. If Baku City previously had 13 facilities on water evacuation, then, after the Hovsan Aeration Station was opened, nine flows of waste waters have been redirected just to it. All the rest were thrown directly into the sea.
The basket case and leakage of the water supply and collection systems, water supply by schedule and frequent accidents represents a constant threat that residential sanitary waste waters will turn out to be into drinking water. Taking into consideration the warm climate, and some previous facts on detection of choleric and other inflectional diseases in the water, the threat on rapid spreading of heavy infections is quite real.
Meanwhile, among the objectives of the development of the U. N. Millennium for the Fight with Poverty, in addition to supplying the population of any poor country with educational and health care services, the access of the population to pure drinking water and providing with water collection services take their exceptional places in it. Being one of the 189 countries signed the "Millennium Declaration", Azerbaijan has taken the obligations to take purposeful measures to search drinking water sources, installation of their resources, construction of up-to-date water supply and collection systems, and treatment facilities to them, in a word, create maximally comfort life conditions for the population in order to reduce the number of the poor in two times by 2015. However, the only way out in the existing difficult economic situation is involving funds presented by foreign investors and different international financial institutions for solution of complex and expensive issues of the water collection system of the country.
The World Bank (WB) is the key partner rendering its maintenance to Azerbaijan in this issue. The WB activity in Azerbaijan is mainly intended for financing socially-important projects, which implementation will finally bring to the reduction in the poverty.
The WB position in Azerbaijan lies in the fact that in order to improve the live standards and development in the country, Azerbaijan, like any other country, need high-quality and efficient public utilities. According to WB experts, the sphere of public utilities, Azerbaijan inherited from the Soviet past, is currently in much poorer condition than non-quality public utilities specific to most of FSU countries. Despite of the fact that the recent investments put into the Baku water supply system, including the WB aid, have recovered and improved the water supply system, as well as access to drinking water. Unfortunately, the issue of pure drinking water remains urgent in the other oparts of the country.
Within the previous project - "Big Baku Water Supply Reconstruction", for example, a part of metallic water supplying pipes at a length of 37.8 km was replaced. On the territory of the treatment facilities of the Jeyranbatan Reservoir, a unified centre has been constructed instead of three old facilities considered for water chlorination. In addition, the buildings of the Kur and Jeyranbatan head treatment facilities have been reconstructed.
At the same time, the scope of access to water is rapidly reducing in the rural areas, where only 58% out of the population have an access to pure drinking water sources. The lack of full system of water meters undermines the level of collection of payments and ways of encouragement, both targeted to the rationalization of consumption of water.
Due to it, Azerbaijan and WB are expected to conclude a credit agreement on a new project, "Improving the Water Supply and Collection Systems in Azerbaijani Towns" this year. The parties have agreed on involving 20 Districts of the country to the project. Preparatory works for a feasibility study have been launched in ten out of these regions: Aghdam, Bilasuvar, Goranboy, Guba, Khachmaz, Zagatala, etc. The first stage envisages presenting $120 mln. for 10 towns. As to the reconstruction of the water supply and collection systems of all the 20 towns, WB has intensions to grant $240 млн. Other $200 will be presented for the development of the national water supply and collection systems in 2009-2010.
JBIC (Japan Bank for International Cooperation) is expected to turn to the project as well. The Japanese Bank jointly with WB will take obligations to reconstruct in the limited liability companies (LLC), which subjected to " United Water Canal" of "Azersu" OJSC. At the same time, WB will finance works in 20 LLCs, JBIC - only in 10 towns. They have agreed only six towns out of the ten ones correspondingly. The interest to 18 other LLCs will be not so intense due to the complexity of division of town and village water-collection systems. Notably, a total of 48 LLCs are subjected to " United Water Canal".
In addition, KfW (German Development Bank) and ADB (Asian Development Bank) will be occupied with works to be carried out in the town, where on the basis of water supply and collection enterprises, OJSV with the participation of municipalities or foreign investors will be founded. KfW is currently implementing the works in Shaki and Ganja, ADB- in Aghdash, Nakhchivan, and Goychay.
The total value of the works to be carried out in the towns is estimated at $2-3 bln.
Researches of international experts showed that 100 mln. of people, or 36% of the population of the countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia live in rural areas, where an access to water supply and water collection is on 20-40% lower than in urban zones. The more people begin consuming water from unsafe sources. It is just children who suffer most of all: the mortality as a result of diseases transmitted by water is 11.000 in the above-mentioned region (the countries of Eastern Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia).
Researches note that investors seek to present their activity in this region, first of all because of the newly-recommenced growth of GDP and profits gained by house economy in most countries of the above-mentioned region, that create favourable conditions for financial restoration of the water supply sector. Secondly, institutional and legal terms become more favourable to put investments.
However, the slow advancement of reforms at a municipal level is presently one of the most serious troubles. The delay connected with communal facilities's turning to an independent commercial basis impedes benefiting from the measures taken at a central level. Meanwhile, it was proved that state funds invested to the sector bring substantial social profit in the form of expenditures on health care, which can manage to avoid. According to the data provided by WHO (World Health Organization), each USD invested to water collection system bring social profit at $13.
Thus, having summed up the analysis, it should be noted that the following aspects are presently urgent to Azerbaijan:
- reconstruction and construction of treatment facilities for communal waste waters, ensuring industrial sewage's taking off from the municipal water collection system, construction of a rain water collection system;
- reconstruction of water supply systems to reduce technological drinking water loss, as well as transition of heat centres to gas; prevention of any raw waste water ingress to the Lakes of Boyuk-Shor, Named after Bul-Bul, Hajji-Hassan, Red to gradually reduce their water level to their original ones, as well as bringing the quality of water to the parameters safe to human's health;
- bringing the development of industrial base of "BakKanalizasiya" (Baku Water Collection System) and other water collection systems of the country to the present-day need level, including construction of an industrial building, equipping with necessary construction machinery and engineering, equipment and mechanisms, staff's training on the up-to-date international experience on construction, operation, and maintenance of water collection system facilities, etc.
It goes without saying that the above-mentioned list of emergent tasks the City faces to improve the situation with its water collection system is not complete at all. However, the solution of these issues should bring to the improvement in the work of the water supply and collection systems of certain cities, towns, and villages of the country.