Water Supply as a Service
The service side of water rights begins with the water-supply activity: a water-supply licensee carries out its activity on the basis of a water-supply activity license, in accordance with the law and the sub-statutory acts issued on its basis. This page describes the licensee’s rights and duties and the final customer’s rights — the whole chain from supplier to consumer.
The Licensee’s Duties
A water-supply licensee is obliged: to render services in accordance with the law and sub-statutory acts; to operate the drinking-water supply and sewerage systems, to supply drinking water and/or provide sewerage; through the drinking-water supply system to secure the supply of drinking water of a quality corresponding to the standards in force in Georgia; to secure the constant control of water quality; to secure the due protection of water objects and not to allow third parties to affect the system or pollute the drinking water; through the sewerage systems to secure the treatment of pollutants in wastewater discharged into surface-water objects in accordance with the technical regulations in force; to elaborate emergency action plans; in emergency periods to secure the observance of allocated limits and established regimes, with the priority supply of objects of special significance conditional on payment; to make available to the public the approved tariffs and service conditions; to submit an investment programme and annual work plan; and to pay the regulation fee in due time. Non-fulfillment of the duties entails the liability provided for by law.
The Licensee’s Rights
The licensee has the right fully to enjoy the rights conferred by the license — in the manner determined by the law, the rules of supply and consumption of drinking water, and the commission’s decisions; where supply is by schedule, it supplies the emergency management service with information about the schedule; and it transmits drinking water through its network for another licensee, in exchange for the fee set by the commission. This last norm is the foundation of network unity — transmitting another’s water through one operator’s network is a contractual, tariffed process.