2005 - 2006 - Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2012

THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION PART 2: COUNTRY ANALYSIS
City Study: Moscow
Water and sewerage services are provided by Mosvodokanal. Water usage by domestic customers
rose from 3.68 million m 3 per annum in 1992 to 3.88 million m 3 in 1995, while usage by industry fell
from 1.05 million m 3 per annum to 0.61 million m 3 per annum over the same period of time. Likewise,
water discharge by domestic customers rose from 2.29 million m 3 per annum to 2.38 million m 3 per
annum, while falling from 0.70 million m 3 per annum to 0.43 million m 3 per annum for industrial and
power customers. It appears likely that the monitoring of the discharge of industrial effluents has
eased during this period. The quality of drinking water has been affected by drives to develop land
surrounding water abstraction areas to the point where these sources are being materially
contaminated. In consequence, while 1.2% of drinking water samples failed bacterial contamination
tests in 1991, this rose to 3.4% by 1995. The failure rate on chemical criteria for recreational water
bodies rose from 48% in 1991 to 72% in 1995 and from 53% to 65% for bacterial contamination over
the same period. Meanwhile, a collapse in living standards for the majority of the population has taken
place to the point where environmental concerns are overshadowed by apparently more immediate
concerns. In 2002, Mosvodokanal claimed that it was owed R30 million (€965,000) in unpaid bills by
regional administrations and municipal institutions. At the beginning of 2002 Mosvodokanal cut the
supply of drinking water to several towns in the Moscow region. Mosvodokanal in turn owes R70
million (€2.25 million) to energy supplier Mosenergo. In the meantime Mosvodokanal has filed a
counterclaim against Mosenergo for R16.9 million (€540,000).
Private sector contracts awarded (Please see the relevant company entry for
details)
Location Contract Company
Moscow 11 year, wastewater build, O&M WTE
Moscow 12.5 year, wastewater build, O&M WTE
Moscow 13 year, water BOOT Suez/WTE
Private sector company operations (Please see the relevant company entry for details)
Company Parent company (country)
Population served
Water Sewerage Total
WTE EVN (Austria) 1,000,000 650,000 1,650,000
Suez Suez (Austria) 1,000,000 0 1,000,000
RUS IES (Russia) 2,221,000 N/A 2,221,000
Novogor-Prikamye Interros (Russia) 1,096,000 221,000 1,317,000
Rosvodokanal Alpha (Russia) 487,000 487,000 487,000
Syzran Vodocanal Syzran Vodocanal (Russia) 163,000 121,000 163,000
Sources:
Oldfield, J (1999). The Environmental Impact of Transition–a case study of Moscow city. Geographical Journal, 165, 222-231.
GWI (2004) A new Russian Revolution, Global Water Intelligence (5,8), Media Analytics, Oxford, UK
OECD (2004) Overview of Domestic and International Private Companies Operating in the Utilities Sector in Russian
Federation, OECD, Paris
172 Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook 2005 – 2006