page_title: Water supply and sanitation in Georgia
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Water supply and sanitation in Georgia / History
caption_attribution_description: ქართული: ბათუმი
context_page_description: Water supply and sanitation in Georgia is characterized by achievements and challenges. Among the achievements is the improvement of water services in the capital Tbilisi where the water supply is now continuous and of good quality, major improvements in the country's third-largest city Batumi on the Black Sea where the country's first modern wastewater treatment plant now is under operation, as well as a general increase in access to drinking water in the entire country. Water and sewer tariffs remain affordable, with the private water company Georgian Water and Power serving the capital being financially viable and profitable, while the public water company serving most of the rest of the country remains financially weak. The improvements were achieved after the Rose Revolution of 2004 when the government decided to reform the sector and to invest in it after many years of neglect.
  Among the remaining challenges are poor service quality in many areas outside the two largest cities, a declining access to improved sanitation in rural areas according to survey results, and insufficient treatment of wastewater.
context_section_description: When the Soviet Union collapsed and Georgia became independent in 1991, its water supply and sanitation infrastructure was in bad shape. Maintenance had been neglected for many years and service quality was poor, with intermittent supply and often poor drinking water quality. After independence there was no clear government commitment to address the deficiencies in water supply and sanitation and service quality deteriorated even further. For example, operation of the wastewater treatment plant of the capital Tbilisi was stopped because the city was unable to afford to pay for its electricity bill after electricity tariffs had been increased. In 2003 a report by the OECD found that the Georgian urban water and sanitation sector was seriously under-financed, given its long neglect. The report noted that the collection rate of water bills was 70% for businesses and only 34% for households. The report recommended increasing collection efficiency and to double the water and sewer tariff in areas outside the capital until they reached the highest affordable level. This was defined as 95% of households spending less than 2.5% of their income on their water and sewer bill. The OECD recommended to leave the tariff in Tbilisi unchanged, because it had already reached the limit of affordability. Furthermore, the government should increase its spending for water supply and sanitation, reform the sector's structure and strengthen human and institutional capacities.
  After the Rose Revolution of 2003 a new government began to seriously address the issues in the sector. As a first step, the government took away the responsibility for water supply and sanitation from local governments and, for the areas outside the capital, transferred it to two state-owned Limited Liability Companies, Western Water and Eastern Water. In 2010 they were merged into one company, the United Water Supply Company of Georgia (UWSCG). Investments to improve the infrastructure in the services area of UWSCG were financed primarily by foreign donors through loans and grants implemented by the Municipal Development Fund of Georgia, while UWSCG is in charge of operating the water and sewer systems.
  A second step was the privatization of the Tbilisi Water Supply Company. In 2006, a credit of 25 million USD had been approved by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) to rehabilitate the water and sanitation infrastructure of Tbilisi. But the government refused the loan and instead opted for full privatization. In November 2007 it decided to sell the company to Multiplex Energy Limited, a newly created company whose ownership was not known to the public. The new company was obliged to keep tariffs unchanged for the next five years and to make substantial improvements, including the rehabilitation of the sewer infrastructure by 2012, 24-hour water supply within the entire service area by 2015 and the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant at Gardabani to replace the dilapidated existing plant by 2018. The private company took over its responsibilities in May 2008. A performance incentive system for employees and a new billing system were introduced, and connections were gradually retrofitted with meters reaching 23% of customers in 2013. According to an independent study, the overall results of water privatization in Tbilisi were positive. While staffing levels did gradually decrease from 1,962 full-time equivalents in 2006 to 1,606 in 2012, training and overall job satisfaction all increased. The average income of employees doubled between 2006 and 2013. This was more than the inflation rate during the same period, but increases were not as high as the average for water and power companies in Georgia. Furthermore, physical water losses and water theft (non-revenue water) decreased slightly (from 42% in 2006 to 38% in 2013) and water supply became continuous within the old administrative borders of Tbilisi in 2013.
  The government also wanted to include Autonomous Republic of Adjara in the service area of UWSCG in 2010. However, this was op
caption: View of Batumi the second-largest city of Georgia.
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