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Erhvervs-, Vækst- og Eksportudvalget 2014-15 (1. samling)
L 157 Bilag 7
Offentligt

EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS OF WATER SERVICES

EUREAU position on

Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on measures to

reduce the cost of deploying high speed electronic communications

infrastructure (COM(2013)147)

(28 June 2013)

Background:

In March, the European Commission published its proposal for a Regulation on measures to

reduce the cost of deploying high speed electronic communications infrastructure. The draft

Regulation requires new and renovated housing to be broadband ready, calls for ducts and

other infrastructure to be shared among telecommunications companies on fair and

reasonable terms and shortens the permission process. Water, waste water, electricity or

gas companies will be mandated to provide details of their infrastructure, including

underground pipes, sewers and ducts, with telecom firms to cut their cost of creating high-

speed broadband networks.

EUREAU supports the Commission's general ambition to speed up the deployment of

broadband across the EU and considers that the proposed regulation would expedite the

manner in which network operators and infrastructure owners engage and co-operate.

However, based on experience from its members EUREAU would like to inform the

European legislators on the far-reaching consequences that the proposal could have for the

water sector. If these are not be taken into account, EUREAU fears that such a regulation

might bring technical difficulties and administrative burden for the water operators that could

have immediate negative consequences for the well-functioning of the drinking and waste

water infrastructure to the expenses of public health, the environment and thus lead to

upraising costs for the water users and public authorities.

1. Exclusion of Drinking Water for public health reasons

EUREAU considers that the proposed use of the pipes that transport drinking water to carry

telecoms cables is not appropriate due to the risks that such practices would pose to public

health by affecting the safety and integrity of the drinking water supply network. In line with

Article 10 of Directive 98/83/EC (the Drinking Water Directive) this position is fundamental to

the supply of water for human consumption and any introduction of "foreign" materials would

not be permissible.

The proposed Regulation does allow for infrastructure owners to refuse access on the

grounds of an activity impacting the ability of the asset to fulfil its primary function. This

allows drinking water infrastructure to be excluded but the burden of proof lies with the

infrastructure owner and would potentially be required for each and every application by a

communication network operator. This circumstance is not acceptable and should be tackled

with a general exclusion of using drinking water pipes for telecommunications cables.

•

Due to threats to public health water infrastructure intended for human use

should be excluded from the scope of the proposal.

EUREAU

Aisbl

Rue du Luxembourg 47-51

Tel (32-2) 706 4080

Fax (32-2) 706 4081

B-1050 Brussels

n° d’entreprise 416 415 357

[email protected]

www.eureau.org

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EUREAU

Draft PP on high speed electronic communication infrastructure

28 June 2013

2. Technical and legal conditions to the deployment of broadband in Waste Water

infrastructure

EUREAU accepts that the proposal could entail opportunities to share construction and

management costs of sewage infrastructure and is therefore not asking for the exclusion of

waste water infrastructure from the proposal, but for the sewage manager to remain under

control of the infrastructure he is responsible for. Some EUREAU members already have

experience of the installation of cables or optical fibres in sewers and have encountered

technical difficulties and liability concerns.

Technical difficulties

The sewer network is a dynamic network combining high volumes of water with physical and

gaseous materials. Introduction of ”foreign” infrastructure could reduce the hydraulic

capacity, increase the danger for blockage, especially in connection pipes for family homes

and limit access for maintenance or repair.

Experience has shown that the smaller the sewage pipes are, the more complicated it is to

install and maintain cables. Such cables constitute an obstacle to the flow of sewage and

waste may cling to them and eventually clog the drains. A manual maintenance is then

necessary, which can only be achieved in ducts accessible to humans under normal

conditions and safety at work (a minimum diameter of at least 1.20 m is required). Access to

infrastructure cannot always be guaranteed because of heavy rainwater flows.

Furthermore, within sewers explosive atmosphere may occur and special safety measures

must be taken, as well as mechanical protection of wires and sheaths must be appropriated

including corrosive gas, rats and shocks from diverse rubbish one can find in sewers,

particularly during strong rain events.

Therefore, the management and access to sewage pipes should exclusively be restricted to

sewage professionals; and the installation of any foreign body in waste water infrastructure

should remain under control of the sewage manager.

Liability

Sewer operators routinely use aggressive cleaning techniques (for example using high

pressure water jets) to maintain the operability of networks. Experiences of our members

have also shown difficulty with responsibility in case of damages caused to the optical cables

or to the waste water infrastructure by these cables. EUREAU therefore wants to underline

that liability aspects have to be solved contractually upfront on a case by case basis. Hence,

we oppose any mandatory request at EU level for sewage managers to share existing

infrastructure they are responsible for without their agreement. These contractual

agreements should also provide clear, prearranged rules on responsibility. This is especially

important when it comes to smaller sewage pipes. Consequently, EUREAU is of the opinion

that the one month refusal period is too short to assess a reasonable offer.

•

Provided that appropriate measures are taken to ensure that sharing of non-

potable water infrastructure is carried out in such a way that access is not

inhibited or performance affected, then waste water service providers would be

open to providing the information as outlined in the proposed Regulation. This

will have to be done under clear, prearranged provisions allowing installation

or maintenance of foreign body in waste water infrastructure to be done under

management of the responsible waste water operator on a case by case basis.

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