The long-term planning for Geneva waterworks

Geneva Waterworks supplies the 400 000 inhabitants of the Canton of Geneva. As a public service it has a duty to prepare for the future and to secure the water supply for decades to come. Its longterm planning simply consists in three documents: the master plan, the financial 10-year plan and a service contract with the government. The aim of the masterplan is to avoid making investments which will be useless in the long term. It is based on the demographic forecast and on the development zones of the Canton. The master plan describes the current infrastructure situation and the necessary investments which should be realised, at the most in the next 10 years. The financial 10 year plan is renewed every year. It represents a tool to detect the financial trends and development of the utility. The service contract with the government is negotiated every 4 years. It describes the level of services that the waterworks must provide and the necessary income to fulfil them. With this contract a negotiation on water tariff occurs only once every 4 years and the utility is able to plan the financing of the investment during this period.