Circular No. 01/2008/TT-BXD guiding the implementation of certain contents of Government Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP dated July 11, 2007 on the production, supply, and consumption of clean water.

CIRCULAR

Guidelines for Implementing Certain Provisions of Government Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP dated July 11, 2007 on Water Production, Supply, and Consumption

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Pursuant to Government Decree No. 36/2003/NĐ-CP dated April 4, 2003 stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Construction;

Pursuant to Government Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP dated July 11, 2007 on Water Production, Supply, and Consumption.

The Ministry of Construction hereby provides specific guidelines on water quality, procedures for community participation and supervision, water supply planning, selection of water supply units, determination of service areas, signing of agreements to implement water supply services, connection, water supply service contracts, inspection of water metering equipment, and other related issues under Government Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP dated July 11, 2007 on Water Production, Supply, and Consumption (hereinafter referred to as Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP) as follows:

I. ON WATER QUALITY

Water quality shall be implemented in accordance with Clause 1, Article 4 of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP and shall be specifically guided as follows:

1. Water quality for domestic purposes must comply with the hygiene standards for drinking water issued by the Minister of Health. Until the Ministry of Health issues new standards in accordance with Law on Standards and Technical Regulations No. 68/2006/QH11, the existing hygiene standards for drinking water issued pursuant to Decision No. 1329/2002/BYT/QĐ dated April 18, 2002 of the Minister of Health shall be temporarily applied.

2. Water quality must comply with the provisions throughout the entire system from the treatment facility to the end user. Water supply units are responsible for inspecting and ensuring water quality within their managed distribution systems. When there is an incident or customer complaints about water quality, the water supply unit must inspect its managed distribution system or post-meter piping and equipment to determine the cause and develop a remediation plan. Remediation actions beyond the meter point shall be organized by the customer.

3. For existing water supply systems where water quality does not meet the requirements set forth by the Ministry of Health, the water supply unit and the entity that signed the agreement to implement water supply services must assess and identify the causes, develop corrective measures, and establish a timeline for improving water quality in accordance with Point d), Clause 2, Article 31 of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP, including specifying the timeframe for achieving the water quality standards.

II. ON PROCEDURES FOR COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AND SUPERVISION

Community refers to a group of people residing in the same area and sharing common interests or benefits regarding infrastructure services in that region, including water supply activities. Clean water is an essential product related to community life and health; community participation in water supply activities not only enhances awareness of water conservation, payment obligations, and protection of water supply facilities but also ensures citizens' right to oversee water supply operations, contributing to the feasibility of water development programs and projects, maximizing investment efficiency, and sustainable development.

1. Procedures for Community Participation:

When initiating a project to construct a new water supply facility in areas without centralized water supply systems, the project sponsor and consulting organization must collaborate with local authorities to conduct sociological surveys, consultations, and gather community opinions within the project's service area regarding connection commitments and willingness to pay. Information on the project's basic contents such as investment scale, service quality after completion, pricing plans, land requirements, and implementation schedule must be provided when soliciting opinions.

For projects constructing water supply facilities at the commune or town level, household opinions must be collected. For larger-scale projects, the sponsor decides whether to collect opinions from households directly or through neighborhood associations, social organizations, and representative areas.

In water supply service contracts, there must be specific information on the contact details of the department or person responsible for receiving customer feedback, complaints, and reports regarding incidents, service quality, destructive or corrupt behaviors related to water supply activities. Annual reports submitted by water supply units to the competent authority that has signed the agreement to implement water supply services must include a report on the reception and handling of customer feedback.

Forms of Community Participation:

- Through questionnaires

- Neighborhood meetings

- Through political-social organizations such as women's unions, consumer associations, veterans' associations, and the United Front...

- Through other forms such as letters, direct comments...

2. Community Supervision:

After approval by the competent authority, water supply planning must be publicly announced in accordance with laws on construction planning.

After signing the agreement to implement water supply services, the People's Committee must inform the People's Council at the same level, relevant political-social organizations, and disseminate information to the community for joint implementation and monitoring.

Contents of Community Supervision:

- Monitoring compliance with approved planning and signed agreements for implementing water supply services

- Monitoring the implementation of water supply projects

- Monitoring the quality of water supply services including: water quality, water pressure, flow rate, continuity of supply, customer service attitude, etc.

III. ON WATER SUPPLY PLANNING

1. Water supply planning projects shall be established as separate planning projects in accordance with Clause 2, Article 12 of Decree 117, in addition to complying with Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP, other related tasks such as soliciting planning opinions, announcing plans, and managing planning must comply with the laws on construction planning.

2. Comprehensive plans for socio-economic development, construction planning, water resource exploitation, utilization, and development planning, and industry development plans that contain content related to water supply, when being studied and established or adjusted, must consider and coordinate with water supply planning projects (if any) to ensure consistency and compatibility among them.

3. Water supply planning projects that have been organized and approved by localities before Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP takes effect shall continue to be implemented according to the approved planning project.

4. For water supply planning projects that have been approved for design tasks, are currently in the process of establishment, and have not yet been approved:

a) The organization shall review the content of the design task, if it is consistent with the provisions of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP, there is no need to re-submit for approval of the design task; If it is inconsistent with the provisions of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP, adjustments must be made and the person who approved the design task shall approve the adjustment of the design task.

b) The examination and approval of planning projects must comply with the provisions of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP.

IV. ON THE SELECTION OF WATER SUPPLY UNITS, DETERMINATION OF SERVICE AREAS, AND THE CONCLUSION OF AGREEMENTS TO IMPLEMENT WATER SUPPLY SERVICES

The selection of water supply units to negotiate and conclude agreements to implement water supply services between the People's Committee and the water supply unit shall be carried out in accordance with Article 29 of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP; The service area for water supply is a defined boundary area where the water supply unit has the obligation to provide clean water to users within that area; the determination of the service area for a water supply unit is regulated in Article 32 of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP.

The agreement to implement water supply services is a legal document signed between the People's Committee of cities, towns, and rural communes (referred to as the People's Committee) and the water supply unit, binding the rights and obligations of both parties in ensuring water supply services in accordance with regulations, while ensuring the harmonization of the legitimate interests of the water supply unit and the community, aiming to improve the quality of water supply services at reasonable prices under state control.

The basic content of the agreement to implement water supply services is stipulated in Article 31 of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP; based on the model agreement to implement water supply services in Appendix 1 of this Circular, taking into account actual conditions, the water supply unit and the People's Committee organize the establishment, negotiation, and signing of the agreement to implement water supply services.

In cases where a water supply unit has multiple service areas belonging to different independent administrative units, agreements to implement water supply services shall be concluded separately with each independent administrative unit.

Within a water supply service area of a water supply unit, if there are multiple affiliated units, the People's Committee shall only sign one agreement to implement water supply services with the water supply unit, the division of management of smaller sub-areas or different stages of water supply activities for affiliated units shall be decided by the water supply unit, ensuring compliance with the content of the signed agreement to implement water supply services.

V. ON CONNECTION

The connection of customer facilities to the water supply network of the water supply unit shall be carried out in accordance with the provisions from Article 39 to Article 43 of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP.

The water supply unit is responsible for investing synchronously up to the connection point at consumption households including water meters within the determined service area, connection costs shall be included in the investment cost of the network and allocated into the price of clean water approved by the Provincial People's Committee. The deadline for adjusting and approving the price of clean water applying new regulations shall not be later than the time specified in Clause 3, Article 64 of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP.

The minimum volume of water prescribed in Clause 2, Article 42 of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP shall apply to household customers. In cases where multiple households share one meter, the water supply unit may determine the minimum volume of water based on converting an average household of four people (4m³/household/month).³VI. ON WATER SUPPLY SERVICE CONTRACTS

A water supply service contract is a legal document signed between the water supply unit and the water user and complies with the provisions from Article 44 to Article 50 of Decree No. 117/2007/NĐ-CP. Water supply service contracts are divided into two types:

- Retail water supply service contract.

- Wholesale water supply service contract.

1. The content of the retail water supply service contract must reflect basic information about the customer regarding connection to build a customer database, facilitating management; specific provisions on the rights and obligations of both parties to the contract; service quality conditions, clean water prices, payment methods; relevant legal provisions on water supply concerning the water supply unit and the water user. Based on the model retail water supply service contract in Appendix 2 of this Circular, taking into account actual conditions, the water supply unit shall develop a suitable contract model for application in its jurisdiction.

1. The content of the retail water supply service contract must reflect basic information about the customer for connection to establish a customer database, facilitating management; specify the rights and obligations of both parties to the contract; service quality conditions, clean water prices, payment methods; relevant legal provisions on water supply concerning the water supplier and water users. Based on the model of the retail water supply service contract in Appendix 2 of this Circular, taking into account actual conditions, the water supplier shall develop an appropriate contract model for implementation in its jurisdiction.

2. A wholesale water supply service contract shall be concluded between a wholesale water supplier and a retail water supplier. The content of the wholesale water supply service contract must reflect the rights and obligations of the parties involved in signing the contract; the quality conditions of the service, the wholesale price of clean water, payment methods; regulations to ensure stability, safety of water supply, and the quality of supplied clean water. Based on the model wholesale water supply service contract in Appendix 3 of this Circular, taking into account actual conditions, the wholesale water supplier and the retail water supplier shall negotiate specifically for application.

VII. REGARDING MEASUREMENT AND REFUND OF WATER FEES DUE TO INACCURATE WATER METERING EQUIPMENT

Water metering equipment must be calibrated in accordance with Article 50 of Decree 117/2007/NĐ-CP. In case an independent calibration organization determines that the actual error of the meter exceeds the permissible error as stipulated, the water supplier must refund the excess fees collected from water users based on the following criteria to determine the volume for the value of the excess fees to be compensated:

- The permissible error level as stipulated

- The actual error level determined by the independent calibration organization

- The time period from the point when the water usage increased suddenly compared to the previous average consumption level to the point when the meter was removed for calibration.

VIII. EFFECTIVE DATE

This Circular shall be uniformly applied throughout the country and shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette. Any difficulties encountered during implementation should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Construction for study and resolution.

                                                                  CERTIFIED BY THE MINISTER
                                                               DEPUTY MINISTER
                                                                 (signed)



                                                               Nguyễn Văn Liên