Water companies provide public services and are usually partly public entities who do not operate in a free market. They are generally not allowed to make a profit. Customers pay for their water. Regulators have the power to set maximum tariffs for water to make sure that customers do not pay more than they need to. The theory is that the tariff should be high enough to allow for enough income for future investments (asset renewal and extensions) but at the same time as low as possible (to make sure the companies operate as efficiently as possible).

A good asset management plan gives the company insight into the state of its assets and supports the strategy of the company for future investments. It can help in justifying a higher tariff in order to be prepared for future investments. It is based on an asset management database that reflects the current state of the assets and when they will need to be replaced.

The project supported two neighbouring water companies Dnipro Vodakanal  and Novomoskovsk Vodakanal in Eastern Ukraine in setting up an asset management database and incorporating asset management planning into the organisations.

Benefit for the client:

While asset management planning should be a continuous process within water companies for long term benefits, one of the utilities immediately benefited from the project support by using their asset management plan to support a grant proposal for asset renewal. The grant application was successful due to the well documented prioritisation of the proposed asset renewal.

Chanzo’s tasks included:

• Develop a proto type data collection application
• Design the asset management database structure based on input from the asset management specialist
• Support the application developer in designing the user interface
• Convert any existing GIS database information to the required Asset Management database
• Develop and implement on-job Asset Management training and facilitate peer to peer training
• Write the Asset Management database manual