1. In the context of the association, the Union and the OCTs may cooperate in the area of sustainable water management through water policy and institution building, protecting water resources, water supplies in rural and urban areas for domestic, industrial or agricultural purposes, storage, distribution and management of water resources and waste water management.

However, it is not considered that this payment was made on the place of the sewage treatment fee for the following three reasons: (1) the official document reads "waste water emission" fee and not "sewage treatment" fee; (2) the payment is not proportional to the actual water consumption; (3) the total amount paid is quite small as compared to the actual amount that would have been payable if the sewage treatment fee on the actual water consumption had been due.

Considers that integrated water resources management should comprise strategies for the improvement of water use efficiency, water saving, rationalisation and limitation of water consumption, and improved consumer awareness concerning sustainable water consumption, and that it should respond to issues concerning the collection and storage of rainwater in natural and artificial reservoirs, as well as to those relating to the risk and impact of floods and droughts; considers that action should be encouraged to establish an effective hierarchy of water uses and recalls that a demand-side approach should be preferred when managing water res ...[+++]ources;

They could promote more sustainable use of water in households and industry via their permitting powers and could set targets for per capita consumption, generalising the implementation of water demand management, and supporting these targets with appropriate local water taxes and/or pricing.

They could promote more sustainable use of water in households and industry via their permitting powers and could set targets for per capita consumption, generalising the implementation of water demand management, and supporting these targets with appropriate local water taxes and/or pricing.

Evaluation findings [13] have pointed to the need for certain key elements to be considered, if water-related projects and programmes are to succeed: An integrated approach (conception, design, construction, training, management, including water quality monitoring, environmental issues); Stakeholder involvement, at all levels of responsibility and at all stages of project conception and implementation (to allow project design to take account of local practices and experience, and preferences for different types of solutions; it also ...[+++] includes women's participation and attention to gender aspects in design, management and monitoring); Capacity building, in particular for sustainable management of resources and services, operation and maintenance of systems; Awareness of social and environmental needs, impacts and costs. This might include the encouragement and development of a consumer culture amongst water users.