Response to interpellation 2023/24:528 on civil preparedness for critical infrastructure
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
The debate concerns civil preparedness for drinking water supply and infrastructure. KD argues that access to clean water is fundamental to society and that the municipalities have the primary responsibility for the supply even during crises 1 2. KD emphasizes that the government is investing in preparedness through inquiries and grants to the county administrative boards 1 2 3. SD expresses concern that the municipalities bear the primary responsibility as deficiencies in awareness may occur 4. SD asks whether the county administrative boards should take a greater responsibility 5 and whether individual sewage systems can be an advantage for civil defense 6. KD responds that municipal politicians must take responsibility for the maintenance 3 7.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! Martin Westmont has asked the Minister for Civil Defence if, within his area of responsibility, he has taken the initiative for an analysis of whether the current vulnerability assessment is in line with the developments we see in our immediate vicinity regarding the country's civil protection for our water supply and if, in that case, he can account for the analysis.
The interpellation has been handed over to me.
Access to clean drinking water is a socially important function in peacetime as well as during peacetime crisis situations, high alert, and ultimately war. A secure drinking water supply is therefore fundamental to society and a basic pillar in civil defense and thus also in total defense. In Sweden, access to clean water is something we often take for granted, but we also need to ensure that we have a stable supply of clean water both now and in the future.
The developments in recent years have increased crisis awareness in society and shown us the importance of preparedness. Society's crisis preparedness is based on the so-called principle of responsibility, which means that the person who has responsibility for an activity under normal conditions also has corresponding responsibility during crisis situations. When it comes to the drinking water supply, the municipalities have the primary responsibility. The responsibility includes taking the measures required for the activity to be able to function during a crisis.
The Government is closely following the issue and has made several initiatives to build up civil defense regarding drinking water supply. During 2022, for example, the so-called Va-beredskapsutredningen (Water Preparedness Inquiry) was appointed to review regulations and distribution of responsibility and, if necessary, propose changes to ensure a robust and continuous delivery of water services. The inquiry's report is to be submitted no later than November 30, 2024. I look forward to reviewing the analysis and the proposals that come from the inquiry.
Martin Westmont (SD)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for the answer.
My interpellation focuses on our civil preparedness for our most important food source - our drinking water - and our water and sewage systems.
Under the last Social Democratic government, we could see that there were certain deficiencies, and it became chaos, among other things, when a shortage of protective equipment arose. Now we have a Tidö cooperation in place where all parties are pulling in the same direction and want to build up a good civil defense so that Sweden does not end up in the same situation as under the Social Democratic government.
Madam Speaker! When I was a municipal politician in the City of Stockholm, we addressed the issues surrounding protective barriers in the urban environment. At that time, no one thought we would be hit by a terrorist attack, but two months later, exactly that happened. This demonstrates the importance of working preventatively, because what we absolutely do not believe will happen today is a reality tomorrow. We live in a time with an increased threat profile within Sweden's borders, and we have a war in our immediate vicinity.
In the answer to my interpellation, the Minister mentions that the responsibility for the water supply lies with the municipalities, even in a crisis situation. That is what I am a little worried about – that the primary responsibility should lie with the municipalities. We see, for example, in the municipalities' work regarding the water and sewage systems, that there may be major deficiencies when it comes to awareness and accountability.
My question to the Minister is whether he feels confident that the municipalities have the responsibility for the drinking water supply even in a crisis.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! As I mentioned in my introduction, and as the interpellator repeated, it is the municipalities that have the responsibility for the public drinking water supply in Sweden. The costs for the drinking water are also financed through a municipal water and sewage fee.
A report from Svenskt Vatten indicates an annual investment need of 31 billion kronor for Swedish water and sewage infrastructure. Svenskt Vatten's sustainability index shows a great need for reinvestment and new investment. Fewer than 10 percent of the municipalities have a satisfactory status on their facilities. At the same time, only every third municipality has a developed financing plan.
During this year, the county administrative boards will be awarded grants for planning and work with drinking water supply during high alert - the county administrative boards representing the state. A portion of the grant may be provided as contributions to the municipalities. But the municipalities need to work even more preventatively in their planning and investment in the water and sewage infrastructure; that is crystal clear.
In this context, I can also mention that the Va-beredskapsutredningen is now reviewing both regulations and distribution of responsibility and, if necessary, shall propose changes to ensure the delivery of completely life-critical water services. This applies to both the production and distribution of drinking water, but it also applies to stormwater and wastewater, where the consequences in a crisis situation could potentially become quite large and terrible.
Work is also currently underway to implement the EU's comprehensive drinking water directive into Swedish law. Through the directive, a risk-based method for drinking water safety is introduced, covering the entire chain, from catchment areas all the way into the houses to the tap. The purpose is, among other things, to better prevent risks and ensure that measures are primarily taken at the source of discharge.
Martin Westmont (SD)
Madam Speaker! We are following the work and will then conduct a follow-up when the preparedness investigation is complete – absolutely, we will do that.
Just as the Minister mentions, civil preparedness is also about our ability to handle contamination that can occur during floods or if chemicals enter our water sources and so on. The Minister also mentioned that the county administrative boards have a responsibility when it comes to civil preparedness. This includes, among other things, being a support in the planning that the municipalities do regarding civil preparedness when it concerns the water supply.
What I question, given my opening remarks, is whether it is sufficient that the county administrative boards only have a role where they are to contribute to the planning regarding the water supply in a crisis situation for the municipalities. Could it not be that the county administrative boards should take a greater responsibility when it comes to the water supply in a crisis situation, for example? What does the minister say about the county administrative boards taking a more active role specifically when it concerns the water supply in a crisis situation?
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! I do not want to anticipate the investigation. One must nevertheless admit that this is quite complex matter. We have underground utility networks in every municipality. It is nothing the citizens see. I remember it myself as a challenge when I was a municipal politician back home in Karlstad. It was not the sexiest thing to want to invest in, especially when the citizens also immediately see what the cost will be because they receive an increased water fee.
I believe, however, that both citizens and municipal politicians need to take that responsibility. The maintenance of our water and sewage pipes is enormously neglected. As a citizen, one can do one's duty by asking one's municipal politicians what the situation is in one's own municipality and informing oneself. Every time one passes that water tap and is thirsty or wants to boil potatoes or put on the coffee pot in the morning, one can ask oneself: What happens if this water were to be unusable? The situation in a normal life becomes quite quickly seriously disrupted if the water does not flow or if the water is not usable.
The state, of course, takes responsibility and makes several interventions. We have a water catastrophe group, Vaka, under the Swedish Food Agency, which can support municipalities with, among other things, emergency water tanks in the event of an extensive crisis, for example if the water and sewage infrastructure were to be damaged.
In the supplementary budget for 2023, the Swedish Food Agency received 20 million for preparedness-enhancing measures within the food and drinking water supply. Some of the funds also went towards the purchase of emergency water equipment.
From January 1 of this year, every municipality shall have a current water service plan. It shall contain the municipality's long-term planning of how the need for public water services shall be met. The plan shall also contain an assessment of which measures need to be taken so that the public water and sewage facilities shall function during an increased load due to, for example, heavy rainfall, as we have seen.
Our hope is that the new legislation will be able to contribute to setting higher requirements for a safe and stable water supply and to ensuring that the municipalities are better protected in the event of crises.
Martin Westmont (SD)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Rural Affairs for the answer.
The Armed Forces stated not so long ago that some kind of mapping is being carried out of what the municipalities' electricity supply looks like during a power outage. I would like to say that if someone is mapping Swedish electricity supply, we can be quite sure that Swedish water supply is also being mapped in a crisis situation. Säpo has also stated that some kind of mapping of Swedish infrastructure is underway.
We can see in Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine that the aim is to cut off access to water for the inhabitants, and they are also targeting important infrastructure for water.
In the government's initiatives on civil defense, the county administrative boards are tasked with also planning for emergency water during high alert. I would like to ask the Minister how he views what the structure for emergency water looks like and if there could be an interest in supplementing it further. For example, a certain amount of individual sewage systems in a municipality can be good for civil defense.
The discussion about individual sewage systems is very topical in very many municipalities. My question to the Minister for Rural Affairs is whether he sees this, that municipalities have a certain proportion of individual sewage systems, as something good and something that we should safeguard, precisely from a preparedness perspective.
Landsbygdsministern Peter Kullgren (KD)
Madam Speaker! The interpellor poses several questions here that are on the border of the hypothetical. Furthermore, I believe the interpellor knows that all parts of this do not fall under my direct responsibility.
To still try to answer the question - which I think is a matter of honor - one can perhaps state that most municipalities with some form of countryside do not have a municipal water network all the way. Of course, in the event of war or crisis, it can be important to have separate systems where one can access drinking water. With that said, I cannot go any further, as it is not my area of responsibility at all. But on the hypothetical question, the answer is quite obvious that it can, of course, be so.
The goal of a drinking water policy must be that we should have to use emergency water on as few occasions as possible, and that the tanks we have now seen should not have to be rolled out on a larger scale. When one turns on the tap, water should come out, and this water should be potable. That is where we have the most important work. That is why we have been keen to set higher requirements and have appointed inquiries that work on the issue.
But then it boils down again to the question of responsibility. It is every municipality, and ultimately every municipal politician, who has the responsibility to ensure that one has a water and sewage infrastructure that is in sufficiently good condition. If one does not have that, one must be held accountable for it before one's citizens.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.