Oslo City Councilor Raymond Johansen believes that his predecessors – the Conservative-led city council – delayed in obtaining a new water supply. The result is today’s water crisis, he says.
Less than 20 minutes ago
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– Had we had Holsfjorden now, this would not have happened, says Johansen (Labor) to NTB.
He talks about the new reserve water supply from Holsfjorden outside Oslo, which is under construction. Had only the Conservative City Council done its job, the facility could have been ready today, Johansen believes.
– Despite many, they did not initiate very clear warnings and encouragements that this investment should be made. Now it will not be completed until 2028, says Johansen.
– Spectacle
The new water supply project is very expensive, and the current city council has received a lot of criticism for constantly new cost gaps. The first part will cost 17.7 billion kroner (5.2 billion more than estimated), while the last part will cost nine billion kroner (early estimates were two billion, but the cost limit was set at nine).
– There has been a lot of speculation about this, of course. And it is a demanding and large project. But we have at least shown political action and started the work towards 2028, says Johansen.
Earlier this week, the municipality sent out an SMS to all residents that they must save water. The reason is little water in the drinking water source Maridalsvannet, both due to little rain, but also due to maintenance work.
– This illustrates at least, with all clarity, the importance and necessity of this large project from Holsfjorden, says Johansen.
–– A little easy
The Conservative Party’s group leader in Oslo City Council, Anne Haabeth Rygg, agrees that the current situation would have been avoided if the reserve water solution in Holsfjorden had been completed. But she still thinks the criticism is a bit easy.
– The new water supply has been discussed in Oslo City Council since the 1950s, and many different proposals and solutions were proposed before Raymond Johansen took over as city council leader, she says to NTB.
She points out that what really accelerated the case was that the Norwegian Food Safety Authority in both 2017 and 2019 threatened daily fines in the millions.
– The City Council has also chosen an extremely expensive solution, with exceedances of 12 billion kroner. It is one of the biggest budget cracks in Norwegian history, she says.
Suggests water meters
She believes that the city council leader must look at ways to reduce Oslo’s water consumption.
– Rather than blaming everyone else, he should go in a little offensively and try to find solutions to the situation the city is in.
Rygg refers to calculations that 40 percent of the water is lost on the way from the water source to the consumer, due to extremely large leaks.
– For example, we have proposed to try out water meters in Oslo. Which can both contribute to more awareness if you pay according to consumption, but it will also be able to make it easier to find out where the water leaks are.
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