private group water schemes rule changes

Farrahy100

When nobody is looking, bad things happen.

We are members of a private group water scheme (PGWS) of some 100 or so homes and farms in rural Cork.

The Federation of Group Water Schemes (FGWS) recently introduced changes to the rules of its members. These included a change in the number of people/members required to be present for a legal meeting of the scheme. This is a meeting where the decisions made, at that meeting, are legally binding on ALL the members. They changed the rule from the number required being a percentage of the total membership to just seven members.

This was explained as “Resolving the problem of the larger schemes of not being able to get sufficient members to a meeting to form a legal quorum.” So, to be clear, seven people in a scheme of a thousand homes can decide to spend any amount on anything and all the members are legally bound to pay an equal share! Alternative methods of ensuring that the will of members was met were and have been ignored. No postal vote is allowed. No proxy voting is allowed. You have to be there on the night or you get no say. For many people with families this is just not possible. The FGWS has said it wants private GWS to merge and operate under “Professional management”.

But this does not work unless you also change other rules and introduce new “Operational Regulations” and these include:

Operating Regulations

15. Any Member giving an unauthorised temporary or permanent supply to another party will be liable for a fine of €500 and the Board is entitled, in accordance with Operating Regulation 12, to disconnect that Member's property or premises until such fine is paid and the unauthorised connection is terminated or regularised. The Board may review the amount of this fine from time to time.

16. A reconnection fee of €500 shall be charged in all cases. The Board may review this fee from time to time.

19. The Society, its Board and members shall not be liable to any Member or Members for any failure to supply water or to procure the supply of water to a Member or any other party, nor shall the Society, its Board or its Members be responsible in respect of the loss of any other material or service intended to be supplied by virtue of an arrangement
made with a Member or Members where the loss has resulted from an Act of God or other circumstances beyond the control of the Society, its Board or Members, and the Society, its Board and Members shall not be liable for any expenses or consequential losses whatsoever sustained by a Member or Members in those circumstances. This exclusion of liability shall apply in respect of any delay in arranging supply and in respect of termination of supply for whatever reason. Each member accepts, by virtue of such membership, the provisions of this clause.

Please forgive this long entry.

The rules are there to punish members who, in the view of a board given unlimited powers and legal immunity, transgress. €500 to turn a stopcock and reconnect a family who may have fallen behind with payments. That is punitive punishment.

Another move, in the new rules, takes the principal of all members of a GWS being shareholders with rights including the right to vote at meetings. They introduce “Users”. These are households supplied with water by the GWS but they are not shareholders and they are not entitled to vote. A “users” rate of payment would be higher than a member.

Under the old rules it was not possible for persons to gain legal control or ownership of a Community Group Water Scheme. Under the new rules they could.

Water meters are coming and certain vested interests are moving to control supply and the industry.

Also posted in the thread “The National Water Agency”

slimjimmc

Does the FGWS have the authority to impose rulings on member schemes? Surely each scheme is an independent entity (even the FGWS website refers to them as community-owned schemes). I can't see how the FGWS can impose decisions on a scheme unless the members of that scheme previously sanctioned to give them that control. Has such control been handed over?


Also, can a member of a group who avails of that group's services be considered a "consumer"?

davo10

What's your issue?, if a member wants to have an effect on the decisions made by a group it is incumbent in them to attend the meetings and voice their concerns. Were previous meetings well attended?, did you attend the recent meeting and object to the changes?. Quorums are necessary for all meetings where decisions are made and the members malaise in attending them probably contributed to this change in the articles of the group, if you do not set guidelines on the number required for a quorum then no decisions can be made as there will be numerous challenges, i.e nothing gets decided apon. If people are "giving" supply to other homes then they are defrauding the scheme as a whole so why not fine them/cut off supply?.

Also, just to clarify, do the changes referred to apply to the FWGS or to your local private scheme's constitution?

ytpe2r5bxkn0c1

Federation rule changes come about at meetings of the federation, at which member groups are represented. It rules are amended in lin ewith the existing rules then what are you complaining about. Our scheme usually struggles to ahve the committee present at general meetings and I suspect yours is the same. the rule change is legal and binding. If you want it changed again then have it done through the processes there for you to do so.

Farrahy100

I will address your points, valid all by the by, as follows.

One. No the GWS must adopt the change in rules by a vote.

All groups and people make decisions on the information they are given. You must take that as a given lads.

Who would vote to have no rights, given the truth.

Forget about the caravan and the people with the black tube stealing your water.

Think about being without the ability to flush your toilet. the smell, the reality. The consistences for health.

This is a simple thought and a simple belief.

No human beings should be without access to water. When you rely on legality for your morality.

You have no morality.

Kristopherus

Are all GWS not been taken over by the Co.Councils? They have in most of the West and boy have the charges gone up. A connection has now gone up to €2500 and God hep you if you need repairs. What sickens me is that this is a prime example of the L.As turning into rip-off merchants and Public service costs keep rising & the bloody govt telling us to tighten up.:mad:

dudara

Also posted in the thread “The National Water Agency”

Duplicate posting is not allowed on Boards. In addition, this is not a Consumer Issue. Thread Closed

dudara