Germany: Municipal associations, cooperation and the specific case of water management

The system of government in Germany is divided between the federal government and the federal states (Laender). Municipalities are part of the administrative structure at the state level. They are territorial entities, i.e. they are administrative bodies endowed with legal capacity and their existence is based on the territory allocated to them. Furthermore, the municipalities have the right to self-administration, which is constitutionally guaranteed in Article 28 (2) of the Basic Law (BL). This ensures that they can fulfill administrative tasks on their own responsibility and with the participation of those affected by the performance of the tasks. Furthermore, territorial reforms like the merging of municipalities are encroachments on the municipalities territorial sovereignty protected by Article 28 (2) BL and must therefore be justified. Among the municipal institutions, counties (Landkreise) also exist. Counties are associations of municipalities (Gemeindeverbände) in the terminology of the Basic Law, so they also have the right of self-government according to Article 28 (2) 2 BL. Various forms of inter-municipal cooperation are becoming increasingly common in Germany. This is understood as a coordinated execution of individual administrative responsibilities by the participating local bodies. Each local government's right to cooperate with other regional bodies is part of their right of self-governing, guaranteed by Article 28 (2) BL. This is based on the respective state law, which regulates the different forms of collaboration that can be chosen for municipal cooperation. It also determines which tasks are eligible for such cooperation in the first place and finally lays down the organisation's basic principles. The collaboration of municipalities may take the form of setting up another legal entity (e.g. Zweckverband). Alternatively, it may be carried out by one local government taking over the tasks for other local governments. One area in which inter-municipal cooperation often occurs is water management. This refers to the qualitative and quantitative management of water resources, i.e. water supply and effluent disposal. As a public service, water management is carried out by the municipalities in Germany. Because it includes several procedural steps, such as water extraction, treatment of raw sewage water, distribution of drinking water to consumers, etc., not every municipality has resources to carry out all tasks on its own. This is why several municipalities often join forces to pool resources where the individual municipality could otherwise not provide potable water supply. Besides, there are more recent developments that reinforce this trend. Mainly as a result of various demographic changes, water management is facing new challenges. The difference in population structures in rural and urban areas is, at this moment, a significant factor. While demand in urban areas is increasing, rural areas must maintain high quality standards for a decreasing number of users, leading to predictable uncertainties regarding future demand.