wet and dry years, water and soil conservation measures, and the recharge of aquifers. the decennial strategy is divided into two 5-year plans, the xth development plan (2002–2006) and the xith development plan (2007–2011). 3. the long-term strategy (until 2030): the long-term strategy mainly builds up on the water master plans for the north, center and south of tunisia described in section 2. the strategy consists of a high number of studies and research programs with the target to plan and manage water resources more efficiently on a long run. water supply the national water supply authority in tunisia (sonede) is responsible for the provision of water supply services in tunisia. sonede is a public non-administrative entity placed under supervision of the ministry of agriculture, environment, and hydraulic resources (maerh). planning and investment for the allocation of drinking water in rural areas is conducted by the direction générale du genie rurale (dggr), which acts in the framework of the ministry of agriculture and user associations (groupements d’intérêt collectif (gic)). the water sector in tunisia has so far only seen very limited private participation. to date, private participation in the water sector is limited to a contracting programme. despite a 1999 study on contracting, very few activities have been contracted out (security and cleaning). sanitation the office national de l'assainissement (onas),is responsible for the sanitation in cities, industrial and tourist zones. the mandate of the onas also includes protection of the environment. in 1974, onas has been established in order to manage the sanitation sector. since 1993, onas got the status of a main operator for protection of water environment and combating pollution. missions of onas: combating water pollution planning and implementing of sanitation sector programs and integrated wastewater treatment & storm water disposal projects; construction, operation and maintenance of facilities intended for the sanitation of towns assigned to onas by decree; sale and distribution of sub-products such as treated wastewater and sludge the directorate of rural engineering is responsible for sanitation in rural zones not covered by onas, and the municipalities are responsible for collecting and disposing of solid waste as well as drainage systems for the flow of rainwater. economic efficiency labor productivity. in 2012, sonede had around 7016 employees. onas had 5500 employees as of 2002. the number of employees per 1000 connections for water only was 2.9, down from 4.1 in 2002. it was much higher adding the onas employees and thus above international standards. non-revenue water. non-revenue water for sonede stood at 20,7% in 2012, up from only 14% in 2000. financial aspects tariffs drinking water tariffs are uniform throughout the country. they include a fixed part and a variable part that depends on the consumption of water. as of september 2016, the variable part of the drinking water tariffs in tunisia was as follows: drinking water tariffs in tunisia consumption in m³/3-month period tariff in dt per m³ 0-20 0.200 21-40 0.325 41-70 0.450 71-100 0.770 101-150 0.940 151-500 1.260 more than 500 1.315 the exchange rate of the tunisian dinar to the us dollar is 1.00 tnd = $0.604 us. all users, except for the tourism industry, are subject to paying the above variable tariffs. the price of drinking water for the tourism industry is 1.315 dt/m3 regardless of consumption. the fixed part of the tariff depends on the diameter of the water meter. all drinking water tariffs are subject to an 18% value added tax. tariffs are adjusted based on proposals by sonede and onas to their respective boards and the government (ministry of agriculture, environment and hydraulic resources, and the ministry of finance). sometimes, these requests are refused. sanitation fees are invoiced and collected by sonede. water and wastewater tariffs were increased by 7 percent in july 2013. it was only the second increase in the last ten years. tariffs were increased again in september 2016 by about 10 percent on average. cost recovery sonede covers its operation and maintenance costs (and a small fraction of the investment costs) with its revenues. before the arab spring, defaulting on water bills was only about 4-5%, but it fell to 30% in the aftermath of the revolution. in 2012 it was back to less than 10%. a quarter of the utilities’ debt is owed by public institutions. sonede runs an annual deficit of tnd82 million ($50 million). the average cost of a cubic metre is tnd0.716 ($0.44) and it is sold at tnd0.570 ($0.35). onas depends even more on subsidies. for example, the state repays the principal of its loans while onas must service only the interest. investment public investments from the budget of the ministry of agriculture and hydraulic are composed as following public investments part of water sector percentage rate 10th plan (2002–2006) 1975.4 1252.1 63 11th plan (2007–2011) 2887.9 1580.1 55 the investments of onas should go from 390 million td in the 9th plan to 525 million td in the 10th plan, i.e. an increase of 32%. compared to the sonede investments in the water sector, investment in the sanitation sector remains higher. this is an important point as in the majority of other developing countries sanitation is neglected with respect to water supplies. the corollary is that sanitation prices are high with respect to regional standards, showing a sustained effort in the collection of costs which is absent in almost all other developing countries. financing concerning the sector financing, the situation in tunisia represent is shown in the figure below in mtd. financing of water sector in tunisia| financing source 10th plan (2002-2006) 11th plan (2007-2011) investments % investments % national budget 947 48 1300 45 external loans 808 41 1300 45 grants 150 8 200 7 self-financing 70 3 28 3 total 1975 100 2888 100 external cooperation external partners play a major role in the development of the water and sanitation sector in tunisia. the french development agency afd, the african development bank, the european investment bank, the german development bank kfw, the german technical cooperation agency giz and the world bank are among tunisia's major external partners in the water sector. since 2000 donors have increasingly financed projects jointly instead of each donor financing projects separately as it had been the case before. multi-donor projects water sector investment project (piseau). in 2000 the world bank approved the first water sector investment project (piseau) implemented by the ministry of agriculture and water resources with a total cost of us$258 million. it was financed together with kfw development bank, which contributed us$17.5 million, while the world bank financed us$103 million. it is not clear how the remaining resources were financed. the main objective of the project was to promote integrated water resources management, together with a better policy for water resources conservation. the project consists of five components: irrigation management, groundwater management, water conservation and environmental protection, rural drinking water supply, and institutional strengthening and capacity building. the measures taken were expected to significantly improve the productivity of agriculture and increase access to drinking water for rural population. in 2007 the project was concluded. a follow-up project (piseau ii) was supported by the african development bank with €22.91 million ($31.3 million), as well as by afd (us$61 million) and the world bank (us$31 million). the project includes the improvement of conventional as well as non-conventional water sources (reclaimed water and brackish water) in rural areas. farmers participate in decision-making through agricultural development groups (adgs) for irrigation and drinking water. the closing date of the project is planned for the year 2015. the total project cost is €122 million ($167.56 million). kfw contributed in 2009 with an amount of 1 million euro for tariff studies and measures to strengthen participation by user groups. sewage pumping stations and wastewater treatment plants rehabilitation and extension programme. kfw, afd and the european commission jointly finance this sanitation programme at a total cost of 81.5 million eur for 19 wastewater treatment plants and 130 sewage pumping stations in 11 governorates. kfw contributes a eur 55 million loan, afd a eur 18.5 million loan and the eu commission a eur 8 million grant. the treated water from some plants will be reused for irrigation. african development bank the african development bank co-finances projects with other external partners in the water sector (see under multi-donor projects). european investment bank onas 4 rehabilitation project. in 2006 the european investment bank signed the onas 4 rehabilitation project. the total cost is eur 90 million. the project aims to finance the collection and treatment of wastewater in different towns. the treated wastewater will be reused for farming purposes. it supports the upgrading of the primary and secondary networks in greater tunis; the expansion and rehabilitation of the sanitation systems in the towns of monastir, mahdia, gabès, medenine, tataouine and gafsa; extension of the south hammamet treatment plant; construction of three wastewater treatment plants in the towns of enfidha/hergla, menzel temime and tazarka/somâa/ mâamoura. france the french development agency co-finances projects with other external partners in the water sector (see under multi-donor projects). germany germany co-finances projects with other external partners in the water sector through financial cooperation projects implemented by kfw.(see under multi-donor projects). world bank greater tunis sewerage and reuse project. in 1997 the world bank approved the greater tunis sewerage and reuse project. the total investment amounts to us$107 million. the implementing agencies of the project are onas and the ministry of agriculture. the project will finance the improvement of urban sewerage services and drinking water supply services. the project promotes the re-use of wastewater for irrigation purposes. furthermore, the project promotes the reduction of urban pollution and the coastal degradation through the introduction of new technologies and technical assistance. the project concluded in 2005. urban water supply project. in 2005 the world bank approved a us$38 million loan to sonede for an urban water supply project in tunisia. the project objective consists in improving the quality of water in greater tunis and other selected urban centres. in order to achieve its objective the project intends to modernize and upgrade the water supply infrastructures and enhance the sustainability of sonepe activities. the closing date of the project is planned for the year 2012. tunis west sewerage. in 2006 the world bank approved the tunis west sewerage project. the investment totals about us$72 million, 67 of which is financed by the world bank. the project aims to improve the quality of sanitation services in greater tunis and of the sewerage sector and promotes reuse of wastewater for irrigation and the improvement of onas performance through capacity building. the closing date of the project is planned for the year 2012.