€73 million in Vivaqua water bills unpaid

Brussels water supplier Vivaqua is grappling with millions in unpaid customer bills - an amount that continues to grow according to new figures.

Brussels MP Mathias Vanden Borre (N-VA) is sounding the alarm over the explosive rise in these unpaid bills, which climbed from nearly €29 million in 2011 to €73.5 million today.

Vanden Borre is calling for the resignation of Vivaqua director-general Laurence Bovy and a thorough audit into Vivaqua’s operations.

“Tariffs have recently been increased due to the high levels of outstanding debt, but they’re still failing to collect outstanding bills efficiently,” said Vanden Borre.

“Without a new approach, those who pay their bills on time risk being faced with higher bills once again.

"The intermunicipal company’s operations and accounts are an administrative disgrace and show no sign of improvement - financial black holes, billing problems, poorly managed infrastructure and a massive mountain of debt."

Also of concern for Vanden Borre is that the region wants to acquire a stake in the intermunicipal company.

Vivaqua’s debt stood at €1.09 billion at the end of 2024, and while it will need to make substantial investments in the ageing sewerage network, current tariff revenues are insufficient to cover those investments.

“But the question is where else one can go to get that money. The Brussels region and the municipalities are themselves on their last legs and have no capacity left to assist,” said Vanden Borre.

In addition to calling for resignations, Vanden Borre reiterated demands that the Court of Audit carry out a thorough performance audit of Vivaqua, not only to analyse the financial situation, but also to scrutinise the debt collection policy and internal operations.

“Anyone wishing to restore confidence must finally put their house in order. That starts with new management, a thorough audit and a debt collection policy that actually works,” said Vanden Borre.

Vivaqua responded that its director-general had invited Vanden Borre to a meeting, “as his statements reflect an incomplete, and even misleading, representation of the company’s current management”.

The water supplier said that its debt at the end of 2025 had fallen compared to the end of 2024 thanks to a significant improvement in the collection of unpaid bills.

Numerous structural measures have also been taken in recent years, which are now yielding concrete results, Vivaqua said.

Regarding the request for a performance audit by the Court of Audit, the water company pointed out that it was already subject to several thorough checks: regulation and supervision by the Brussels regulator Brugel, regional oversight of the board of directors’ decisions, and an audit committee comprising, among others, three external experts, a structured internal audit programme, as well as regular external audits.

“It goes without saying that Vivaqua has no objection to an audit by the Court of Audit,” the company added.