The region’s water supply depends on the Hof Schönau waterworks with its fountains, southeast of the city of Mainz. Faucet: Adobe Stock; Getty Images; Mainz municipal utilities: picture alliance / Schoening | Schoening, symbolic image of waterworks: Dmitry Buber, graphics: Dominik Schmitt
The most important municipal company in the state capital Mainz, Stadtwerke, disempowered its internal auditors department at the end of last year. What’s more: it was completely outsourced after an audit to reorganize it.
As Business Insider learned from company circles, the auditors are said to have previously strongly criticized the handling of a million-dollar project, the renovation of the well at the Hof Schönau waterworks. The allegations include: contracts without proper tendering and serious deficiencies in auditing.
When we asked, a spokesperson admitted that they were aware of the topics. These have already been taken up by two auditing firms. There would also be an independent review by a law firm. However, the municipal utilities make it clear that the internal audit function was not dissolved, but rather outsourced within the scope of what is legally permissible.
The water supply for the entire Mainz region depends on this million-dollar project: the renovation of the wells in the Hof Schönau waterworks. Southeast of the city, which has a population of 217,000, the plant supplies 1,600 cubic meters of drinking water per hour, the equivalent of 8,000 bathtubs full. The fountains have been renewed by the Mainz municipal utilities since 2018.
But surprisingly, bigger problems arose behind the scenes of the project at the end of last year: After the municipal utilities’ internal audit had already pointed out serious deficiencies in the project management in 2022, the responsible department head was initially terminated for operational reasons in November 2023. A few days later, the entire department was finally disempowered. From January 1, 2024, the most important municipal company’s projects were no longer monitored by its own employees, but by the renowned auditing company PwC.