in order to detect abuses of the system. Provision of services According to the law the provision of services is a responsibility of municipalities. Article 253 of the Constitution of the Republic of Guatemala gives the country's 332 municipalities the responsibility to use their resources to provide public services. In 2002 the Municipal Code published as Government Decree 12-2002 confirmed the legal responsibility of municipalities to deliver public services, including water and sanitation, to all those living in urban and rural areas. Municipalities have a difficult time serving urban and especially rural areas due to a lack of resources. In reality, therefore, a variety of public, communal and private entities provide services alongside the municipalities. Direct municipal service provision Water and sanitation services can be provided directly by a single municipality or through a group of municipalities who are organized to provide services together (“mancomunidades”). Municipal companies The Municipality of Guatemala City created the Municipal Water Company (Empresa Municipal de Agua) (EMPAGUA) in 1972 to manage Guatemala City’s sewage and water services. Today it is the largest municipal water provider in the country. XELAGUA manages the water supplies in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala’s second largest city. Bulk water provision to Guatemala City The Executive Unit of the National Xayá-Pixcayá Aqueduct (Unidad Ejecutora del Acueducto Nacional Xayá-Pixcayá), managed under the Ministry of Public Communications, Transportation and Labor, administers, operates, and maintains the National Aqueduct which supplies bulk water to Guatemala City. Local private operators in Guatemala City Several independent companies distribute potable water by tanker trucks and through private networks to rural and urban communities, serving at least 32% of Guatemala City alone. The National Mariscal Water Company (Compañía Nacional de Agua de Mariscal) is the largest and oldest of these companies, providing services to approximately 14% of the population of Guatemala City. Community-based organizations Communities themselves, through water committees (Comités administradores de agua potable, or CAAP), provide services in rural areas. Water committees are considered to be private operators and are regulated by the Civil Code. Committees are elected by community members and are responsible for the collection of tariffs and the operation and maintenance of the system. It is written in Article 122 of the Constitution that all land within a 50-meter radius of a source of water is owned by the government of Guatemala. Communities and other private operators must purchase the land and water rights for a water source