The Private Sector And Water Pricing In Efficient Urban Water Management

This book focuses on participation of the public and private sectors in urban water management and on the role of water pricing. It discusses in-depth topics such as public choices of urban water service management; dynamics of privatization and regulation of water services; adoption of water demand instruments; impacts of price and non-price policies on residential water demand; quality of water services; lessons from not-for-profit public-private partnerships; and critical examinations of models and projections of demands in water utility resource planning in England and Wales. Appropriateness of water prices and tariffs in achieving socially desirable outcomes is also analyzed and a global survey of urban water tariffs is approached with a focus on sustainability, efficiency and fairness. This book was originally published as a special issue of the International Journal of Water Resources Management.

'Public-Private Partnerships for Urban Water Utilities: A Review of Experiences in Developing Countries' analyzes the market growth of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in the developing world since 1990, and the performance of more than 65 large water PPP projects representing more than 100 million people for access, service quality, operational efficiency, and tariff levels. Although a relatively small portion of the water utilities in the developing world are operated under PPPs (about 7 percent in 2007), the urban population served by private water operators has grown every year since 1990. Despite many difficulties encountered by PPP projects and a few contract terminations, a large majority of contracts awarded since 1990 are still in place. The track record for improving service and efficiency reaffirms the value of PPPs to help turn around poorly performing water utilities, even though the level of private financing did not match initial expectations. Over time, a more realistic market has developed, the number of private investors from developing countries has grown, and contract designs have become more pragmatic concerning risk allocations between partners. The water sector has many features that set it apart from other infrastructure sectors. This book suggests the need for careful consideration of those specificities to successfully involve private operators. Although concessions with private financing have worked in a few places, contractual arrangements that combine private operation with public financing appear to be the most sustainable option in many countries. Policy makers, stakeholders, and donors need to remain heavily engaged in the water sector, especially in the poorest countries and during a global financial crisis. This book contributes to a better understanding of the various options to tackle the many challenges of providing water and sanitation services to urban populations in the developing world.

There is no question that water pricing and public-private partnership can improve water management practices in the future. However, this concept is neither the cure-all many proponents argue, nor the disaster its opponents forecast. Providing a comprehensive and objective assessment of what does and does not work, where, why and under what circumstances, this informative collection assesses the social, economic, equity and institutional implications. This cohesive set of carefully selected essays, the result of The Third World Centre for Water Management and the Inter-American Development Bank's decision to objectively and critically assess the experiences in these areas, transcends the current dogmatic debate on these complex issues. Providing an in-depth analysis and assessment of the main issues and constraints of water pricing, private sector participation and their affect on water supply, the collection draws on illustrative case studies from Argentina, Brazil, the USA and Western European countries amongst others. This is a special issue of the Journal of Water Resource Development.

The directory is intended of experts in the fi eld of water as a resource for those engaged management recommend demand- the country - in the private in water policy development and side management (DSM) as a sector, academia, civil society the practice of water DSM. [...] The 'supply-side' approach has been the basic All interviewees were given the opportunity to review paradigm of water management throughout the the content and context of their input as it appears in industrialized world, including in water-scarce areas the text. [...] According to Tate (1999: Unlimited access to high quality manipulating the country's 1), "water management in Canada water, whenever and in whatever massive supplies of fresh has focused on manipulating the quantities desired, has become water to meet the needs of country's massive supplies of fresh an expectation in Canadian water to meet the needs of communities. [...] Indeed, with 54 inter- to the current large, sophisticated urban water utilities basin diversions and over 150 large dams, Canadians have always had to address the question of how rank among the world's most advanced practitioners to balance water supply (taking into account water of the 'science of water development' (Shrubsole and availability and the capacity of the infrastructure Tate, 1994: 2 [...] Round Table on the Environment and the Economy Under the current management approach, the extent estimates that the cost of unmet infrastructure to which humanity manipulates and undermines the requirements just to maintain existing capital stock integrity of freshwater ecosystems will only increase and service is between $38 and $49 billion.

By analyzing water supply reforms in six developing country's capitals, this text provides a legal, economic and political examination of countries, tolerant of mismanagement of their water and sewerage systems for decades, that suddenly develop a thirst for efficiency.

Provides a coherent catalogue of policy directions, including appropriate allocation of roles, risks and responsibilities, framework conditions and contractual arrangements necessary to make the best of private sector participation in water infrastructure.

ÔEnsuring that everybody has access to drinking water, sanitation and enough nutritious food, which depends on water to grow it, are prerequisites for a healthy life. Water management is not just about the technical aspects of water supply and sanitation. It is equally about our water governance systems, including policies, regulation and societal perception of water rights. This book presents many helpful examples of how different societies are dealing with these issues and of the performance of public and private sector players in this important arena.Õ Ð Colin Chartres, International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Colombo, Sri Lanka ÔI congratulate the Institute of Water Policy, the two editors and the contributors for a very thoughtful book on urban water governance. Our objective is to deliver sustainable water and sanitation services to our people. This book contains useful lessons on how to achieve that objective.Õ Ð Tommy Koh, Chairman, Governing Council, Asia-Pacific Water Forum This insightful book explores urban water governance challenges in different parts of the world and highlights the advantages and disadvantages of publicly run, privatized, and publicÐprivate partnership managed water facilities. The contributors expertly discuss various types of public and private water governance architectures as well as identifying the trends, challenges, opportunities and the shifts in perceptions with regard to the provision of water supply services. Many chapters are dedicated to analyzing the urban water supply scenarios in selected countries, with specific focus on legal, policy and institutional frameworks. The study reveals that while private sector participation has been largely promoted by multilateral institutions as part of institutional and financial reforms, ultimately governments bear the major responsibility for provision of water supply services either as Ôservice providerÕ or as Ôregulator and policy-makerÕ. Containing a detailed overview and analysis of the global urban water supply sector, this timely compendium will strongly appeal to academics, researchers and university students following water-related courses. Water sector professionals, water regulators and public officers as well as managers and researchers employed by private sector water operators will also find plenty of invaluable information in this important book.

High population growth, informal settlements, and organizational and financial mismanagement represent major challenges for the water supply in many cities in developing countries. This book contributes to solving those problems by identifying systematic shortcomings and proposing solutions to improve the financial conditions in two representative cities: Hyderabad and Varanasi. Serious improvements are necessary for the further development of the water supply and sanitation networks in these areas. Pricing Urban Water offers a theoretical introduction to economics of the water sector, including the theory of water pricing and tariff systems, combined with detailed analyses of the water supply and sanitation infrastructure as well as of the municipal suppliers of Hyderabad and Varanasi. Introducing a method for estimating future water production costs in both cities serves as the basis for a tariff revision, which is put forward as one solution to improve the poor financial conditions both suppliers are in. Besides the revision of the tariff systems, some considerations on how to supply and charge urban poor and on the inclusion of private borewells in the tariffs are part of the discussion. Changes in both the organizational structure of the service providers and in the current delivery and use of the services are presented as further solutions to the problems in this sector.