Mechanisms to Ensure Pro-Poor Water Service Delivery in Peri-Urban and Urban areas

This report presents an overview of mechanisms for ensuring access to safe and affordable water services for the urban poor, as found in global literature. After presenting the main issues related to access to water services for the (peri-) urban poor in section 2, the report presents a number of options for improving utility-related water services to the poor in section 3, and options going beyond the utility in section 4. Finally, the conclusions of this report are presented in section 5

Rural households' preferences for multiple uses water services in the Sekororo-Letsoalo area, Limpopo province, South Africa : A choice modelling approach

The provision of free basic water and a more equal distribution of water for productive uses are seen as important instruments to redress inequities from the past and eradicate poverty in South Africa (SA). Presently the government has committed itself to providing free basic water for all. However, provision of this water is still a problem especially in the rural areas. Financing of multiple use water services has been identified as an important ingredient for ensuring improved access to water for rural poor and at the same time accommodate for productive uses and broaden livelihood options for the poor in SA. Recent evidence has indicated the potential contribution that productive use of domestic water might make to food security and poverty reduction in rural areas of SA. Efficient, equitable and sustainable investment in improved domestic water services should be demand driven, that is, it should be based on a thorough understanding of effective demand by consumers for multiple use water services. The assessment of demand for improved domestic water services provides the basis for micro level analysis of consumer benefits from multiple water uses. Such studies are not common in SA's rural areas and most of the studies to date focus on either domestic or irrigation water demand. This study attempts to fill this gap by assessing the household demand for multiple water services in Sekororo-Letsoalo area in the Limpopo Province. Choice modelling is the approach used in this study to identify the attributes that determine demand for water services and quantify their respective importance. Households are presented with alternative water choices, corresponding to different levels of the attributes. In this study, the following attributes were used: water quantity, water quality, frequency of water supply, price of water, productive uses of water, and source of water. Choice modelling allows estimating the relative importance of these attributes for various groups (strata) of the studied population, and ultimately provides a measure of the willingness to pay for different aspects of water demand (attributes) and different water uses. Results show that households are willing to pay for water improvements. (Résumé d'auteur

Water footprints of nations

The water footprint concept has been developed in order to have an indicator of water use in relation to consumption of people. The water footprint of a country is defined as the volume of water needed for the production of the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the country. Closely linked to the water footprint concept is the virtual water concept. Virtual water is defined as the volume of water required to produce a commodity or service. International trade of commodities implies flows of virtual water over large distances. The water footprint of a nation can be assessed by taking the use of domestic water resources, subtract the virtual water flow that leaves the country and add the virtual water flow that enters the country. The internal water footprint of a nation is the volume of water used from domestic water resources to produce the goods and services consumed by the inhabitants of the country. The external water footprint of a country is the volume of water used in other countries to produce goods and services imported and consumed by the inhabitants of the country. The study aims to calculate the water footprint for each nation of the world for the period 1997-2001

Urban pollution and ecosystem services

Urban pollutants can degrade and inhibit ecological functions and processes. Those natural processes provide vital benefits and services to humans. The ‘services’ range from food and water provision, to aesthetics, cultural benefits, health and recreation opportunities, and also climate regulation (including water and air quality regulation and flood regulation). These services are referred to collectively as ecosystem services (ES). To understand the impacts of urban pollution, and the opportunities for mitigating its effects, it is important to explore the relationship between pollution and ES. This can lead to better decision-making for urban infrastructure and spaces and can provide increased opportunities for gaining multiple ES from urban environments

Addressing the wicked problem of water resource management: An ecosystem services approach

This paper develops a systematic assessment of the sustainability of ecosystem services provided by rivers impacted by water storage projects. Given the conflicting preferences amongst stakeholders and the incomplete, uncertain and contradictory understanding about river ecology it is recognized that managing water resources sustainably is a wicked problem. In order to address this wicked problem, the methods of multi-criteria analysis and graph analysis are applied, in accordance with integrated water resource management, to assess the potential of investing in water storage projects and explore for sustainable solutions through the construction of an ecosystem services index.Ecosystem services, ecosystem services index, graph analysis, integrated water resource management, multi-criteria analysis, sustainability, wicked problems, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q15, Q25, Q27, Q51, Q58, Q57,

Understanding Occupational and Skill Demand in New Jersey's Utilities Industry

The utilities industry provides essential electricity, gas, water and sewer, and local telephone services to residents and businesses throughout New Jersey. This report summarizes the skill, knowledge, and educational requirements of key occupations in gas, electric, water and sewer, and telephone services. It also identifies strategies for meeting the workforce challenges facing the industry

Private Provision of Water Service in Brazil: Impacts on Access and Affordability

Brazil has been experimenting with Private Sector Participation (PSP) in the water and sanitation sector in various forms since the mid-nineties, one of the most common being concession contracts. Currently, 25% of the population is served by companies with private sector participation and this figure could grow to 36% within 10 years. This paper studies past and ongoing experiences with private provision of water services in Brazil and assesses their impact on access and affordability indicators. It also discusses the social policies in place to improve those indicators, especially those targeting the poor. It uses different estimation methods and datasets to determine whether or not there is any difference in access to water supply and ability to pay water bills between municipalities that opted to entrust the provision of water services with private operators and those that kept them public. Moreover, whenever possible, the analysis is broken down by income (GDP) deciles in an attempt to evaluate the impact of private provision on lower income families. The results obtained entail the conclusion that PSP in Brazil has delivered higher access to water services, benefiting mostly the poor. They are inconclusive regarding affordability of water services though.Water services, access, affordability, panel data, private sector participation

Progress on Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene: 2017 Update and SDG Baselines

The JMP 2017 update report presents indicators and baseline estimates for the drinking water, sanitation and hygiene targets within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report introduces the indicators of safely managed drinking water and sanitation services, which go beyond use of improved facilities, to include consideration of the quality of services provided. For the first time, hygiene estimates are reported for 70 countries

Poor choices: the limits of competitive markets in the provision of essential services to low-income consumers

A major study of the problems faced by the poor in the market for seven essential services in the UK - energy, food, housing, water, telecoms, transport, and financial services. Together these represent 60% of spending by the poorest 30% of households

Household’s willingness to pay for safe drinking water: A case study of Abbottabad district

This study is based on survey data and used both the contingent valuation method and averting behaviour approach to capture HH's willingness to pay for services and quality in the drinking water sector. In case of the HH’s WTP for improved water services, the study estimates that there is statistically significant effect of location that in urban areas, HHs has more WTP for improved water services. The study also finds that sources of water have a significant effect on WTP i.e. the HH who have own source are willing to pay in the higher range (Rs 51–100) further tap water has significant effect on WTP for the first two quartiles. As expected, education level ignificantly affects WTP for safe drinking water.contingent valuation, averting behaviour, household survey, willingness to pay, Pakistan