Urban Water Supply Sector Research Articles

Developing a framework for effective institutional management of Ghana's urban water supply

PurposeA viable framework has been proven to reduce operational and institutional inefficiencies in the urban water supply sector. The absence of drivers necessary to develop a framework may have hindered institutional development and effective Ghanaian urban water supply management. Thus, the research aims to identify the drivers and develop a framework for effectively managing the urban water supply in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilised a qualitative research design approach and analysed collected data to proffer answers to the research questions. The research sampled 19 participants, and saturation was achieved.FindingsFindings identified drivers for developing Ghana's urban water supply framework. They categorised them into the availability of water supply resources, the level of professionalism of the personnel, the provision of accessible quality water, the efficient management system of water supply, prudent financial management, ethics for managing water supply and the culture of managing water supply. These pertinent constructs form components of Ghana's urban water sector framework.Originality/valueBesides supporting transformation and sustainability to develop a framework for managing Ghana's urban water supply sector, policymakers may utilise the developed model to evaluate public urban water supply compliance with Ghana's water sector performance.

Private sector participation and performance of county water utilities in China

In the early 1990s, China opened its urban water sector to private investors to secure the country's growing urban water demand. In Chinese counties which accommodated around 195 million urban population in 2012, private sector participation (PSP) has progressed slowly but steadily among the county-level water utilities. Using a panel data set extracted from the annual surveys conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics of China (1998–2006), we exploit the changes in the PSP status of water utilities and apply a fixed-effects model to identify the causal effects of PSP on 12 performance indicators. We find that utilities with private investment enjoyed significant performance improvement in three areas: output, financial performance and profitability, and efficiency. Using supplementary data from population censuses and statistical yearbooks, we find that water quality is slightly lowered under PSP, while no significant effect is detected for the other service outcomes. The findings suggest that a greater role of PSP in the urban water supply sector of Chinese counties could be promoted.

Small town water services sustainability checks: development and application in Ethiopia

Abstract With rising coverage figures and the advent of the Sustainable Development Goals, there is increasing attention given to assessing and monitoring the sustainability of water services. Previous efforts in the rural water supply sector have included the development of sustainability checks, while in the urban water supply sector, benchmarking of water services and the performance of utilities has become common practice. This paper argues that neither rural sustainability checks, nor urban benchmarking frameworks, are entirely suitable for monitoring small town water services. It presents a framework specifically developed and applied for assessing and monitoring small town water services. Application of the framework in seven small towns in Ethiopia shows significant discrepancies between the ideal and actual situations. It reveals specific challenges related to sustainable small town water service provision, including capacity at service provider (utility) level, asset management and regulation. The costs of sustainability checks and prospects for uptake as project and wider sector tools are discussed.

The Influence of the Regulatory Environment on Chinese Urban Water Utilities

China is currently facing water scarcity issues, which can partially be relieved with improvements in efficiency in its urban water supply sector. Using a manually collected utility-level dataset for 2009–13, we examine the performance of Chinese urban water utilities, taking into account their regulatory environment. Our main findings are that: (1) an increase in the number of non-technical staff does not increase output levels, while an increase in the number of technical staff, length of pipe or electricity usage can increase output; (2) customer density and non-household user rates are associated with lower levels of inefficiency (or higher levels of measured efficiency), while outsourcing staff rate, non-revenue water rate, and average piped water pressure do not significantly affect efficiency. These results suggest that Chinese urban water utilities can be improved through performance-based regulation and incentives that take into account environmental factors of utilities.

Online Performance Assessment System for Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Services in India

Access to water and sanitation services in urban India is widespread, but little is known about the levels of service provision, quality of water supplied and equity of coverage. A key challenge in the urban water supply and sanitation sector in India is the lack of adequate and reliable information. This paper describes the journeys of 400 plus cities in two western states of India from a rudimentary paper-based system to an online performance assessment system. It is prepared under the Performance Assessment System (PAS) research project at CEPT University, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. These 400 plus cities are of various sizes, ranging from 5,000 to 5 million population.

Impact of urban water supply on energy use in China: a provincial and national comparison

To reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and help mitigate climate change, urban water systems need to be adapted so that electrical energy use is minimised. In this study, energy data from 2011 was used to quantify energy use in China’s urban water supply sector. The objective was to calculate the energy co-benefits of urban water conservation policies and compare energy use between China and other countries. The study investigated influencing factors with the aim of informing the development of energy efficient urban water infrastructure. The average energy use per cubic metre and per capita for urban water supply in China in 2011 was 0.29 kWh/m3 and 33.2 kWh/cap year, respectively. Total GHG emissions associated with energy use in the urban water supply sector were 7.63 MtCO2e, or carbon dioxide equivalent. Calculations using these indicators showed significant energy savings could result from water conservation measures. A comparison between provinces of China showed a direct correlation between energy intensity of urban water supply and the population served per unit length of pipe. This may imply energy and emission intensity can be reduced if more densely populated areas are supplied by a corresponding pipe density, rather than by a low-density network operating at higher flow rates. This study also found that while the percentage of electrical energy used for urban water supply tended to increase with the percentage of population served, this increase was slower where water supply was more energy efficient and where a larger percentage of population was already supplied.

Urban Water Supply Sector Reform in Kathmandu Valley

The sustainable governance of water resources requires that policy makers adapt to changing environmental and socioeconomic context. The efficient management of water resources is vital for its sustainable access and use. Therefore, adequate management practices are needed. Institutional reforms governing the water sector are undergoing remarkable changes and several efforts have been made in this direction for a long time to enhance the water service level. Currently, Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani limited (KUKL) is responsible for managing urban water and sanitation service to the Kathamndu Valley. It is the public company registered under the Nepal Government’s company Act 2006 and operates under public private partnership (PPP) modality, which is a part of urban water supply sector reforms of Kathamndu Valley. However, the basic requirement of water and sanitation service level has not changed sustainably. This paper focused to understand the institutional structure of the reforms and to examine the roles of institutions involved and stakeholders. This paper attempted to find out the real problem of water supply and why inadequate water service in Kathmandu valley though many institutional changes occurred. Literatures were reviewed and a descriptive, qualitative design was adopted to generate empirical data. This study finds that urban water supply sector reform of Kathmandu Valley is much closer to the Scott’s theory which consists of cognitive, normative and regulative structure and activities that work together provide stability and meaning to social behavior. However, findings are incongruent with this view point. Findings also show that focal problem of water supply is depleting water sources and widening the gap between demand and supply. Additionally, findings show that lack of coordination among stakeholders, weak institutional structure, unstable political scenario, and unplanned urbanization give rise to the problem, leading wider implications to the health of people and national economy. This paper discusses the results of the study and recommends improving the situation. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jie.v9i1.10678Journal of the Institute of Engineering, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 130–141

Sustainable Urban Habitats and Urban Water Supply: Accounting for Unaccounted for Water in Bangalore City, India

The demand for urban water supply service is increasing rapidly as globalisation accelerates economic development and brings improvements in living standards in India with the interactive effects of demographic growth and influx of migrants into cities due to push and pull factors. Provision of reliable and safe water supply to urban habitat is an essential input for overall economic and social advancement. However, urban local bodies mandated to perform this task in India have been experiencing constant budgetary bottlenecks in mobilizing resources to meet the water consumption targets of the present as well as future population. Urban water supply sector in India and particularly the study area Bangalore is facing a number of challenges and constraints in meeting one of the important components of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), i.e., to ensure supply of adequate potable water to half the number of people who are currently living without access to sustainable, safe drinking water sources by 2015. These problems and constraints include increasing scarcity of water, low pricing, high subsidy, poor cost recovery, high transmission and distribution (T & D) losses, due to poor maintenance, rising unaccounted-for (UFW) and non-revenue water outgo (NRW). Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board (BWSSB) is experiencing poor cost recovery and has been unable to generate enough revenue to meet the investment requirements of the growing water needs of the city. BWSSB is also facing serious performance gaps such as reliability, financial sustainability, environmental sustainability and affordability due to deterioration of infrastructure.

Private – Public Partnerships in Urban Water Supply Sector: A Study of the Regional Trends

Historically, public utilities have been mainly delivered by the public sector. However, as a result of financial and technological constraints faced by public sector entities in developing infrastructure facilities and due to management related inefficiencies in the public sector, various alternative governance mechanisms have been considered by governments in developing public utility infrastructure and providing the related services to the end-users. Consequently, for nearly three decades now countries have relied on the procurement model of public-private partnerships (PPP) to finance, develop and manage infrastructure facilities in the water sector. In order to analyze the viability of PPP as an alternative governance model for water, it is important to examine a sample of PPP projects from around the world and analyze the reasons for their successes and failures. For this purpose, Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, has undertaken a research project to compile a database of PPP projects in the urban water supply sector in different regions (Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Australia and Middle East and North Africa). This paper presents a brief analysis of PPPs as a water governance architecture based on the study of 672 PPP projects from the said database, the selection being made on the basis of availability of data, and presents the preliminary findings on current usage of PPP for water governance.

Sustainability issues in the water supply sector of urban India: implications for developing countries

Rapid urbanisation, growing cities, high population growths, public ownerships of utilities, misgovernance and malpractices, poverty, subsidies, lack of adequate finances, and inefficient operations etc. are some of the common problems characterising most developing economies. In this sense, the Indian urban water supply sector represents several issues that are common to the water supply utilities across developing countries. This paper elaborates the sustainability issues faced by the Indian water supply sector. It reviews the Indian urban scenario, and explores the role of the government in providing the water supplies to these urban areas. It also details the various sustainability issues in the water supply sector, and finally suggests some of the reform measures that are specific to the Indian conditions, but can be generalised to hold valid for most developing countries.

Urban water supply sector in India: setting the reform agenda for improving service delivery

The reform of the urban water supply sector in India has been somewhat slow, thanks to the lack of focus on delivery systems that are under the purview of state and local governments. Urban water supply is still largely viewed as a public good provided by a local government or a parastatal agency without examining its long term sustainability. Even large metropolitan cities are yet to undertake basic reforms for improving the efficiency of water service provision and making it financially self sufficient. There has hardly been any strategic focus on ‘demand management’ and on improvement in service delivery efficiency. This paper provides an analytical overview of the water resource status in general, and that of urban water in particular, with reference to the need for reforming the sector in terms of improving service and delivery.The reform agenda set out includes the aspects of water institutions, finances, and governance. It is also argued that the financial sustainability/cost recovery and affordability/access to the poor may be balanced, both through tariff design as well as new institutional finance models. It is hoped that the large capital investments coming through partnership funding arrangements under JNNURM should provide incentives for urban local governments (ULG) to move on a reform path, so that the assets created are well maintained and utilized beyond their design life span. This calls for building up a comprehensive management capacity in the ULGs that also meets the shifts in demand.

Reforming the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation (UWSS) Sector in Yemen

In the early 1990s, Yemen suffered from low service coverage and national tariffs that were too low to cover public expenditure, as well as an inadequate level of service provided by the centralized National Water and Sanitation Authority. In 1996, a reform study recommended that the UWSS sector should embrace a policy of decentralization, corporatization, commercialization, the separation of service delivery and regulatory functions, as well as public-private partnerships. The government approved this reform agenda as a Council of Ministers Decree in 1997. Awareness campaigns and consensus-building among stakeholders and political leaders and local demand supported the reform process. Currently, 95% of the total urban population related to utility towns is attended by independent utilities.

Financing Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in EECCA Countries, including Progress in Achieving Water-Related Millennium Development Goals (MDGS)

At their meeting in Almaty in October 2000, EECCA Ministers of Environment, Finance, and Economy, Ministers and senior representatives from several OECD countries, as well as senior officials from International Financial Institutions (IFI), International Organisations, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector, recognised the critical condition of the urban water supply and sanitation sector in EECCA and endorsed "Guiding Principles for the Reform of the Urban Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in the NIS". Participants requested the EAP Task Force to assess progress in implementing these Guiding Principles for review at a major conference of stakeholders that took place in 2005 in Yerevan, Armenia. This paper is an update of a report that was prepared for the Ministerial meeting in Yerevan, drawing on more recent data, and responds to the Ministers' request to prepare such a paper for the Environment for Europe Conference in 2007.

Reforming water sector governance and institutions for improving efficiency: the case of Mumbai

In India, the progress of the urban water supply sector has been very slow because of improper focus and inadequate reforms in the urban local bodies. Even large cities like Mumbai are yet to undertake reforms for improving the efficiency of water service provision. Mumbai's future requirements of water resources were to be largely met through an expansion of the water supply system in an incremental manner. However, such a course of action has now come under question due to a rapid rise in water demand (on account of the increasing population) on one hand and snags in supply on the other. As such, there has hardly been any strategic focus on ‘demand management‘ and on improving the efficiency in service delivery. In spite of these lacunae, no reforms have been undertaken in urban water resources management as the concerned authorities refuse to acknowledge the water deficit situation in Mumbai. This paper argues against such a stance. It first provides a quantitative and analytical overview of the water resource status in Mumbai and then outlines the need for reforms on several fronts, particularly in water institutions and governance, while elaborating on some of them. It is hoped that the institutions and agencies responsible for water resource management will soon embark upon such a reform agenda and provide improved service delivery as well as adopt a pragmatic and balanced approach towards water management through a choice of policy instruments and institutional changes.

Challenges to urban water management in Ghana: Making public-private partnerships work

The urban water supply sector in Ghana is in the early stages of privatization. In spite of the perceived benefits of private sector participation in the water sector, civil organizations in many developing countries remain skeptical about the role of the private sector in the water industry. It is argued in this paper that the public-private- partnership could be fashioned out to address the challenges in the management of the water sector. Critical areas include education of the general public, a model for privatization and regulatory framework for the privatization of the urban water for Ghana need to be addressed. Ghana Journal of Development Studies Vol.1(2) 2004: 85-100

Making Sustainable Development Operational: Integrated Capacity Building for the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector in Mexico

Empirical understanding of sustainable development is improved by appreciating its dependence on integrated capacity building that can link sectors, social groups and disciplines together. An interdisciplinary team has been gaining practical experience of how to improve the socio-economic and institutional capacity of the urban water supply and sanitation sector in Mexico, a country with problems common to many rapidly-developing countries. Carried out with multi-stakeholder working groups, strategic capacities were identified to strengthen six components: (1) political and financial support; (2) human resources; (3) information resources; (4) regulations and compliance; (5) basic infrastructure; and (6) the market for support products and services. Three pilot cities were used to test the process under diverse geophysical and cultural conditions. Results of the conceptualization, diagnosis and planning stages are presented, and are being used to guide implementation. The process is adaptable to other countries, and to other natural resource and development sectors, such as soil and biodiversity conservation, energy and agriculture.

The Financing of Hydropower, Irrigation and Water Supply Infrastructure in Developing Countries

A companion paper in the previous issue of this journal (Briscoe, 1999) describes the changing face of infrastructure financing in developing countries. This paper deals with the financing of major infrastructure in the water-related sectors-hydropower, water supply and sanitation, irrigation, and overall water resources management (including the environment). The overall level of investment in water-related infrastructure in developing countries is estimated to be of the order of $65 billion annually, with the respective shares about $15 billion for hydro, $25 billion for water and sanitation and $25 billion for irrigation and drainage. About 90% of this investment comes from domestic sources, primarily from the public sector. Water-related infrastructure accounts for a large chunk-about 15%-of all government spending. This heavy dependence on the public sector means that the global 'winds of change' in the respective roles of government and the private sector have major implications for the financing and structure of the water economy. The paper describes how each of the 'sub-sectors' is adapting to these winds of change. First, in recent years competition and private sector provision have emerged as the characteristicsof the new electricity industry. This change poses a fundamental challenge to hydro which, to a much greater degree than thermal, has risks (hydrological, geological, social and environmental) which are better assumed by the public than the private sector. The future of private hydro, and thus of hydro itself, depends heavily on the ability of the public sector to both share risks with the private sector, and to provide predictable social and environmental rules of the game. Second, the urban water supply sector is in the early stages of equally profound change. In recent years there has been a dramatic shift towards the private sector, in developed and developing countries alike. An outline of the future shape of a competitive urban water sector is emerging: it is one in which a growing number of private companies will compete with revitalized (and often corporatized) public utilities. Capital will, increasingly, come from the private capital markets, with the critical government role being that of light, transparent benchmarking and regulation. Third, the adaptation to the winds of change is least advanced in the public irrigation sector, which has long been characterized by public financing and 'rent seeking' by bureaucracies, politicians and private beneficiaries. It is only in recent years, and only in a few countries, that the irrigation sector has modernized. In these cases irrigation has become like any other utility, in which accountable, autonomous agencies provide users with the services the users want. In many instances, farmers have become responsible for the costs of operating and maintaining their systems; in some instances they are responsible for meeting the full costs of replacement, rehabilitation and new investments. Where these changes have taken place, there have not only been sharp swings in the relative proportion of private and public spending, but there have been dramatic improvements in the efficiency of investment and operation and, in most cases, major positive environmental impacts.

Private sector participation in urban water and sanitation: Realising social and environmental objectives in developing countries

AbstractThere has been a large increase in private sector participation (PSP) in the urban water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector in recent years. However, even with increased PSP, public authorities will still have to: ensure that the service providers do not use their market power to exploit customers; internalise public health and environmental externalities; provide mechanisms whereby water consumption is sustainable and allocated efficiently between alternative uses; and stand as a guarantor of a level of service provision that is consistent with a basic standard of living. While there is considerable literature addressing the first of these four issues, the latter three are rather less adequately addressed. Through a review of a number of case studies (Abidjan, Buenos Aires/Cordoba, Mexico City and Manila), this paper provides an overview of the issues involved and some of the mechanisms available to the authorities responsible for the regulation of the sector.

Does the NPM work in less developed countries? The case of the urban water supply sector

Does the NPM work in less developed countries? The case of the urban water supply sector

Does the NPM work in less developed countries? The case of the urban water supply sector

Journal of International DevelopmentVolume 11, Issue 5 p. 777-783 Policy Arena Does the NPM work in less developed countries? The case of the urban water supply sector Andrew Nickson, Corresponding Author Andrew Nickson School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham, UKSchool of Public Policy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.Search for more papers by this author Andrew Nickson, Corresponding Author Andrew Nickson School of Public Policy, University of Birmingham, UKSchool of Public Policy, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.Search for more papers by this author First published: 02 September 1999 https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1099-1328(199907/08)11:5<777::AID-JID618>3.0.CO;2-CCitations: 1AboutPDF ToolsRequest permissionExport citationAdd to favoritesTrack citation ShareShare Give accessShare full text accessShare full-text accessPlease review our Terms and Conditions of Use and check box below to share full-text version of article.I have read and accept the Wiley Online Library Terms and Conditions of UseShareable LinkUse the link below to share a full-text version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Learn more.Copy URL Share a linkShare onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditWechat Citing Literature Volume11, Issue5July/August 1999Pages 777-783 RelatedInformation