chapter7-Our Water

INFOCUS | INDIA-CHINA | REPORT

MANAGEMENT & DELIVERY OF WATER SERVICES

OurWater OurLife

such as, due to climate changes caused by global warming, the depletion of fossil water as a result of extraction of more fossil water, mainly for irrigation purposes, than the rate of its natural replacement and every day misuse of our potable water. Moreover, excessive extraction of fossil water also deteriorates the quality of remaining ground water as the low quality water flows towards

increase in world population, dramatic increase in the rate of urbanization, and industrialization has made this renewable but fragile resource inaccessible to a large number of populations.

Acknowledging the significance of adequate water services, since 1977, when the issue of the right to have adequate access to drinking water was addressed at the international level for the

first time in Mar Del Plata Action Plan a number of efforts have been made both in terms of awareness and reforms in technology, policy and institutional arrangements. Following the recommendations of the Mar Del Plata Action Plan, the 1980s was declared the decade of International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation (IDWSSD) with a target of achieving 100 per cent

the same aquifers due to depression (as a result of excessive extraction of water) in those aquifers. This precious resource is also becoming scarce because of the degradation of water quality.

This is due to physical, chemical and biological pollution (both from point or non point sources of pollution) of fresh water resources (both ground water as well as of surface water resources) as a result of agricultural, industrial effluent and domestic sewage, especially in highly populated and industrially developed regions. This ultimately makes water resources unsuitable for potable use. Along with this, the rapid

ACCORDING TO THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION, MORE THAN 1.1 BILLION PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO SAFE WATER SUPPLIES. THE WATER SUPPLY STATISTICS REVEAL THAT THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO SAFE WATER SUPPLIES BELONG TO THE LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES AND, PRIMARILY, TO LOW INCOME HOUSEHOLDS

coverage in water supply and sanitation within the decade. In 2000, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals addressed the issue of water by setting a goal “to halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and sanitation.” (United Nations 2001, MDGs: Goal7; Target 10). Although, these attempts have contributed much towards the ongoing efforts to improve water services, nevertheless, despite these efforts, there still remain a large number of people who do not have access to adequate water services. According to the World Health Organisation, more

The key to successful community participation in water supply management is to make the community understand the value of water resources and invite them to participate in managing the scarce resource.

Amandeep Kang

W

ater is crucial to sustain life and a key element for socioeconomic development. Access to adequate water services has a direct relation to the significant aspects of the socio-economic development such as elevation of poverty, enhancing quality of life, improvement in health and environment.

Ironically, human beings have been exploiting water, the most precious gift of nature and a basic necessity to sustain life on this planet, for centuries in their own desired way.

Today, we are concerned about this precious resource which is being increasingly depleted in many ways,

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INFOCUS | INDIA-CHINA | REPORT

than 1.1 billion people do not have access to safe water supplies. The water supply statistics reveal that the majority of people who do not have access to safe water supplies belong to the less developed countries and, primarily, to low income households.

In general, ‘water crisis’ is often understood as the reduction in the global water quantity on earth. However, this crisis is of ‘water governance’ i.e. mismanagement of water resources or services which makes this precious resource either inaccessible or unfit to consume. In recent years, it has been acknowledged that this failure of inaccessibility to adequate water services is not primarily a technical problem; it is more an institutional problem.

Throughout the world, there is a diversity of formal and informal institutional arrangements existing in the provision of water services such as public sector water provision, private sector water provision, a variety of publicprivate partnerships and public-public partnerships, small-scale entrepreneur arrangements and community-based water provisions. These arrangements are primarily based on macro level policy-driven approaches. The underpinning ideological debate among these approaches is with respect to the question of ‘management by whom?’ i.e. whether water should be managed by the state under the public sector or managed by private enterprises under the private sector. Therefore, the basic debate is whether water should be treated as a social good and a basic human right or as a commercial commodity. The proponents of water as a

THE BASIC DEBATE IS WHETHER WATER SHOULD BE TREATED AS A SOCIAL GOOD AND A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT OR AS A COMMERCIAL COMMODITY. THE PROPONENTS OF WATER AS A SOCIAL GOOD AND A BASIC HUMAN RIGHT ARGUE THAT AS WATER IS A FUNDAMENTAL NECESSITY OF LIFE, THEREFORE, IT SHOULD BE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERY INDIVIDUAL WITHOUT ANY CONDITION social good and a basic human right argue that as water is a fundamental necessity of life, therefore, it should be accessible to every individual without any condition. On the other hand, the proponents of water as a commercial commodity believe that it is necessary to price water to manage it efficiently and to achieve its true value. These proponents support the market model of development where prices can become the mechanism for its allocation, distribution and consumption.

Existing Management and Delivery of Water Services Public Sector Historically, throughout the world, water has been considered as a public good and managed by local governments. Although, from time-to-time, some other forms of arrangements also appeared for a short span of time, |34| India-China Chronicle  april 2012

however, for decades the public sector water provision, administered through the municipalities, has remained a dominant and most favoured option.

To date, public sector is still the primary provision for water services in most parts of the world. The acknowledgement of water as a social or public good makes water provision a responsibility of the public sector. Therefore, one of the key arguments for the case of public sector water provision is that as water provision provides public benefits, it must be controlled and managed by the public sector. Following the acknowledgment of water as a human right and social good, it is suggested that water services must be managed under the public sector.

However, to some extent, the public sector water provision has failed in practice to deliver the results in relation to its theoretical base as evident by the fact that there still exist a large number of people that are without access to adequate water services, especially in the less developed countries. This suggests that, in practice, the public sector water delivery arrangement has some serious limitations. One of the major limitations of this arrangement is its top-down approach and the lack of decentralization and a single independent authority responsible for the water sector, especially in the context of developing countries.

Private Sector Provision It was during the 1980s, when the market-led private sector water provision initially replaced the public

sector water provision in many parts of the world. With this institutional change, a variety of arrangements focused on market approach have been introduced in the delivery and management of water services. The proponents of the private sector arrangements argue that by involving the private sector in water provision, it will better assist in gaining investment needed for the required infrastructure and enhance the operating efficiency of the provision through introducing a high level of technical and management skills. The private sector, in the water delivery sector, is introduced in a variety of forms depending upon the level of participation of the involved actors. In the context of water delivery, privatization (full divestiture), lease, concession and B.O.T. contracts are different forms of this institutional arrangement, which are based on the principle of competition and prices.

Some of these forms are also known as ‘joint ventures’ or ‘Public Private Partnerships’. At the lowest end of this arrangement lies the management support contracts where the private sector is involved only in specific tasks and paid by the public authority. At the other end lies the ‘divestiture’ or ‘full privatization’. Only England and Wales have a full divestiture of water services when talking about the scale of its implementation.

Small-Scale Entrepreneur Arrangements Another type of institutional arrangement in the water sector, generally known as ‘informal arrangements’, is the small-scale entrepreneur arrangements. In many developing countries, the small-scale entrepreneurs are filling the gaps left by the government and the formal private sector in delivering water, especially to the poor. These small-scale entrepreneurs include private independent and NGO providers, which range from water vendors to community based water provisions. It has been found that 25% of residents in Latin America and 50% of residents in Africa depend on these small-scale en-

PROPONENTS OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR ARRANGEMENTS ARGUE THAT BY INVOLVING THE PRIVATE SECTOR IN WATER PROVISION, IT WILL BETTER ASSIST IN GAINING INVESTMENT NEEDED FOR THE REQUIRED INFRASTRUCTURE AND ENHANCE THE OPERATING EFFICIENCY OF THE PROVISION THROUGH INTRODUCING A HIGH LEVEL OF TECHNICAL AND MANAGEMENT SKILLS

trepreneurs for their water supply. Initially, this arrangement was considered irregular and illegal as it operates outside the official framework. It has also been criticized as an expensive arrangement as studies pointed out that often the poor spend much more on buying water from the vendor than those connected to the direct water supply. Recently, however, there has been a shift in opinion regarding the effectiveness of this arrangement because of recent findings of its contribution in complementing the formal water provision.

Hence, as discussed above, there are a variety of institutional arrangements (with their own strengths and limitations) available for the management and delivery of water services.

However, in order to manage and deliver sustainable and effective water services, it is immensely important that an institutional arrangement should be based on an appropriate understanding and acknowledgement of the socioeconomic, political and institutional capabilities under which the system will be operating. 

Amandeep Kang is a researcher with expertise in water governance and institutional arrangements

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