Rethinking water reform policies as a ‘wicked problem’ the case of urban water supply in Ghana

Based on the theory of ‘wicked problem’ this paper investigates the causes of unsuccessful reform of urban water utilities in Accra, Ghana. The authors of this paper argue that reforms based only on managerial perspectives are not enough. Taking into account institutional and social issues is a key for the success of such reforms. Donors and international agencies lack such outlook and therefore fail to develop effective water policy reforms in developing countries generally. The paper discusses inter-twined and multi-dimensional institutional constraints that hinder the development of an appropriate approach to water utility reform in Accra.     

The new Italian water tariff method: A launching point for novel infrastructures or a backwards step?

In Italy recently the regulatory authority for electricity, gas and the water industry was mandated to design a new tariff method more consistent with EU standards of ‘full cost recovery’ and the ‘polluter pays’ rules. This paper attempts to highlight the strengths and limitations of this new method, its actual effects on tariffs, financial plans and utilities' investment policy, compared to the previous method, with a focus on the effects of the tariff method for both users and utilities. A case study was selected and this included the biggest water utility controlled by the local water authority in Verona province.     

Water services performance: do operational environment and quality factors count?

Decision makers must keep in mind that water services have an invaluable ‘price’ for the public budget and society’s welfare. However, due to the specific features of the service, water utilities are prone to inefficiency. Thus, performance evaluation becomes indispensable to face this constraint. Besides the application of the traditional technique of Data Envelopment Analysis to evaluate the performance of Portuguese water utilities, this study also implements the robust technique of order-m to assess the influence of operational environment on water utilities’ performance. In spite of several reforms, the Portuguese water sector still reveals significant levels of inefficiency, partially caused by an inappropriate operating scale. Concerning the operational environment, it was possible to observe a positive influence of private sector participation, economies of scope, and groundwater sources on efficiency. The influence of the ‘quality of service provided’ was also studied in this performance analysis.     

Incorporating nonrevenue water in the efficiency assessment of water supply utilities: A parametric enhanced hyperbolic distance function

This study assesses the technical efficiency of water utilities incorporating an undesirable output, nonrevenue water, and allowing a proportional input reduction. A parametric enhanced hyperbolic distance function was applied to Malaysia's 14 state water utilities from 2000 to 2017. Overall, Malaysia's water utilities can increase the water volume delivered while decreasing nonrevenue water and making further input reductions. Water utilities, on average, experienced higher technical efficiency after the regulatory reform. Network density and regulatory reform significantly influenced the technical inefficiency of water utilities in Malaysia.     

Rural water asset management practices in Ghana: the gaps and needs

This study evaluates primary and secondary data from two districts to assess the status of asset management practices, and to examine requirements for improved asset management. Asset inventory data shows that asset management practices in the districts are currently poor, leading to high rates of nonfunctionality and low service levels. The existing ‘fix on failure’ approach to water systems’ repair has become a common practice. However, many repairs which relied on ‘fix on failure’ were found to have delayed, often due to the length of time it takes to mobilise financial resources from ‘post‐paid’ water users. This paper contends that without an improved asset maintenance, system it is likely that rural water systems in Ghana will continue to provide unsustainable services. The Findings demonstrate that improving the current asset management practices is dependent on human and financial resources, access to timely water service monitoring data at district levels, and planning and budgeting regime to reflect life cycle costs of water systems.     

Techno-economic analysis of 1 MWp grid connected solar PV plant in Malaysia

Most of the public and private technical universities in Malaysia have considerably abundant free areas, which could be a better place for equipping the renewable energy harvesters. The main objective of this paper is to analyse the feasibility of developing a solar PV plant at two different campuses of Universiti Malaysia Pahang (UMP). This paper proposes 1 MW solar PV power plant at the Pekan Campus (Rural Campus), and Gambang (Suburban Campus) of UMP located in the east coast state of Pahang, which is biggest among other states in Peninsular Malaysia. The technical viability of the proposed crystalline technology based PV plant with open rack or free stand mounting position is analysed using PVGIS (Photovoltaic Geographical Information Systems) and PV Watts’s software. The economic and environmental aspects of the proposed plant are also analysed based on standard parameters. The proposed plant of 1?MWp Solar PV plant can generate around 1390?MWh, of electricity per annum with a GHG emission reduction of 818.71 tCO₂ per annum. The PV power plant can contribute in meeting 5% of total energy requirements of the campus. The technical performance obtained through PVGIS is quite comparable with the PV Watts results.     

Systems-of-systems methodology for strategic infrastructure decision making: Ireland as a case study

Infrastructure development is a long term process, which cannot easily adapt to sudden change; and infrastructure assets can have long lifetimes. Poor investment choices risk locking in poor policy choices for substantial periods of time. The ‘need’ for a new infrastructure asset arises due to demographic, economic or policy changes. But historically Ireland’s infrastructure investment has also been driven, in part, by the pursuit of political / economic policies which have themselves ‘created’ infrastructure needs; and often decided on an isolated project-by-project basis. In contrast, a systems-of-systems (SoS) approach is a fusion of network modelling, consideration of various policy options, and appraisal of the impact of alternative demographic and economic scenarios on multiple systems. This paper assesses Ireland’s readiness to adopt a SoS approach to infrastructure decision-making, proposes a methodology for its development and implementation. This would enable the demand for new infrastructure to be tested under various policy scenarios, providing evidence for investment decisions.     

Performance analytics for regulation in retail water utilities: Guiding asset management by identifying peers and targets

This research evaluates the performance of water supply utilities operating at the retail level in Portugal concerning asset management practices. The study’s main innovative feature is identifying peers and targets to guide improvements in the sector. Reliable data collected by the regulatory authority for water and waste services in Portugal (ERSAR) are employed to design two composite indicators reflecting different dimensions of asset management: operational conditions and management systems. Based on the Data Envelopment Analysis technique, the Benefit-of-the-Doubt model is employed in robust and conditional formulations. The role of the context on utilities’ performance is also investigated. The results show that the direct management model is unfavourable concerning developing structured management systems, whilst urban environments favour managerial advancement. Rural and semi-urban environments favour “good” operational results in infrastructures. The pool of peers obtained for each utility and the quantification of targets based on the observed achievements by those peers facilitates the search for industry best practices and promotes continuous improvement. Given the high heterogeneity in asset management performance within the sector, the utility-specific target-setting approach illustrated in this paper can support a regulatory policy review for determining more realistic goals.     

Peninsular Malaysia: Conflict between economic and social goals

This article reports urbanization trends in Peninsular Malaysia and analyses national and strategic plans. The national strategy for urban development is examined, attention being paid to the goal of increasing the economic participation of ethnic Malays (Bumiputras). Regional plans for the Kelang Valley, Kuala Lumpur and Seremban are outlined. The author concludes by pointing out the conflicts inherent in current Malaysian urban policy, particularly between national and federal plans and between policies for economic growth and the desire to increase Bumiputra participation.     

Optimal water tariffs and supply augmentation for cost-of-service regulated water utilities

We describe how a common method for regulating water utilities, cost-of-service regulation, can both in theory and practice result in the premature and economically inefficient water supply augmentation. Using a dynamic model calibrated to demand and supply conditions in Sydney, Australia we show how to optimally determine the time to supply augment using a ‘golden rule’ that minimises the average volumetric price paid by consumers. Our results show that, the greater the water scarcity and the longer the operational life of the additional supply, the sooner is the optimal time to augment. Based on our findings, we recommend that price regulators of water utilities adopt an historical cost less depreciation basis for a regulated asset base and a fully flexible and dynamically efficient volumetric pricing that accounts for the marginal opportunity cost of water supplies.     

Construction and economic development in selected LDCs: past,present and future

This paper critically examines the changing relations between construction and economic development in selected less developed countries (LDCs) in the light of new development dynamics. Historically, the relationship was seen in Keynesian terms. By the 1980s, attention turned towards structuralist and political economy explanations amid a neoclassical revival towards structural adjustments and ‘market friendly’ reforms. Current explanations tend to focus on property rights and building institutional capabilities. The strengths and weaknesses of current explanations provide future directions for research.     

Operating in the shadowland: Why water utilities fail to manage decaying infrastructure

Decaying water infrastructure is a growing challenge in high-income countries while at the same time being under pressure from other socioeconomic and environmental issues. This paper analyses why addressing these challenges is so challenging, despite the critical role of water service for society. The paper is based on a study of the Swedish water sector and reveals how the utilities are influenced by several factors that constrain their agency. Most importantly, the utilities operate in a ‘societal shadowland’ where the public and politicians take their services for granted, lowering the sense of urgency and impeding their ability to take action.     

Discourses around negative gearing of investment properties in Australia

A tax rule whereby losses on a rental property are deductible against personal taxable income (commonly known as ‘negative gearing’) is an almost uniquely Australian practice. This article explores how this practice is legitimised and justified by politicians despite coherent criticisms that the practice misdirects investment into unproductive asset speculation causing house price inflation and inequality. This article uses critical discourse analysis to examine how ‘negative gearing’ is criticised and legitimised. It is argued that the interests of the property-owning majority and electoral pragmatism determine government housing policy. There is a disjunct between the political imperative of the major parties to maintain high housing prices in order not to erode the wealth of the majority of voters (property owners) and the emerging problem of housing unaffordability. Despite mounting coherent critique coming from economists, and younger cohorts excluded from home ownership, the policy continues due to realpolitik considerations.     

Privatizing water supply in Hong Kong

With the exception of the water supply industry, all major utilities in Hong Kong are owned and operated by private enterprises. In terms of price, returns, and productivity, the water supply industry in Hong Kong compares unfavourably with privately-owned utilities. The financial performance of the Water Supplies Department has been deteriorating in recent years. In order to improve the performance of the water supply industry, the Hong Kong Government should consider inviting the private sector to run the industry. Hong Kong can learn from other countries with regard to reforms made in the water supply industry.     

Functional and residual capital values as criteria for water pipe renewal

Water pipes are considered as tangible assets designed to provide a level of service throughout an expected lifetime. The asset can be characterised by two types of values: capital or accounting value and functional value. The capital value of assets depreciates according to a specific rate per time period. The depreciation is assessed by the annual amortisation of the capital asset, which constitutes a potential self-budgeting for future renewal. The development in the last 20 years of public sector accounting standards boards dedicated to tangible capital assets management has encouraged water and wastewater utilities to consider capital depreciation as a decision-making criterion for asset prioritisation. At the same time, when the capital depreciates the asset function deteriorates, but this deterioration is more difficult to assess. In fact, each asset can be evaluated according to a functional value that indicates the capacity of the asset to deliver the designated service at the required level. This value declines during the service life because of the occurrence of unexpected events (failures, breaks, leaks and degradation). The functional deterioration, also referred to as ‘obsolescence’ or ‘reliability’, is still misunderstood for water pipe assets. This study addresses the following questions: How can the functional value be estimated for water systems both at the pipe and at the network scale? How can the decision-making process for pipe renewal be improved by incorporating specific indicators based on both functional and accounting values? The current research focuses on the definition of an appropriate time-dependent functional value, based on the following hypothesis: the functional value depends on both structural and hydraulic deterioration of the pipe asset, but is partially restored by curative maintenance actions. The calibration of the functional value is mainly based on historical incident data, roughness data and managers' opinions. In order to carry out the decision-making process, the evolution of the functional value is simultaneously analysed with the depreciation of the capital asset value. The implementation of the approach at the pipe and the network level leads to an assessment of innovative criteria for the purpose of assessing possible renewal policies.     

From the Cold War to the warmed globe: planning,design-policy entrepreneurism,and the crises of nuclear weapons and climate change

Faced with two existential threats – nuclear war and climate change – planners have responded by proposing sweeping reforms for city-regions, often deploying the newfound rationales to re-package earlier ideas about ‘the good city’. This paper analyses how mid-twentieth-century planning discourses regarding Cold War urban dispersal in the USA might help us understand contemporary conversations about urban climate change adaptation. We apply Kingdon's Multiple Streams Analysis and his concept of policy entrepreneurs to show how planners frame problems and shape policy agendas. We propose a subtype of ‘design-policy entrepreneurs’ who use the spatial and visual tools of planning and design to advocate for preferred policies. By analysing the rhetoric and visual representations made by planners and designers from 1945 to 1965, we examine how they repurposed long-standing ideas about urban deconcentration into ‘dispersal for defence’ proposals. Such proposals for dispersing urban settlements into separated and ‘self-contained’ units received a dysfunctional partial acceptance: housing and transportation legislation embraced the dispersal part but resisted the complementary elements aimed at limiting damages from nuclear attack by concentrating development into distinct nodes. We conclude by asking how the perils of such partial policy-making success might play out on the terrain of climate change adaptation.     

A fresh breeze after Fukushima? Analysing Japan’s current limitations and future prospects of wind power development

Wind power generation in Japan is underdeveloped. Despite relatively good geographical and meteorological conditions, wind supplies less than 0.2% of the national electricity demand. Germany, in contrast, is able to provide over 6% of its electricity from wind power. This article will outline the main reasons for the marginal position of wind power in Japan by comparing and contrasting it with the political market for wind power in Germany. Using the concept of ‘Technological Innovation Systems’ (TIS), this paper will show how wind power has been impeded in Japan, but has been fostered in Germany, where policy designs and market mechanisms have produced positive feedback loops. Both technical problems and political inertia account for the modest growth of wind power in Japan.     

Apartheid in South Africa and industrial deconcentration in the PWV area

The growth centre concept has formed the cornerstone of industrial development policy since Apartheid was introduced as a constitutional model in South Africa in 1948. A number of ‘growth points’ were identified in, or adjacent to Bantustans by the government over the years. The intention with these designated ‘growth points’ was two‐fold: to serve as counter‐magnets to encourage industrial decentralization from the major urban centres and to act as a political instrument to discourage blacks to leave Bantustans. Serious deficiences in the government's present industrial development policy are underlined — especially its underlying function to continue the segregation practices of the past — despite repeated indications by the government in recent years of its intention to move away from the concept of Apartheid. Obvious similarities between the so‐called ‘deconcentration points’ adjacent to the Pretoria‐Witwatersrand‐Vaal (PWV) Triangle megalopolis which were announced by the state in 1981 and the original concept of growth points are pointed out. Alternative metropolitan deconcentration options based on sound spatial economic principles rather than concealed political practices are suggested for the megalopolis.     

Repackaging the poor? Conceptualising neoliberal reforms of social rental housing

This paper considers the need for conceptual renewal in comparative housing research. Since the mid-1990s, Kemeny’s model of ‘unitary’ and ‘dualist’ rental markets and Harloe’s classification of ‘mass’ and ‘residual’ social housing provision have been repeatedly recycled in comparative studies of ‘social’ and ‘public’ housing provision. Amidst international neoliberal policy mobilities, their models based on liberal welfare regimes wield particular power. Conceived during neoliberal cutbacks of public services, Kemeny’s ‘dualist’ rental market and Harloe’s ‘residual’ model of social housing similarly depict state-subsidised rental housing provision as bureaucratic, and targeted to the poor. Despite empirical change, these models are still used to describe liberal welfare regimes, and to theorise international policy convergence. Based on a review of recent market-oriented reforms of state-subsidised rental housing provision in the US, Australia and England; original neoliberal ‘sites of production’, this contribution asks whether these conceptual models still reflect the empirics. Findings diverge from the models, undermining their assumptions about how neoliberal reforms progress.     

Housing Finance Agencies: Are They Crucial Instruments of State Government?

The recently awakened state government interest in contributing to the solution of housing problems has led to the creation of housing financing agencies (HFAs) in more than thirty states. Through the judicious use of the internal revenue code and federal housing subsidies, these public corporations have financed the development of more than 50,000 subsidized housing units between 1969 and 1973 at virtually no cost to their respective states. Whether production levels can be sustained by the more mature HFAs and programs initiated by the newer agencies remains questionable in light of recent policy developments in the federal housing establishment. It may well be that the future growth and even the survival of many state housing agencies will depend upon their respective abilities to secure state financial support. Whether they have the political clout to secure their financial futures remains in doubt.