Theoretical Perspectives and Empirical Facts on Water Sector Privatization: The Greek Case Against European and Global Trends

The scope of this paper is to investigate the Greek ‘path’ to water privatization and its possible interconnections with the ongoing restructuring of the water sector on an EU and a global level. The paper starts with a contemporary, spatially-sensitive analysis of the expanding role of water multinationals, by focusing on water supply operators of the southern EU. Afterwards, it highlights the peculiarities of the ‘Greek path’ to private sector participation by studying the two most important Greek water companies, in the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki respectively. As found, these companies have partially, though successfully, been transformed according to the rules of the ‘market-environmentalist’ paradigm. The state drives the privatization effort, while at the same time, insufficiently regulates the activity of both companies. Based on the Greek case, the paper discusses whether the analytical tools offered by a critical approach, the ‘accumulation-by-dispossession’ thesis, can better interpret changes in water companies of the ‘advanced-South’.     

我国供水行业的现状与发展

水是人民生活和社会生产的必需品，供水是国民经济的基础产业，是经济社会发展的重要保证．同时供水行业发展关系到水资源的调控能力和使用效率，在一定程度上体现了一个国家经济社会发展水平和科学技术水平．随着我国国民经济发展、经济结构调整和人民生活水平的不断提高，供水行业面临着良好的发展机遇．１供水行业现状１．１供水现状建国以来，特别是改革开放二十多年来，我国城市供水发展迅速，供水能力大幅度增长，设施水平显著提高．“八五”时期以后，供水固定资产投资额平均年递增１８．２％，新的供水项目不断建成投产，在经历了整…     

公共供水定价方法分析

平均成本定价和边际成本定价是公共供水定价中两种基本的定价方法。对这两种定价方法分别进行了分析讨论 ,其中着重对供水边际成本定价的原则、供水长期边际成本的测算以及边际成本定价在实施中可能遇到的某些问题进行了探讨。     

Changing Ownership Structures in the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector

Abstract

The development over time of the water supply and sanitation sectors in four countries is analyzed to reveal the changing role of the private sector. In some cases, local, small-scale private water supply and sanitation systems have been able to develop progressively into large-scale official systems, which may later be privatized. In other cases, foreign capital has been more significant in the development of modern water supply and sanitation systems, particularly where privatization has occurred much earlier in the national development process. In much of the developing world, domestic water supply and sanitation is dominated not by the official water supply and sanitation companies but by independent operators who function without subsidies but with enormous variability in terms of quality of service and prices offered. However, they are constrained generally by the absence of appropriate institutional and legal frameworks, including the lack of independent regulatory authorities. There is a need, where appropriate, to continue to encourage large-scale private sector involvement in the official water supply sectors of the developing world. At the same time though, it is only by promoting policies that also further the development (where appropriate) of the independent water supply and sanitation providers that access to water supply and sanitation services can be maximized since better use of local resources in many developing countries, both local human resources and capital, provide a key means for improving access to water supply and sanitation.     

Using Promethee V to Select Alternatives so as to Rehabilitate Water Supply Network with Detected Leaks

The problem of the ageing infrastructure of urban water distribution networks and the loss of water associated with this has been one of the greatest infrastructure problems in urban areas. When a leakage is detected in the water supply network, problems arise when seeking to rehabilitate the network. Therefore, the decision problem is to choose which components to add or to improve and to maximize the benefits, which will result from the changes implemented. In addition, it is important to minimize costs, since water supply companies have limited budgets. Moreover, there are often several leakage points in the same water supply network and in the same period of analysis. Therefore, this paper puts forward a model for rehabilitating the greatest number of leakage points in a water network; it respects the constraints which a water company may have. Promethee V is used to assist the decision maker (DM) in selecting a set of feasible alternatives for rehabilitating the network from the criteria and the constraints set by the DM on the problem. For demonstration purposes, the proposed model was tested in a simulated network.     

中原城市公共供水和自备井供水的博弈分析

按照博弈论和城市供水方式,可将我国中原地区存在的城市公共供水和自备井（自建设施）供水对水资源费（含污水处理费等）的缴纳行为简化为足额和拖欠两种形态。在此基础上,构建了政府放松和加强对水资源费的征收情况下,公共供水与自建设施供水之间的两个博弈模型,并分别对其进行了分析。     

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.     

村村通供水工程水资源论证实例分析

以博罗县柏塘镇村村通供水工程为例,通过对建设项目取用水合理性分析、取水水源水量论证、水质论证、建设项目取退水影响分析,总结村村通供水工程水资源论证的特点及难点,为同类建设项目水资源论证提供借鉴与参考。     

Public-Private Partnership in the Water Supply and Sanitation Sector: The Experience of the Republic of Yemen

The objective of this paper is to provide information on the institutional development of the water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector in Yemen, its achievements, challenges and constraints. In 1997 the government of Yemen approved its water supply and sanitation reform agenda in the form of a Council of Ministers decree and since then the implementation of the reform agenda has started with technical and financial assistance from Germany, the Netherlands, the World Bank and other donors in addition to the contribution from the government of Yemen. The main principles of the reform agenda are these: the separation of the executive from the regulatory functions; decentralization of service provision and corporatization through the establishment of autonomous WSS corporations; the establishment of a regulatory agency; capacity building and human resources development; and public-private partnership (PPP). This paper gives a summary of what has been achieved in the implementation of the reform agenda in general and concentrates on the pilot case of the first PPP initiative in Sana'a, the capital of Yemen. The paper takes us through the stages of PPP option study right through to the preparation of the request for proposals, which was completed in August 2002.     

山西农业供水现状分析及对策研究

1998～2000年,山西全省总用水量与水资源总量3年平均量的比值为68%,水资源开发利用率大大超过了国际公认的合理限度40%.其中,农业是山西省用水大户,农业节水是建设节水型社会最重要的组成部分.     

城市供水水源地集水区生态补偿研究——以岗南、黄壁庄水库集水区为例

在供水水源地集水区采取生态保护措施确保了下游用水的水质和水量.但是,由于补偿机制不健全,集水区的社会和经济发展均受到限制.通过分析生态补偿的内涵及其理论基础,给出了生态补偿的合理定义,分析了生态补偿的原则和需要注意的问题.最后,对岗南、黄壁庄水库集水区生态补偿进行了探讨.     

Comprehensive Risk Assessment of Urban Wastewater Reuse in Water Supply Alternatives Using Hybrid Bayesian Network Model

Water Resources Management - Urban treated wastewater can be used as a sustainable water supply alternative; however, it contains chemical and biochemical contaminants and poses risks to the...     

水利应对加入WTO的建议

我国加入WTO给水利带来的机遇主要体现在：有利于增加对水利的投入，有利于引进先进技术和设备，有利于推进水管理体制改革，有利于加快建立健全水商品市场，对水行政工作，水利建设与管理的体制、机制，水利工程的经营管理，水利企业等方面提出了新的挑战。对应对加入WTO的挑战，必须切实转变机关职能，加快水利基础设施建设，加大各项工作的改革力度，推进水利事业发展。     

Regional Water Supply Planning with Renewable Energy Technologies: The Case of Senegal

ABSTRACT

In order to plan for the installation of renewable energy technologies in the water supply sector in developing countries, an evaluation of the countries' renewable energy resources must first be made. It is then necessary to match the energy resources with the operating characteristics of the appropriate technologies. When these two stages have been completed, planning can proceed for a national program of renewable energy technology development. The example of Senegal is presented in terms of wind, solar and rainfall resources. Technologies considered are wind energy conversion systems (WECS), rainwater catchment systems (RWCS), hand pumps and solar pumping systems     

A Means to an End: Studying the Existing Environment for Private Sector Participation in the Water and Sanitation Sector

Given that the degree of success of private sector participation in the water and sanitation sector is such a hotly debated topic, there is a need to empirically study the environment within which private investment currently exists. Using Logit estimation, and investigating 29 political, economic and demographic variables from 39 developing countries, it was found that neither the political nor demographic environments play a role in explaining the existence of private sector participation. However, the empirical estimates show that many economic variables do play a significant role. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that much of the determination of reaching financial closure with the private sector is due to proprietary conditions between the private sector and the governments involved.     

Development of Public Private Partnership (PPP) Projects in the Chinese Water Sector

This study analyzes the transformation of urban water services in China since the late 1990s focusing on the interaction between the government and private players in the form of public private partnership projects. A lack of fund, outdated technologies and management skills, and underpriced water tariffs had deteriorated urban water services in China. Chinese authorities decided to adopt private sector participation in the urban water sector. The institutional reform has attracted private players to contribute to public private partnership projects. Water multinationals and Chinese companies have actively participated in such new development. But a myriad of risks are identified in the Chinese water market, including socio-political, institutional and regulatory, revenue and foreign exchange, and project construction and operation risks. The key to success of this policy shift depends on the extent to which Chinese authorities can provide an institutional platform for improvement of urban water services with the participation of private players. Also the changing role of the government from a service provider to a regulator is necessary.     

Towards Poverty Alleviation: The Water Sector Perspectives

Given the context of diminishing water availability as a result of water pollution and inadequate development of water resources on the supply side and increasing population and expanding economic activity on the demand side, this paper reviews water-poverty interfaces and suggests ways of contributing to poverty alleviation through water sector interventions. The unequal distribution of the available water within communities and among various water users in the same country and across countries is discussed as a key issue in this context. The paper examines the causes of poverty with particular reference to the pattern of access to water supply as well as to water for various economic activities. It also considers water-related disasters such as flood, cyclone and riverbank erosion and their adverse human and natural consequences. Water deprivation is seen as both a state and a process--the former being the situation prevailing at a particular point of time and the later implying how that state has been reached and how may it evolve in future. The paper argues that the water crisis is primarily one of management, given the persisting traditional--sectorally focused and fragmented--approach. The appropriate alternative, it is argued, is integrated water resource management (IWRM), which is holistic in approach and focuses on the various uses of water and different categories of its users. It suggests ways of moving forward in terms of improved and participatory water development and management, which can contribute significantly to poverty alleviation. The second part of the paper highlights the National Water Policy of Bangladesh as a case study. The policy, adopted in 1999, broadly encompasses the various elements of IWRM. It enunciates principles and directions for water planning and utilization towards fulfilling the national goals of economic development, poverty alleviation, food security, public health and safety, decent standard of living of the people and protection of the natural environment. The policy has adopted a holistic approach and provided guidelines for participatory water management. The paper points out that a Bangladesh National Water Management Plan has been drafted within the framework of the National Water Policy with a view to improving water development and management so as to address human, economic and environmental needs of water, with special emphasis on the water needs of the poorer segments of society.     

供水管道更新工程聚乙烯(PE)给水管施工技术

聚乙烯（PE）给水管作为近几年来国家推广应用的新型管材。广西水电工程局安哥拉公司在安哥拉共和国承接的罗安达市300 km供水管网更新工程有180 km管道是PE管。文章全面介绍PE给水管的施工技术,以供同行参考。     

Efficiency Assessment of Water and Sewerage Companies: a Disaggregated Approach Accounting for Service Quality

This paper evaluates the efficiency of water and sewerage companies (WaSCs) by applying the weighted Russell directional distance model. This is a non-radial data envelopment analysis (DEA) model that allowed us to obtain an individual efficiency score for each input and output considered in the assessment. This study provides a pioneering approach to evaluating the efficiency of WaSCs, since previous studies on this topic were based on radial DEA models that only provide a global efficiency score. Moreover, three variables representing the lack of service quality were introduced into the model as undesirable outputs. An empirical application was carried out for the 25 largest Chilean WaSCs for 2013. The results illustrated that around one-third of the WaSCs in Chile are totally efficient. The inefficiency scores for each variable evidenced that one of the main challenges of the water industry in Chile is to reduce the percentage of unbilled water and that this issue is especially marked for medium WaSCs. As part of the second-stage analysis, some differences in performance between private and concessionary WaSCs were found, although the results were inconclusive. Several policy implications to help water companies’ managers and water regulators make informed decisions were drawn from our empirical analysis.     

Decomposition of Productivity Growth of Water and Sewerage Companies: An Empirical Approach for Chile

Evaluating the productivity growth of water and sewerage companies (WaSCs) is useful to ensure their long-term sustainability and to protect the interests of customers. Previous studies that assessed the WaSCs’s productivity provided an aggregate productivity index without accounting for the specific contribution of the variables involved in the analysis. To overcome this limitation, and as a pioneering approach, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of the effects that inputs and outputs have on WaSCs´ overall productivity change. In doing so, a methodological approach based on the weighted directional distance model was applied. An empirical application was carried out for the Chilean water industry from 2005 to 2014. Results evidenced that inputs, desirable outputs and undesirable outputs contributed negatively to productivity regression. The negative change of the efficiency change was caused mainly by the regression of the non-revenue water. From a policy and managerial perspective, this study reveals the importance of quantifying the contribution of inputs and outputs in productivity growth in order to support decision-making.