The Role of Municipalities in Achieving Water Security

The world has realized the fact that the limited resources can't be sustainable for a long time. Sustainable transformation is a key issue to save the current resources and natural environment for the next generation. 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can help governments to focus on main issues to achieve a balance between social, environmental, and economic development. At this point, Goal 6 points out the importance of saving clean and safe freshwater resources. This chapter aims to present the link between municipalities and water security in Turkey. Turkey case was selected according to its risky position in the level of water stress. This study used recent reports and statistical data on environmental indicators related with freshwater resources and the implications of municipalities in Turkey. Environmental Indicators 2020 Report guided the authors to determine water indicators in Turkey. In addition, the available open access data from TURKSTAT is used to determine water supply services of municipalities.

Can and should refugees and communities that host them expect better performing and resilient water supply services?

During the acute phase of an emergency the priority for humanitarian agencies is to rapidly establish water supply and other basic services (e.g. sanitation, hygiene, and solid waste) for people affected by disaster or crisis. However, the immediate response to an emergency is relatively short in duration, while the services, particularly water supply, often need to meet the needs of affected populations for many years. Often crises are protracted in nature and it is therefore important to understand how service performance evolves and whether service users are satisfied with the level of water supply. This is an important consideration because long-term sustainability may not represent an important part of initial thinking by humanitarian agencies. The United Nations High Commission for Refugees estimates the average time spent by a refugee in a camp is 10 years, while the average refugee camp remains for 26 years. Two questions arise: first, how will humanitarian agencies ensure emergency water supplies reach the desired performance levels; second, how will local institutions be able to manage, modify and finance the services that camp or settlement dwellers and host communities will depend upon. In this chapter the authors explore experiences from two country case studies and monitoring data extracted from ongoing humanitarian crises. The main conclusions are: service level enhancements are often slow to materialise and widespread efforts are required to raise performance levels.

Development of water supply services for the formation of eco-friendly city environment

The study of possibilities of the improvement of services of water supply of the services on the basis of the principles of resource-saving is the objective of this research. The authors analyzed the general trends, features and problems of providing the population with drinking water in the cities. The authors consider it expedient to use the classification of the water, used in the fleet, but also to correct it for houses. Some actions for management of the decrease in volumes of water consumption by the population were offered on the basis of this classification. The possibility of implementation of systems of water reuse in the course of rendering services of water supply to the population were technically and are economically proved. The perspective directions of the development of services of water supply of the city population were proved economically. The results and offers which are contained in this article can be useful for the authorities when developing city-planning projects, for employees of housing-and-municipal services, services responsible for ecological wellbeing in the cities, and for other specialists.

How do citizens feel about their water services in the water sector? Evidence from the UK

At present, many studies have used social survey methods to explore UK water citizens’ perceptions of the water sector’s water services, but there are few more targeted and systematic studies. This paper mainly displays the perceptions of UK water citizens on water services in the water sector in recent years and analyses the main reasons for different perceptions and possible strategies. We conduct extensive research from four aspects that are highly related to water services: water citizens’ perceptions of the water supply services and technology application (infrastructure construction) provided by the water sector; the state of communication between the water sector and water citizens and their perceptions of water supply management; water citizens’ perceptions of the comprehensive utilisation of water resources in the water sector; water citizens’ perceptions of the water prices set by the water sector. These discussions aim to discover citizens’ perceptions of the water sector and the effects on the public participation mechanism. These insights help attract the water sector’s attention so that the public’s opinions can genuinely support water policymakers and provide sure support for the water sector to formulate corresponding solutions.

Water Supply Services in Spanish Cities and the Debate on Private Participation in Their Management: Which Model is Most Efficient?

Supplying water to the population is one of the fundamental services of any Spanish city given the importance of the good itself, regardless of how it is managed. However, it is sometimes seen more as a source of extra finance for the municipality, and, in recent years, as an issue of political debate in terms of the adequacy of one form of management or another: public or private. Currently, 35% of Spain's population is supplied by public specialised entities, 33% by private companies under a concession contract, 22% by mixed companies and 10% by undifferentiated municipal services. In simple terms, 45% corresponds to public management and 55% is fully or partially managed by the private sector. By analysing the annual accounts of the companies that operate in the Spain's principal municipalities, this study seeks to determine the role played by the private sector in the management of the mixed companies. Due to the diversity of services provided by these companies and the lack of differentiated statistics for each of them, we have used the Annual Accounts presented to the Central Mercantile Register or the data submitted to the Ministry of Finance in order to assess the influence of private participation on the results of the companies.

Revenue augmentation through improved water supply services: a case study of the SMART-WASA team of Faisalabad, Pakistan

The Water and Sanitation Agency of Faisalabad has tried to increase its revenue by increasing both its water demands and total number of customers. To this end, a pilot activity was implemented. Two selected pilot areas were hydraulically separated to increase water pressures within the areas. The results showed that the durations of water supply increased from 3.5 to 12 hours and from 6 to 18 hours per day in the pilot areas. The water pressure in each pilot area increased from 2 to 10 m and from 3 to 18 m, respectively. Wastewater contamination was also eliminated after increasing the water pressure. Customers were informed of these achievements through workshops, flyers, and banners on streets, which encouraged them to shift from a flat rate system to a metering system. Consequently, the total billed amounts for two pilot areas in March 2019 increased by 65.0% and 97.0%, compared with those from November 2016. The bill collection ratios also increased from 48.2% to 56.9% and from 48.1% to 60.6% during pilot activities. Improving services of water supply utilities through the formation of a water distribution area with an increase in water pressure is recommended as an effective method for revenue augmentation.

InVEST Model-Based Spatiotemporal Analysis of Water Supply Services in the Zhangcheng District

The Zhangcheng District is critically responsible for protecting water resources, preserving sand sources, and improving the ecological environment in Beijing. Quantitative evaluation and research on the ecosystem water supply services in this area are beneficial for developing conservation planning and establishing ecological compensation mechanisms in water conservation areas. In this paper, based on the land use, meteorological, soil, and field observation data of the research area, the InVEST water yield model is used to estimate the water supply of the ecosystem in the Zhangcheng District. The model quantitatively analyzes the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of water supply services in the basin and the influence of different topographic factors. The results show that the average supply of ecosystem water in the Zhangcheng District is approximately 45 mm, and there is a degree of spatial heterogeneity. The total water supply in the Zhangcheng District is relatively small. The water resource supply in the southwest is relatively small, the rainfall in mountainous forest areas in the southeast is high, its water supply is higher, and the supply of forest land water is relatively high. The high-value areas are mainly distributed at 1500 to 3500 m and 15°~40°; the water supply on the sunny slope is greater than that on the shady slope. With the increase in altitude and slope, the water supply in the basin tends to increase first and then decrease.

Willingness to Pay for Improved Water Supply Services Based on Asset Management: A Contingent Valuation Study in South Korea

The pressure on water infrastructure has increased due to an increase in the number of aging water pipes. Aging pipes are prone to failure, causing significant financial losses and service disruptions. The increasing number of aged pipes and limited budget for pipe rehabilitation or replacement necessitates water infrastructure asset management to ensure sustainable water supply services. In this study, contingent valuation was used to estimate the willingness to pay (WTP) and value improved water supply services through the implementation of asset management. To estimate the WTP at the individual and county levels, we performed a nationwide survey including eight provinces and 24 counties/cities with distinct water supply service performances. At the individual level, the median WTP estimated using the double-bounded dichotomous choice model was 249.50 KRW/month (0.22 USD/month). The results showed that high-level satisfaction of customers with water supply services and positive price perception of water bills resulted in a high WTP. At the county level, decreasing water supply service performances were associated with a low WTP, indicating that proper interventions by local utilities are required to achieve sustainable water supply services. Our results provide a quantitative basis for decision-making in implementation of water infrastructure asset management.