Experts Views on Improving Water Supply

From Realizing the Right to Water to the Role of PrivateSector,ExpertsShare Their Opinions

Aly Ercelan, fellow,Pakistan Fisherfolk Forum,Karachi, Pakistan

Keep the private sector out:I would like the for-profit sector away from allocating uses of water and among users as far as possible - keeping in mind its power over some mechanics of water supply. Let's rise above the illusion that cost-effectiveness is not a political construct. We all know personally and professionally that prices reflect economic and political power.

Mark Dearn, campaigner,End Water Poverty,London, UK

Fulfill all aspects of the right to water:Access and affordability are both integral parts of the right to water and sanitation. Unfortunately the prioritisation of access over affordability and quality detracts from the fulfillment of the whole right.

Stef Smits, senior programme officer,IRC, Stockholm, Sweden

Differentiate between water resources and water services:One can argue a long time over whether one should pay for water as a good. But there is little doubt that running a water service has a cost, and that it needs to be paid for from somewhere.

Sam Drabble, research and evaluation officer,Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP), London, UK

Challenge the pricing misconceptions:We need to be careful with how we communicate that people ‘cannot afford' water. In urban contexts for example, public utilities tend to wrongly assume that people in low-income communities can't afford to pay for a household connection. In fact these people are already paying expensive rates to an informal supplier and would gladly pay less for a public supply.

Source: The Guardian

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• Water Supply
• Water Utility
• Water Management