This document summarizes challenges and trends related to access to safe water. It discusses how population growth and poverty have led to deficits in water services. Urbanization is increasing rapidly and will lead to most of the world's population living in cities by 2030, with many in slums lacking basic services. While decentralization and privatization aimed to address these issues, privatization initiatives often failed. As a result, small-scale private water providers have emerged to fill gaps but cannot ensure water safety. The document proposes a "Community Compact" approach to harness this potential by eliminating barriers for small providers while incentivizing water safety.

1. Access to Safe Water: Challenges,
Trends, and Transitions
Prepared for: Emory University Conference
Prepared by: Carlos Linares,
Senior Program Officer, IRD Infrastructure
September 30, 2010,

2. Access to safe water
No access means:
• An un-protected spring or
dug well;
• Cart with small
tank/drum;
• Tanker truck;
• Surface water (rivers,
lakes, streams, irrigation
channels, etc)
• Bottled water (of
unknown quality)

3. Challenges, Trends and Transitions
• Population Growth, Poverty and Service
Deficits
• Urbanization
• Decentralization and Participation
• Privatization and the “Other” Private Sector
• Suffering for Water, Suffering from Water
• A Community Compact: Harnessing an un-
tapped potential

4. Population Growth, Poverty and
Service Deficits
• 1 billion people don’t have access to
safe water;
• 2.5 billion people lack access to
adequate sanitation;
• Two million children die every year as
a result of diarrhea;
• The majority of the world's population
living in urban areas;
• One billion urban dwellers are poor
and living in slums.
• By 2030, 5 billion urban dwellers (60
per cent of the world’s population);
• A third of these will continue living in
poverty;
• Progress made will be offset by
population growth.

5. Urbanization
• Cities have continued to
grow at a fast pace;
• Urban environmental
degradation = poor
governance;
• Transition of
government’s role — from
“doer” to “regulator” —
much more difficult than
previously anticipated
• Poverty and lack of
services an “institutional”
problem.

6. Decentralization and Participation
• Decentralization:
increased role for local
governments and
increased opportunities
for civil society;
• NGO’s are the leaders in
designing & implementing
participatory development
processes;
• The case of FUNDASAL
(1970 to 1978)

7. Privatization
• Well-publicized fiascos and derailments of
privatization reduced multinational’s plans for
investment in developing countries;
• Public sector utilities and/or private sector
utilities/multinationals don’t serve the poor
anyway;
• Service deficits have created opportunities for
neighborhood groups and the “other” private
sector to fill the gaps left by government
authorities and multinationals.

8. The “Other” Private Sector
• Entrepreneurs managing piped
networks in agreement with
utilities;
• Independent entrepreneurs
managing piped networks with
their own sources (registered /
licensed as well as
unregistered / unlicensed);
• Carters or water carriers who
deliver water by the jerrycan,
and by different means
(handcarts, push-carts, push-
bikes, wagons, donkey carts,
bicycles, tricycles, trolleys)
• Cooperatives managing piped
networks with independent
sources of water;

9. The “Other” Private Sector
• Private well and or borehole
owner-operators with
independent water sources,
where bulk water is sold to
mobile vendors;
• Residential resellers, selling
water through garden hose or
garden faucet, domestic taps,
elevated tanks or cisterns;
• Community-built and operated
piped networks with
independent water sources;
• Community-managed
kiosks/stand posts selling
water to resellers or
individuals.

10. Suffering for Water, Suffering from Water
Despite many operational constraints:
• lack of understanding, lack of recognition, hostile attitude from
police/bribes;
• lack of secure tenure, no collateral;
• lack of access to capital, lack of access to credit;
• Lack of access to the law, in legal limbo, no support from regulations
SSPs are thriving – water business is good business!
However… The water sold by SSPs is not guaranteed to be safe for
human consumption.
Is the solution to kill-off “the other private sector” already serving the
poor?

11. Harnessing an un-tapped potential via
Community Compact
• An approach that merges top-
down and bottom-up;
• Barriers need to be eliminated
and incentives need to be
introduced via a Community
Compact.
The Compact will:
• a) eliminate barriers (lack of
access to the law, and
financial resources, among
others); and
• b) introduce incentives (to
ensure that water being sold is
safe for human consumption).

12. Thank you