VEVEY, SWITZERLAND
– How many people in the world’s towns and cities can drink the water in their
tap without risking their health? The answer is probably impossible to determine. Indeed, the
United Nations uses the term “improved” sources of water to describe what is
supplied in many urban areas around the world. Unfortunately, “improved” does
not always mean “clean” or “safe.”
Visit any major city in an emerging
economy, from Mexico City to
Mumbai, and you will be hard pressed to find anyone who believes that the water
piped into their homes is fit to drink. Estimates by the Third
World Center for Water
Management indicate that more than two billion people do not
trust the quality of the water to which they have access.
It doesn’t have to be like this. In
the Cambodian capital of Phnom Penh,
one official has shown that good management of this precious resource can make
a difference. When Ek Sonn Chan became Director-General of the Phnom Penh Water
Supply Authority nearly 20 years ago, the city had a dismal water supply, with
nearly 83% lost to leakages and unauthorized connections.
With a low-key but firm management
style, Chan began to turn things around. He built up the Authority’s capacity
by training and rewarding his most effective staff and refusing
to tolerate corruption. After just a year on the job, the Authority’s technical
and performance indicators started to improve. Fifteen years after he took
over, annual water production had increased by more than 400%, the water
distribution network had grown by more than 450%, and the customer base had
increased by more than 650%.
Today, the Authority says that there
are no unauthorized connections in Phnom Penh.
Losses from the water system are just over 5%, similar to what one would find
in Singapore or
Tokyo, two of the best water-supply
systems in the world. Thames Water, a utility in Britain,
reported losses in 2010 that were five times that rate. By most performance
indicators, Phnom Penh now has a
better water-supply system than London
or Washington, DC.
Perhaps more remarkable is that Phnom
Penh’s water-supply business model works. All consumers are metered, and both
rich and poor pay for the water that they consume, which costs 60-80% less than
it did when people bought untreated water from private street vendors, an
unreliable source in more ways than one. Today, the city’s poorest households
receive drinkable piped water around the clock.
The Authority recovers all of its
operating costs from tariffs, and must depreciate its assets with time. More
than 94% of supplied water is billed, and the collection rate has been close to
100% for more than ten years. The Authority shows that good management of urban
water resources is not only financially viable in emerging economies, but also
benefits the whole population.
All people have a right to the water
that they need for drinking, cooking, and cleaning. And yet, around the world,
political and business leaders still make excuses for the lack of clean and
safe drinking water in our towns and cities.
The arguments are well rehearsed:
water scarcity, lack of investment funds, the inability of the poor to pay for
water, and inadequate access to technology. But, in our view, these claims are
merely attempts to hide real problems. Poor governance is no excuse. Neither is
the absence of political will to charge people for the water that they consume,
even if doing so would ensure a more reliable supply.
Cambodia
has shown that you can achieve a great deal within a decade. If Phnom
Penh – with all of its financial, technical, and
institutional challenges – can do it, why not other urban centers in emerging
markets elsewhere?
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of Nestlé, is Chairman of the global public-private partnership 2030 Water Resources Group (WRG)
Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, Chairman of Nestlé, is Chairman of the global public-private partnership 2030 Water Resources Group (WRG)