water · 2019-05-22 · water utility management international • september 2008 • 5 analysis...

waterutilitymanagementI N T E R N A T I O N A L

SEPTEMBER 2008VOLUME 3 � ISSUE 3

ANALYSIS5 Energy management requirements

regulation under discussionBy Lis Stedman

FEATURES6 BENCHMARKING

Current challenges in performanceassessment of water servicesBy Helena Alegre, Enrique Cabrera Jr.and Wolf Merkel

8 MANAGEMENTImproving water supply provision:The Jamshedpur corporate privatepartnership water managementsystemBy GS Basu, Pranay Sinha,Arnab Ghosh and Sivaram Sistla

10 STATISTICSInternational statistics for waterservices: the information every watermanager must knowBy Renato Parena

12 SAFETYThe Philippines pilots water safetyplansBy Lyn N Capistrano

13 CUSTOMER SERVICEPutting the customer firstBy Lis Stedman

15 SECURITYExporting Israel’s water securityexpertiseBy Lis Stedman

16 DEVELOPMENTTen years’ experience in southeastern Europe: a best practicereportBy Christoph Prandtstetten

The Environment Agency (EA), which regulatesthe water companies in England and Wales,

has responded to five year draft business plans bywarning the companies that they must invest morein maintenance to improve the environment andcut the risk of pollution incidents.Last year, water companies caused 20% of all

serious pollution incidents, most of which wererelated to poorly maintained, overloaded orageing sewerage infrastructure.The EA called on the industry to ‘be clear’

about its capital maintenance priorities, takinginto account potential environmental impacts.Its response welcomed many of the watercompanies’ proposals, but urged them to domore to manage their resources and work withcustomers to reduce demand, which couldinclude introducing compulsory water meteringin areas of high water usage.The environmental regulator will also ensure

that water companies plan for secure supplies forpeople and industry, and adapt to population

growth and climate change, it added.The water companies will also be pressed to

review their draft plans to take account of theincreased risk of flooding to key assets due toclimate change. Such infrastructure is oftenlocated by rivers and is particularlysusceptible to flooding.The Environment Agency voiced concern

that few companies are proposing action onthe issue of flooding from surface water drains –an issue highlighted by the Pitt Review oflast summer’s flooding as a key cause ofthe floods.Although it recognises that companies have

made a start on tackling the issue, theEnvironment Agency wants to see more commit-ment from companies to help with productionand delivery of plans to help reduce surfacewater flooding. It is also calling on watercompanies to include firm proposals toreduce the number of properties at risk fromsewage flooding.�

Regulator calls for more maintenance

The World Bank has approved a $20 millioncredit providing extra finance for its Armenia

municipal water and wastewater project.The additional funding will support the

Armenian government’s efforts to scale upactivities under the ongoing water systemrehabilitation and improvements programme.This includes an extension to the ongoingmanagement contract between the ArmeniaWater and Wastewater Company (AWSC), thewater utility in charge of the project, and aninternational water supply utility operator.Armenia has made considerable progress in

delivering safe and continuous water supplies,the Bank notes. Reforms in water managementsupported under the Bank-funded municipaldevelopment, municipal water and wastewater,and Yerevan water and wastewater projects haveimproved supply, quality and the water utilities’financial viability.

The need for further funding from the Bank toscale up the ongoing project was anticipated atproject appraisal stage, and the managementcontract was prepared on the basis of a six-yearprogramme. The extra financing will fundextension of the management contract andfurther, identified investments. It will alsocontribute towards meeting the Armenianwater supply sector’s massive investment needs.Jonathan Kamkwalala, the leader of the World

Bank team designing the project said: ‘Citizensacross Armenia have long awaited improvementsin their water supply. The investment programmeunder the ongoing project has largely proceededon track, and the repair and rehabilitationprogramme for AWSC water supply systemshas already resulted in improved water qualityand increased availability of clean and safewater supply in areas participating inthe project.’�

World Bank green light forwater andwastewater credit

The Inter-American Development Bank(IADB) has approved a $200 million loan

to expand potable water and sanitation servicesin the Buenos Aires metropolitan areaand suburbs.The project is part of a wider programme that

aims to add 1.5 million users to the water serviceand 1.4 million to the sewer system between nowand 2011.This is the first loan within a $720 million

conditional credit line for investment projectsapproved by the IADB.The expansion of potable water and sanitation

services includes the construction of a collector

sewer and pumping stations in the municipalityof Tigre, which will enable the system to servean extra 220,000 residents, and the constructionof sewage networks in the municipalities ofTres de Febrero, Hurlingham and Ituazingó,which will serve 108,000 residents.The project also includes a plan to reduce

unaccounted-for water in order to reducelosses and make the best use of the distributionsystem, saving nearly 100,000m3/day ofwater, and improvements to the SanMartín potable water plant, which supplies4.8 million people. Utility Agua y SaneamientosArgentinos will carry out the work.�

IADB approves water and sanitation loanfor Buenos Aires

2 • WATER UTILITY MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL • SEPTEMBER 2008

EDITORIAL

Editor / Associate PublisherKeith Hayward ([email protected])

Publishing AssistantCatherine Fitzpatrick

Water Utility Management Internationalfocuses on the interests of utilityexecutives, policy makers and advisorsaround the world engaged with the keymanagement issues faced by water andwastewater utilities. As well as seniorutility managers, the publication willbe of interest to regulators, consultants,contractors, academics, and financial,technical and legal professionals.Utility reform and achieving efficiency

are central themes of the publication,encompassing topics such as benchmark-ing, investment planning, consolidation,public / private sector roles, leadership, IT,and human resources. Other regularthemes include financing, regulation,charging policies, procurement, corporategovernance and customer issues.

Editorial Advisory Panel

Dr Richard Franceys, Centre for WaterScience, Cranfield University, UKDr Bernhard Hoersgen, Executive BoardMember, Gelsenwasser AG, GermanyDr David Johnstone, Oxford Centre forWater Research, University of Oxford, UKProf Hamanth Kasan, General Manager -Scientific Services, Rand Water, SouthAfricaMr Khoo Teng Chye, Chief Executive, PUB,SingaporeMr Alejo Molinari, Quality of ServicesManager, ETOSS / ERAS, ArgentinaDr Renato Parena, Chief Financial Officer,Societa Metropolitana Acque Torino SpA,ItalyMr Eric Rothstein, Principal, GalardiRothstein Group, USAMs Meike Van Ginneken, Senior Water andSanitation Specialist, World Bank, USA

For more information, visit:www.iwaponline.com/wumi/default.htm

PUBLISHING

PublisherMichael Dunn

Water Utility Management Internationalis published four times a year (March,June, September, December) by IWAPublishing. Statements made do notrepresent the views of the InternationalWater Association or its Governing Board.

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ISSN (print) 1747-7751ISSN (online) 1747-776X© IWA Publishing 2008

waterutilitymanagementI N T E R N A T I O N A L

NEWS

Two new research initiatives have produced a profileof water industry experts’ concerns that suggest

leakage and source water supply protection are at theforefront of the industry’s collective consciousness atthe moment.Research commissioned by newly-launched water

loss management company Miya reveals that a majorityof the industry experts polled believe that water loss ‘is adisaster waiting to happen’.The research was undertaken this August among

IWA members in both the developed and developingworld, by independent research firm Circle Research.The respondents came from water utilities, consultancy,university, research institute and corporate backgrounds.The Miya report found that the key issue when

considering urban water losses was reported to be theprovision of safe, clean water for the world’s urbanpopulation (53% of respondents) followed by savingmoney (20% of respondents). Economic issues alsofeatured in the American Water Works Association(AWWA) findings.Conservative estimates suggest that around the world

average losses are in the order of 33% of potable waterput into supply – equivalent to 32 billion cubic metres,and worth around $18 billion.The survey found around a third of respondents were

unaware of the scale of the problem and nearly all(93%) found it unacceptable. A further 67% agreedwith the statement that ‘if water loss is not resolved inthe next 15 years, we are likely to face crisis’.Booky Oren, President and CEO of Miya, said: ‘That

the industry believes that the extent of water loss isunacceptable is no real surprise to us. That financingand lack of comprehensive coordination are perceivedas major barriers to implementing effective water losssolutions is no real surprise to us. Miya was conceived

to meet a very real and growing need. We believe thatby offering municipalities best know-how and expertiseas well as an unparalleled range of services, includingeffective financial solutions, we will enable many citiesto address the growing problems with their water systems.‘What was surprising to us was the industry’s concern

over lack of awareness. We as an industry have acollective responsibility to sound the alarm and toaddress the fundamental threat water loss poses tosafe, clean, affordable drinking water in cities.’The industry believes it has ‘an environmental

obligation’ to address water loss, the report found. Twothirds of respondents felt that the water industry will beheld accountable for water loss and will be expected tocompensate for it within the next ten years.The Miya report contrasts in some respects with the

new AWWA ‘State of the industry’ report, which placessource water supply and protection as the top area ofconcern among North American water professionals.For the first time, source water supply and protection

was the most frequently mentioned area of concern forboth the short and long term.Other top issues identified in the AWWA report

include the continent’s ageing infrastructure, which wasdescribed as ‘crumbling’ and ‘failing’ by respondents.This concern, which equates directly to leakage, wasthe subject of disquiet that other pressing expendituremeant utilities were deferring infrastructure mainte-nance and therefore risking higher future bills.AWWA Executive Director Gary Zimmerman noted of

his association’s contribution to the issues debate: ‘TheState of the industry report provides direct insights intohow water professionals feel about issues today and inthe future. Our analysis of this data guides the associa-tion’s programming decisions to help address thegreatest concerns of our membership.’�

Industry reports highlight experts’ concerns

Loans and tenders

NEW ZEALAND: Government agrees small townwastewater system subsidyThe New Zealand government has agreed NZ$40million ($24.7 million) in subsidies to help small townsimprove their wastewater systems. A number ofprojects have already had final approval while othershave provisional or preliminary approval. Thegovernment has said it is still looking at whether tobring forward other currently un-funded schemes forpossible subsidies.

VIETNAM: ADB and Japan provide grant for publicservices and irrigationJapan and the ADB, through the Japan Special Fundare providing Vietnam with a $1 million grant to helpdesign a project to upgrade the quality of its water-related public services and improve the managementof its irrigation resources. Vietnam itself will contributestaff, facilities and services equivalent to $250,000.The country is facing growing demands on its waterresources due to a rapidly-growing population andeconomy. The agricultural sector, particularly cropirrigation, uses the majority of its water resources.

THE PHILIPPINES: ADB helps with urban water andsanitation project

The ADB is helping prepare a project that will improvewater supply and sanitation services for urban areasoutside Metro Manila, the main urban centre in thePhilippines. The Multi-Donor Trust Fund under theWater Financing Partnership Facility (WFPF) willprovide a $1.2 million grant to fund projectpreparation, while the Philippines will allocate$300,000 to complete the funding requirement. Thegovernments of Australia, Austria and Norwaycontribute to the Multi-Donor Trust Fund.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: EIB provides fundsThe European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending€60million ($86.9 million) for implementation of water andsanitation projects for municipalities and cantons inBosnia and Herzegovina. The loan, which will cover upto 50% of total costs, will help to improve the quality oflife of the country’s citizens and meet Bosnia andHerzegovina’s needs to comply in future with EUenvironmental legislation. The EIB loan will finance aninvestment programme for the water and wastewatersector in 15 towns to improve and expand water supplyand sewerage systems and construct wastewatertreatment plants. The EIB has said it would beprepared to consider a similar operation forRepublika Srpska, the other entity within Bosniaand Herzegovina.

WATER UTILITY MANAGEMENT INTERNATIONAL • SEPTEMBER 2008 • 3

Business

UK: Hyder jv wins Severn Trent capital investment contractA joint venture between Hyder Consulting and Faber Maunsell, AECOM,has been appointed by Severn Trent Water to advise on its five-year £2.9billion ($3.4 billion) capital investment programme starting in 2010. FaberMaunsell and Hyder project teams will work as an integral part of SevernTrent Water’s Asset Delivery Group to undertake feasibility studies anddevelop design solutions for key projects including water supply, sewerageand treatment plants.

US: SKM team win desalination evaluation contract in FloridaSKM has announced it is part of a team chosen to undertake an evaluationof alternatives and prepare preliminary design documents for adesalination facility on the north-eastern coast of Florida. The CoquinaCoast Alternative Water Supply Project Seawater Desalination Committeehas asked SKM and partners Malcolm Pirnie and Veolia Water to evaluatea land or ship-based facility, site selection, permitting, preliminary designand pilot testing. The work is part of an agreement between 11 cities in thearea to develop a regional water supply plan.

UK: MWH partners on Thames embodied carbon projectMWH has partnered with Thames Water to undertake an ‘embodiedcarbon accounting project’ to enable the utility to plan its forward invest-ment programme sustainably. Embodied carbon emissions result fromconstruction and maintenance of the company’s treatment and distribu-tion infrastructure, rather than the day-to-day operational emissions. MWHand Thames have been involved in carbon accounting since the beginningof the company’s work for UK Water Industry Research, which will set acommon benchmark for carbon measurement for all water companiesacross the UK.

FRANCE: Veolia warns of water and waste downturnVeolia Environnement has warned its water and waste managementbusinesses have slowed down, and that it expects total investments to fall34% to $5.4 billion this year. In a statement the company cited slowingeconomies and temporary incinerator closures as the reasons, and said itwill present revised estimates for 2008 this week. The company’s shareshave fallen 63% so far this year.

MENA: Veolia teams up to focus on Middle East-North Africa workMubadala Development Company and Veolia Water have announced anintention to create a joint-venture company to focus on water productionand wastewater collection and treatment in the Middle East and NorthAfrica region. Veolia says the activity could later lead to further jointventures for other business sectors within Veolia Environnement. Themove follows a decision by Mubadala, Abu-Dhabi’s state investment andbusiness development company, and Veolia Water, to work together onmunicipal concessions and public-private partnerships in the region.Veolia will own 51% of the venture and Mubadala 49%.

US: Black & Veatch wins Toledo contractBlack & Veatch has announced it has been chosen to provide engineeringservices and programme and construction management services forPhase II of the Toledo Waterways Initiative. This phase is a part of a 15year, $450 million initiative designed to control CSOs by upgrading agingsewer system and wastewater treatment facilities in the city of Toledo,Ohio. This final ten years of the waterways initiative includes designdevelopment and implementation of 25 projects, including separatesanitary and storm sewers, storage facilities and modification orinstallation of extra flow regulators in combined sewer areas.

NEWS

ANALYSIS

Loans and tenders

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC: ADB provides extra finding for water andsanitation projectThe Asian Development Bank (ADB) is granting an additional $30 millionto a project that will provide cleaner drinking water and better sanitation for1.5 million people in the provinces of Chui, Jalal-Abad, Osh, and Batken inthe Kyrgyz Republic. The community-based infrastructure services sectorproject was initially approved in 2000, with ADB extending a $36 millionloan. The additional Asian Development Fund grant will ensure completionof the project following sharp increases in the prices of various basiccommodities such as steel and cement during project implementation.

SOUTH AMERICA/CARIBBEAN: IADB and Spain set up water and sanitationcooperationThe Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the Spanish govern-ment have agreed to cooperate in implementing the Fund for Cooperationfor Water and Sanitation, a Spanish initiative that should provide around$1.5 billion in grants to Latin American and Caribbean countries over thenext four years. Spain will assign priorities and evaluate the impact of Fundprojects, and the IADB will identify and prepare specific investments andoversee their implementation and evaluation in liaison with thegovernments of the recipient countries.

WALES: EIB provides funds for water and wastewater upgradesThe European Investment Bank (EIB) is lending £100 million ($170million) to Dwr Cymru Welsh Water for a series of water supply andwastewater treatment schemes across Wales. The EIB is supporting thesecond phase of Welsh Water’s 2005-2010 investment programme, whichwill ensure continued compliance with EU and domestic standards. TheEIB-funded projects, which will be undertaken by Welsh Water between2008 and 2010, will improve living standards for Welsh citizens thanks toessential upgrades in water treatment and improved sewage andwastewater infrastructure. The project will mainly consist of rehabilitationor construction of numerous wastewater treatment schemes and acomprehensive water mains replacement programme across the country.

INDIA: Japan Special Find provides grant for pilot PPPsThe Japan Special Fund, through the ADB, is to provide a $2 milliontechnical assistance grant to help government agencies in India develop anumber of pilot PPP projects that will eventually act as models for futureprojects. Infrastructure sectors covered under this initiative include urbandevelopment, transport, water, health and education. Under the technicalassistance, ‘project development’ involves all aspects of project structuringincluding institutional, financial, commercial, legal, social, environmentaland technical structuring, leading to a competitive bid process to attractprivate sector participation.

CHINA: ADB provides funds for water resource allocation frameworkThe ADB is helping China to prepare a framework for managing theallocation of water resources to meet the needs of its growing populationand rapidly-expanding economy. ADB will provide a $500,000 grant forthe project from its technical assistance programme. The Multi-DonorTrust Fund of the Water Financing Partnership Facility, which is managedby ADB, will provide a $250,000 grant and China itself will allocate$200,000 to complete the funding.

INDIA: ADB approves urban water supply loanADB has approved a $71 million supplementary loan for an urban watersupply project in India’s Mahya Pradesh state. The project aims to improvethe water supply services, sewerage and sanitation services, storm-waterdrainage, and solid waste management in the largest cities of MadhyaPradesh – Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, and Jabalpur. The cities are trade,commerce, and tourism hubs, whose growth potentials are constrained bypoor water and sewerage infrastructure systems. ADB and India signed a$181 million loan agreement in March 2005 to support the project.However, progress was hampered by slow awarding of contracts, whicheventually led to a huge cost overrun due to the rupee appreciation andprice increases since the project appraisal in 2003. Other cost increasesmean the project cannot be completed as envisaged withoutmore funding.


NEWS

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is support-ing rehabilitation and upgrading of municipal district heating, water and

wastewater services in the Siberian city of Pyt’Yakh with a 350 million rouble(equivalent to approximately €10 million) loan. A more efficient and effectiveuse of resources will be central to the efforts.The EBRD-financed programme will include a significant district heating

focus, with water supply and wastewater collection facilities alsobeing upgraded.The municipal services management company that will be given the

EBRD loan will implement the programme. The company is introducing agradual tariff reform based on affordability, which will help set up

sustainable business model.Pyt’Yakh has around 40,000 inhabitants and is in the Khanty-Mansi

Autonomous Okrug (region) in western Siberia. The city is about 200kmwest of one of the main cities of the region, Surgut, and was established inthe 1960s following the discovery of western Siberia’s second largestoil field.The new EBRD loan is part of the Khanty-Mansi regional municipal

services development programme, under which the bank has alreadyprovided two loans to Surgut for municipal services and housing refurbish-ment. Because of the success of the programme, other municipalities in theregion are considering similar projects. �

EBRDsupportswater andwastewater projects in Siberia

The World Bank has approved a $60 million loan to the Republic of Belarusfor a water supply and sanitation project. This aims to increase the

efficiency, quality and sustainability of water supply and sanitation servicesto 1.7 million people living in 20 rayons (administrative sub-divisions)across the country. This is the first operation under the recently-approvedWorld Bank’s country assistance strategy for Belarus (2008 to 2011) whichis targeted at areas that improve people’s livelihoods and contribute toprotecting the environment.The project has three components. The first, with an allocation of $53.6

million, will finance water supply development through rehabilitation andconstruction of deep wells, pumping stations, transmission mains,distribution network, ground and elevated reservoirs and ironremoval plants.This component will also finance rehabilitation of the wastewater

collection system and wastewater treatment plants including the installationof pumping stations, sludge dewatering systems, collection networks,monitoring stations and small laboratories.The second component, worth $6.05 million, will finance engineering

and construction management activities needed in order to undertake theinvestments in component one. These include engineering preparation,preparation of feasibility studies and designs as well as bidding documents.It will also include advisory services and construction supervision, as well asmonitoring and evaluation and reporting on audits.The third component, worth $0.2 million, will ensure project monitoring

as well as training to enhance technical capacity and competence of theparticipating utilities. The project will be implemented by a projectcoordinating team within the Republican Unitary EnterpriseZilkommuntekhnika reporting to the Ministry of Housing and Utilities. �

Water supply and sanitation loan forBelarus

The ADB is laying the groundwork for a water and sanitation project thatwill help improve the health and lives of about 200,000 people living in

nine towns in Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, and Vietnam.The towns are situated in economic corridors that have roads linking the

six countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). A key ADB strategy isto develop the corridors in order to strengthen cross-border ties, expandsustainable economic opportunities, and reduce poverty.Paul van Klaveren, a Water Supply and Sanitation Specialist with ADB’s

Southeast Asia Department, said: ‘The economic growth of secondarytowns in the corridors will lead to higher incomes and improved quality oflife for their people.’A $1.5 million technical assistance is being extended to pave the way for

the Mekong water supply and sanitation project. Funding will come fromvarious sources including ADB’s Japan Special Fund ($400,000), theDutch government (a $300,000 grant via the Water Financing PartnershipFacility), and the governments concerned. �

ADB provides funding for Cambodia water and sanitation project

Japan and the ADB are providing $890,000 in funding for a secure and safewater supply to residents of the capital of Chuuk, one of four FederatedStates of Micronesia.The grant will support water demand forecasts for Weno island until

2020, identification of potential water sources to meet long-term demandand a tariff study and survey to gauge the willingness ofresidents to pay for an efficient water service.The project will also increase the supply of water from groundwater

sources; improve water quality through chlorination, reducing the

incidence of waterborne diseases; train personnel in maintaining watersupply wells; and boost community awareness of the need to conservewater and protect watersheds.Through the water conservation element of the project, the average

per capita demand for piped water is expected to decline from acurrent 400 litres daily to less than 200 litres two years from now.Water production should also rise from 3.6 million litres daily toabout 5.8 million by 2010. This will fulfill about 85% of averagedaily demand. �

ADB and Japan fund water supply improvements

The US EPA has announced that it is providing $13.9 million to Virginia toimprove water quality.The grant, along with $2.8 million in state matching funds, has been

awarded to the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to providefurther capital for its revolving loan fund, which provides low interestloans for the construction of wastewater treatment facilities, non-pointsource and estuary projects, as well as other water qualitymanagement work.

Donald S Welsh, regional administrator for EPA’s mid-Atlantic region,said: ‘EPA is committed to helping communities get safe, clean water. Thesegrants are important to maintaining public health, protecting and restoringhealthy water quality, and combating pollution.’In Virginia, more than $230 million will be targeted at projects to

provide enhanced treatment of wastewater to remove nutrients, ultimatelybenefiting the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Other projects to be fundedwill address sewer problems in local areas. �

US EPA loan for Virginia water quality management


ANALYSIS

PC 242, the new project commit-tee for the critical global

International Organization forStandardization (ISO) energymanagement standard, met for thefirst time this September.ISO estimates that the standard

could influence up to 60% of theworld’s energy use. The future ISO50001 will establish a frameworkfor ‘industrial plants, commercialfacilities or entire organisations’ tomanage energy, and targets broadapplicability across nationaleconomic sectors – so willundoubtedly be a key standard forthe water industry around the globe.Attending the meeting were

delegates from 25 national memberbodies across all of the regions ofthe world, as well as representativesfrom UNIDO, the UN IndustrialDevelopment Organisation, which isliaising with PC 242.All of the participating countries

have existing energy managementactivities and have a strong interestin developing a harmonisedsolution at an international level.Part of the proceedings at the

Washington DC meeting involveddelegates describing in detail theseinitiatives. UNIDO, for example,gave a presentation on thepreparatory work that it hasundertaken to support the ISP(Institution-based Strategic Project)process by researching energyneeds in developing countries.This feedback session gave the

project committee an insight intothe various policies and situationsaround the world, which will have tobe taken into account whendeveloping the global ISO standard.Swift progress has already been

made – the report from the firstmeeting says ‘excellent progress’was made in the technicaldiscussions and a first draft hasalready been created.

One major discussion point is theneed to ensure compatibility withthe existing ISO managementsystem standards. For this reasonthe committee decided to take acritical decision to base the draft onthe common elements found in allof ISO’s management systemstandards. This will ensuremaximum compatibility with otherkey standards such as ISO 9001,quality management, and ISO14001, environmental management.The ambitious schedule, which

PC 242 is committed to keeping,aims to have ISO 50001 ready forpublication by the end of 2010.ISO Secretary-General Alan

Bryden is quoted as saying: ‘Thisfirst meeting of PC 242 marks thelaunch of a new global approach tosystematically address energyperformance in organisations,pragmatically addressing energyefficiency and related climatechange impacts. It is fully in linewith and supportive of the globalmobilisation on these majorchallenges, and with the IEA(International Energy Agency)-ISOposition paper on the contributionof international standards.’The background to the ISO is

that, based on the issues outlinedabove and a UNIDO Expert GroupMeeting on industrial energyefficiency and energy managementstandards held in March 2007, agroup of interested US parties cameto ANSI (American NationalStandards Institute) in order to worktogether to draft a new work itemproposal on the subject. ANSI andABNT (Associacao Brasilieira deNormas Técnicas, the Brazilianstandards agency) partnered on theproposal, explains Jason Knopes,who works for ANSI and is thesecretary to PC 242, and Ed Pinero,who is chairing the committee.The proposal was unanimously

approved and ISO assigned thecommittee secretariat to thepartnership of ANSI and ABNT andnoted the interest of BSI (UK) andSAC (China) to be engaged in thePC leadership.Although remarkable progress

has been made on the standard, noenergy-specific requirements weredefined at the meeting. Severalrequirements, as well as theimportance of metrics, data, andcontinual improvement as keyelements of energy managementwere discussed.Mr Pinero says: ‘The progress

was excellent, we had 75individuals from 20 countries at ourfirst meeting who agreed on aframework that we used as astarting point. Meeting participantsthen broke into groups in order toadd text to the agreed-uponsections. The text was organisedinto one document which has nowbeen circulated to all appointedISO/PC 242 working group expertsfor comment.’In terms of whether this ISO

ties in with some of the othercurrent work of the BSI, such asspecifications on greenhouse gasemissions from goods and services,Mr Knopes notes: ‘Robust energymanagement is a cost effective wayto help with GHG (greenhouse gas)reductions and the ability tomeasure progress. Although theseelements are not directly tied, thereis synergy among the efforts.’BSI is the ISO member body for

the UK and is facilitating theparticipation of the UK ‘mirrorcommittee’ for ISO/PC 242. BSI isalso supporting the Secretary roleof the ISO/PC 242 working group,which is responsible for the initialdrafts of the future ISO 50001.The significance of this project in

terms of energy usage and effect(both economic and environmental)

on the sectors targeted will beconsiderable. Mr Pinero notes:‘The whole purpose of this standardis to help improve energy efficiencyand energy performance throughan emphasis on managing energyfor continuous improvement. Basedon broad applicability acrossnational economic sectors, thestandard could influence up to 60%of the world’s energy demand.‘Corporations, supply chain

partnerships, utilities, energyservice companies, and others areexpected to use ISO 50001 as a toolto reduce energy intensity andcarbon emissions in their ownfacilities, as well as those belongingto their customers or suppliers, andto benchmark their achievements.It will be up to the countries,sectors, and organisationsthemselves to provide specifictargets, but we do expect to lead toenhanced energy performancethrough the use of the standard.’The IEA-ISO position paper on

international standards to developand promote energy efficiencyand renewable energy sourcespoints out that energy-efficienttechnologies are being held backby a range of barriers such as alack of awareness and information,and divided incentives. But thisISO will facilitate rather thanrecommend. Mr Knopes explains:‘ISO 50001 won’t promote specificenergy-efficient technologies. Itwill state requirements for anenergy management system,not how it should be done, butwe expect that robust energymanagement will lead to betterenergy performance. Througha commitment from top manage-ment, ISO 50001 seeks tocreate a culture of greaterawareness and receptivity toenergy efficient operationsand technology.’�

Energymanagement requirementsregulationunder discussionA project committee has met for the first timeregarding the formation of ISO 50001, amanagement system standard being put togetherto facilitate efficient energy use and performance.LIS STEDMAN reviews the aims of ISO 50001 and theprogress being made.


BENCHMARKING

standable.However, it is important totake benefit of the existing PI systemslike the IWA proposal,which havebeen tested and refined over the years.The use of existing PI systems recog-nised as international references has theobvious added advantage of allowingcomparisons with other organisationsadopting the same platform.

Misuse of conceptsUsing the right words and the righttools for each problem is important.Adirect measure is not an indicator(length of pipes) and something thatcan be changed by a managementdecision is not part of the context.These basic notions,often forgotten,are well documented and easilyavailable in the IWA manual and in theISO 24500 standards.

Only best results welcomeUtility leaders are humanindividuals and tend to easily acceptgood results (even without sufficientproof),while failing to adequately reactto low performance.A commonresponse is to invest a lot of efforttrying to justify poor results instead ofconcentrating on the analysis ofpotential problems and counter-measures to improve.A fault-positiveculture in the utility is crucial foraccepting bad performance results as achance for improvement.

High short-term expectationsMeasuring the company or the sectorperformance will not provide auto-matically improved performance.Improvement measures often needsome time to make an impact on theperformance figures.Benchmarking isby definition a continuous process andits effectiveness cannot be evaluatedafter one period.Nevertheless, thereare many examples for immediatepositive response on startingperformance measurements,presumably due to the fact that intro-ducing performance thinking in acompany automatically drivesdecisions towards higher efficiency.

Current challenges inperformance assessmentDespite all the experiencegathered through these years(or perhaps due to the new possibilitiesdiscovered in that period) not every-thing is done in the measurement of

Performance assessment hasbeen one of the hottest topics

in the water industry for the pastdecade.The use of performanceindicators (PI) and benchmarkingtechniques has become a commonpractice during this period.Thereare many good reasons behind thissuccess.Water services are providedin a monopolistic environment,and in the absence of marketforces it is hard to find motivationfor efficiency.All the stakeholdersin the business have come torealize that by assessing theperformance of the services in asystematic way, utilities are drivento continually improve theirperformance with the consequen-tial benefits for all those involved.As the use of PI is generalized and

utilities and regulators rely more onthese techniques for their decisionmaking processes, they realize that thetools still need refining and that somework is still necessary to get the mostout of these performancemeasures.Five years ago,a project on performance

assessment of urban infrastructure serviceswas submitted to the European Unionunder the COST programme.TheCOSTAction C18 spanned for fouryears, bringing together over 50 expertsfrom 19 European countries to discussthe present and future of performanceassessment.This article presents theresults of those discussions.

The evolution ofperformance assessmentSince the 1990s,performance assessmenthas been playing an increasing role inthe water industry.Since the establish-ment of the economic regulator ofEngland andWales,Ofwat, the numberof initiatives using performancemeasures and comparison in the worldhas been increasing constantly.To date,performance assessment

usually starts with utilities or associationscollecting statistical data.They recog-nise the importance of assessing theutilities’performance,but the objectivesof these exercises are not always clear.If the results are positive, regional or

national metric benchmarking projectsof some sort are undertaken, competi-tiveness appears and the comparisonsbecome periodical.The best perform-ers are often urged to go abroad andcheck their performance with some

relevant international utilities.Once utilities realize that someone is

doing better in an area, they feel theneed to understand the reasons behindthat fact (so they can improve and reachat least a similar level).This leads toprocess benchmarking initiatives,which is the stage where many of thelongest running initiatives are now.In these 15 years of performance

assessment of water services, somelessons have been learnt.The followinglist includes some of the most typicalmisunderstandings that should beavoided when running a PI project.

Lack of engagement of theorganisation’s CEOPerformance Indicator systemsare useless if data are not reliable or ifresults achieved are not used to supportimprovement measures within theorganisation.Unless there is tangiblesupport from the top management ofthe organization,projects are doomedto fail.

Incorrect selection procedureThe procedure recommended by theInternationalWaterAssociation and inthe ISO 24500 standards for theimplementation of a PI system startswith the definition of objectives,followed by the establishment ofassessment criteria and only then bythe selection/definition ofperformance measures matching tothese objectives and criteria.This is notusually the case, and the selection ofindicators is in many cases inconsistent,unbalanced and not very useful.

Temptation of going from zero to a‘PI heaven’When an organisation starts to selectand implement performance indicators,there is typically the temptation thatevery aspect of the managementshould be covered. It is fundamentalto assure that a balanced solution isfound, and that the number ofindicators is kept as small as possible,so the cost of data collection,validation, archiving and processingcan be recovered.Temptation to reinvent the wheelMany organisations feel that they areunique and therefore will need todevelop their own performancemeasures and establish their own systems.This is partially positive and under-

Performance Indicators can be used to improve a utility’s efficiency through self assessment.HELENA ALEGRE, ENRIQUE CABRERA JR. and WOLF MERKEL discuss the results of COST Action C18, a project onperformance assessment of urban infrastructure services.

Current challenges in performance assessment of waterservices


BENCHMARKING

Finding the driving factorsWhen measuring performance,‘why’ isas important as ‘how much’.One of thekey aspects of making performanceassessment successful is to identify thedriving factors behind a certain level ofperformance, and whether thosefactors can be corrected or not.

Synthesising the resultsWhether they are to be presented to aboard of directors, the press or thegeneral public,performance assessmentresults often need to be simplified.However,both in metric benchmark-ing and in utilities’ self assessment ofperformance, the big picture usuallyfails to deliver some of the mostinteresting details, and it can even leadto misunderstandings and wrongconclusions.Providing a reliable andtransparent way of synthesizing theresults of the assessment is a problemthat still needs further development.

Applying the tool to small scale systemsA problem which is not limitedto performance assessment is how toapply best practices in the managementof services to small scale systems. In thecase of performance indicators, theavailable data in these systems is oftenscarce or unreliable.The resources arealso limited, increasing the difficulty ofimproving the situation.Finally, in suchsystems there are often impendingproblems of a greater importance.Howcan performance measurement systemsbecome useful in such systems?

Quantitative statistical models vs.qualitative assessmentsRegulators in the utilities’ sector havebeen using performance indicators fordecades.Many of them used approach-es in which a complex mathematicalmodel assesses comparative perfor-mance by establishing relationshipsbetween inputs and outputs or evaluat-ing efficiency.Such methods have theadvantage of being fair to all thoseinvolved (the assessment is the same foreveryone) but the disadvantage that adeep knowledge of the equationsdriving the model is needed to avoiderroneous conclusions.Whenever thisis not the case, the users do not trustand use the results, unless they ’lookgood in the picture’.The alternative might not be any

better. In other systems, the humanfactor is introduced to assess perfor-mance. Experts review the PI valuesand take into account context factorsto assess in a qualitative manner theperformance.Obviously,despite theprocess being totally transparent, suchperson can introduce bias in themethod which is strongly influencedby the experience and knowledge ofthe expert.

The challenge remains in howto achieve the advantages of bothmethods without facing thedisadvantages.

ConclusionsJudging from the growingnumber of initiatives worldwide,performance assessment has beenaccepted by the industry as a key toolto drive efficiency and best practices.The IWA has played a key role in thisdevelopment by creating the systemwhich is currently the worldwidereference, and by thoroughly dissemi-nating such practices.The publicationof the ISO 24500 standards will onlycontribute further in that direction.Action COST C18 was created four

years ago to try to take matters a littlefurther and determine future chal-lenges and research needs.From suchactivities, it is possible to say thatalthough the water industry has alreadybegun to actively use performanceassessment tools, important work is stillneeded to refine the practices in thoseprojects.This action demonstrated thatprinciples for establishing and imple-menting PI systems developed for thewater sector are sufficiently mature anduniversal to be adopted by other urbaninfrastructure services.The develop-ment of sector-focused PI systems,based on these generally acceptedprinciples, is a remaining challenge.An important part of that work has

to do with the need for simplificationof results.Analyzing the performanceof a utility is a complex task, and allattempts to simplify the results lead toan incomplete picture that may evenresult in wrong decisions being made.Until better methods and/or dataquality lead to more reliable results, amore complete picture of the assess-ment should always be available to gaina deeper understanding of the assessment.In the coming years, the increasing

number of national and regionalregulators, as well as the search for bestpractices by the industry,will producean increasing number of performanceassessment and benchmarking projects,and also an increase in the maturity ofsuch projects. It is quite likely that theneed to produce better results fromthose studies will also drive theimprovements still needed in theassessment methods.�

performance.Problems have evolvedand require new solutions.Below aresome of the most relevant challengespresently faced by the water industryregarding the assessment of performance.

Taking into account the data quality in thedecision making processPerformance measurement systems arealways the means to some sort ofdecision making process.Unfortunately,those decisions are often made basedon poor data.A performance indicatorfigure hardly ever shows how it wasobtained or where it came from.Even in the PI systems in which

some sort of data quality information isincluded, it is difficult to take suchinformation into the analysis stage ofthe results. In other words, it is difficultto determine whether a good indicatorvalue based on poor data should bebetter than an indicator below targetobtained from accurate data.How toincorporate data uncertainty into thedecision-making process is stilla challenge.

The authors:Helena Alegre, COST C18 ChairEmail: [email protected] Cabrera Jr., COST C18 Vice-ChairEmail: [email protected] Merkel, COST C18 Vice-ChairEmail: [email protected]

The road ahead – key research areas andfuture applicationsBased on the experience achieved, members of COST C18discussed which are the key research problems related to themanagement of urban water infrastructures, currently notcovered by on-going projects of the European FrameworkProgram. R&D topics recommended are:• Efficient management of small community systems• What makes a utility sustainable?• Common framework for capital maintenance suitable to

medium and small European communities• Performance assessment and decision support systems for

the urbansolid waste services

Relevant milestones in the application ofperformance indicators

• 1989 – OFWAT is established as the economic regulator of thewater services in England and Wales. A system of performanceindicators, including data quality assessment and auditing,is established.

• 1995 – The cities of Copenhagen, Oslo, Helsinki, Stockholm,Gothenburg and Malmo decide to start a comparison of theirperformance by using indicators. The project has evolvedthrough the years into new forms of benchmarking.

• 1998 – The Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA)starts publishing WSAA Facts (currently National PerformanceReports) including audited data from the major urban utilitiesin the country. WSAA starts running international processbenchmarking efforts in 2004.

• 2001 – A large metric benchmarking project in relationto the IWA field-test establishes the concept of voluntaryperformance assessment in German water supply. A firstmajor application of the IWA indicator system was a project inBavaria (Germany) with almost 100 small andmediumutilities.

• 2004 – Portuguese utilities begin reporting to the nationalregulator IRAR using a performance indicator system based inthe IWA proposal. The assessment does not includemathematical modelling and indicators are not only focusedon the user perception but include assessment of theoperators and of the environmental sustainability.


MANAGEMENT

Reducing non-revenue water (NRW)Losses in the municipal urban watersector are called non-revenue water(NRW),which is defined as thedifference between the amount ofwater put into supply and billedvolumes.Components of NRWinclude leakage, theft (illegalconnections), public hydrants andmeter inaccuracies. Jusco was able toreduce overall NRW from more than40% in 2005 to 11.5% in 2008.Sufficient water to serve the needs

of the peripheral areas has beenlegitimately created through the NRWreduction programme in the leaseareas.Reducing leaks and illegalconnections has resulted in potablewater savings of 23MLD from the2005 financial year to the 2008financial year.About 10,000 newconnections (covering a population ofaround 70,000) have been provided toconsumers in these peripheral areaswho were previously dependenton groundwater.This initiative has reduced exploita-

tion of groundwater by about 3.7billion litres per year. Implementationof a Geographic Information System(GIS) for utility mapping, leak detec-tion, customer complaint manage-ment and hydraulic modelling toestablish optimum water networkshave accelerated the efforts to reduceNRW.

Improving the customermanagement processesJusco has initiated a 24-7 customercare solution known as Jusco SahyogKendra (JSK) to address day-to-daycustomer complaints.This is the firstsystem of its kind at an Indian waterutility. Service level guarantees (SLGs)have been defined for each type of

Cities in developing nationsacross the world are growing

at an unprecedented rate.Over thepast three decades, the populationsof such cities have more thantrebled, resulting in an alarmingincrease in demand for potablewater.The situation inJamshedpur, as in the rest of India,is no different.Water systems inIndia are traditionally managed byULBs (Urban Local Bodies),whichare the third tier of governance.Over the years the ULBs haveadopted a supply-driven approachwith little demand-side manage-ment, which has resulted in highinfrastructure costs and hugeamounts of water wastage.This approach has sucked the ULBs

into the vicious‘low-service equilibrium’cycle of ‘low tariff – poor financialperformance – poor service – poorcollection – further poor services’.Political interventions, aimed at

protecting the interests of the loweststrata of society,produce unrealisticallylow tariffs that do not cover the cost ofservice, and often not even operationand maintenance costs.This leads to aninadequate quality of service anddissatisfaction amongst consumers,which brings about large-scalenon-payment of bills.Non-recovery ofcosts forces further under-performanceat the utility.Even the infrastructure isbuilt with state government subsidiesdue to intense political pressureto not burden consumers withconnection charges.Most new urban agglomerations

depend on groundwater,which isdepleting rapidly and is of doubtfulquality.Poor people rely on publichand pumps, community taps, tankers

or stolen water connections obtainedfrom the ‘water Mafia’ at exorbitantcost.These supplies are characterised bypoor availability,doubtful quality, and ahigh incidence of waterborne diseasesand fatalities.

Jamshedpur, Jharkhand – steel cityTheTata Steel lease area at Jamshedpur,serviced by the wholly-ownedsubsidiary Jusco,has over the yearsreceived a good quality potable waterservice for six to eight hours a day thatmeets all of the BIS (Bureau of IndianStandards)/WHO (World HealthOrganization) norms.Whileconsumers here enjoyed a goodservice, the water supply system wascharacterised by high consumptionpatterns of more than 250LPCD (litresper capita per day) in 2005 comparedto the national average of 135LPCD,high losses in the supply networkof more than 40% and a fixed,flattariff regime.However, residents in the periphery

(the unserved areas) of the lease areahave not been so privileged.Growthover the years has resulted in theconstruction of nearly 40,000 house-holds (a population of around 300,000)in these areas,which are not serviced asthese areas do not fall into Jusco’sservice area and there is no ULB inJamshedpur.These areas used todepend on groundwater for generaluse, and for potable purposes they usedto steal water from the Jusco networkor buy from unauthorised watervendors (who obtain water from Jusco’spublic hydrants).This meant there wassignificant unfulfilled latent demandfor quality piped drinking water there.Increasing pressure from the

residents of these peripheral areastriggered a series of innovations atJusco to provide a service withouttrapping the recipients in the ‘low-service equilibrium’cycle.The initiatives included reducing

losses (non-revenue water) and con-sumption in the served areas, improvingthe customer management process,exploring alternative sources of fundingfor new infrastructure and implementinga volumetric tariff regime.

Tata Steel subsidiary Jusco, which provides water services in the Indian city of Jamshedpur, has driven

GHOSH AND SIVARAM SISTLA report.

Improving water supply provision:The Jamshedpur corporate private partnershipwater management system

Reductions in Non-Revenue Water

down water losses to enable it to serve new households outside its service area. GS BASU, PRANAY SINHA, ARNAB


consumption patterns throughenhanced awareness of usage.Domesticconsumer metering is ongoing but hasnot yet been completed.

Corporate private partnershipThe residents of the peripheral areasapproached Jusco for a piped waterservice. Jusco neither had a mandatefrom government,nor the waternetwork infrastructure to cater to therequests.An innovative model knownas a corporate private partnership(CPP) was initiated, in which thecorporate body collaborated with thepublic and they jointly addressed thewater service-related requests.This is a unique approach, the first

time it has been attempted by anyIndian utility, in which the communityshared the water network developmentcosts and permission to lay a waternetwork was also organised by thecommunity. Jusco made the initialinvestment in the water infrastructure,with the costs subsequently recoveredfrom consumers (these were sometimesas high as Rs12,500 ($262) per connec-tion). Provision for payment in install-ments was made for those who couldnot afford this cost.The residents havebeen educated in the advantages of theapproach,which has led to positiverecommendations that have warded offpolitical pressures.Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOUs) have beensigned with the representatives of theseareas to enable the service to be provid-ed by Jusco.The initiative could well have failed,

since nothing like this had ever beentried before and water is considered as a‘birthright’ that should be provided freeby the service provider.However,wellthought through and boldinterventions ensured the successof the initiative. Jusco proved success-

fully that water can be a profitablebusiness provided a good qualityservice is ensured.

Creating opportunityThere was an overwhelming responseto this initiative from management aswell as the community.This innovationhas enabled the creation of newavenues for business developmentwithin Jamshedpur as well as furtherafield.Several agencies including theWorld Bank and theAsianDevelopment Bank (ADB) haverecognised Jusco for this initiative.

Potential impacts of the initiativeThe first is economic: the project couldgenerate around Rs12 million($250,301) in revenue per annum fromapproximately 10,000 connections.Theprojected connections in unservedareas are predicted to rise to 40,000over the coming years.The second is environmental: around

3.7 billion litres of groundwater havebeen conserved (10.1MLD),protectingthe aquifers.The third impact is social –consumers are getting clean and safedrinking water at a marginal cost andwith a reliable service.Governmentresponsibility is also fulfilled at no costto them.

Insights derived from the initiativeIf customers get a reliable service at anaffordable price, they are willing to paythe infrastructure and service costs.TheCPP model can be a solution to theurban water service problems plaguingthe country, and the results have alsoshown that a metered tariff regimedrives water conservation.A sense ofownership is more prominent giventhis kind of business model,whichhelps to foster better management ofthe operation and maintenance of theinfrastructure and water services. Ifmicrofinance can be organised forpotential customers, the success ratecan be improved.�

References:World Bank reportsBench marking utilities –WSP reportCrisil ReportsJusco corporate balance score cardJuscoTPM reportsJusco internal assessment reportsCPP Forum

complaint and compliance with theseis over 90%.Jusco’s water service also has a

state-of-the-art NationalAccreditationBoard forTesting and CalibrationStudies (NABL) (ISO 17025)accredited laboratory, the first suchfacility within an Indian water utility.This has generated improved customerconfidence in the quality of the water,which is now available straight fromthe tap.These service and qualityimprovements have helped Jusco toinitially enhance the flat regime tariff(from Rs75 ($1.59) to Rs120 ($2.54)per month) to meet operation andmaintenance costs without significantcustomer protest.

Improving demand side managementA volumetric telescopic tariff regime(including a ‘sustenance’ tariff rate forthe first 10,000 litres/month ofconsumption) has been implementedto drive lower consumption andconservation.This has also enabledcross-subsidisation between differentconsumer segments (commercial,institutional, domestic and industrial)and,within domestic segments,between different economic strata.Metering has been introduced at allmajor locations,which has improved

MANAGEMENT

Authors:GS Basu,General Manager, watermanagement, JuscoPranay Sinha, Chief, watermanagement, JuscoArnab Ghosh, Head of projects, JuscoSivaram Sistla, Chief, watermanagement, Jusco

Improving servicedelivery

Volumetric tariff

Reduction of lossesin served areas


STATISTICS

a normalised consumption of200m3/year and expressed in USdollars) and key figures for servicesprovided can be accessed for utilitiesaround the world,both in terms of acountry in general and the main citieswithin that country.When information from previous

leaflets is compared, it may even bepossible to observe trends over time,giving due consideration to thedouble-digit fluctuations in theexchange rate against the US dollarover time and across regions.Prices,however,do not necessarily

provide a true comparison of the fullcosts of providing water services,because some costs may be recoveredfrom sources other than the customer.The SG’sTask Force on Statistics

focuses its activities on developing thisleaflet, benefiting from the voluntarywork of its members and helped by theIWA’s structures.Collecting datainvolves contacting nationalorganisations, regulators and utilitiesacross all five of the world’s continentsby email, and sending a well-devisedquestionnaire that asks for data forboth a country in general and the fivemain cities within it.

Gathering dataThe last survey began in late 2007 andobtained over 30 answers,which havebeen processed and provided resultsthat were converted into tables andgraphs about:• the annual bill for water services(200m3/year referred to andexpressed within the componentvalues) as of December 2007:

• abstracted annual volumes(disaggregated according to sources)

• delivered annual volumes(distinguishing households andsmall businesses from industrial andother consumers) and servicecoverage rate

• abstracted volumes per capitaper year

• the gap between abstracted anddelivered volumes

• specific water consumption percapita per day

• the connection between drinkingwater charge and GDP (to give anidea of the affordability of thewater charges)

All volumetric data were checked ascalculated in December 2006.

Expanding the surveyIt needs to be emphasised thatunfortunately, and notwithstanding

Literature and practice emphasisethe need for water prices to be

based on both ‘economic andenvironmental efficiency’ and‘broad (social) equity’ goals, andstress the desirability of consumption-based pricing that improvespricing signals in order to movetowards sustainable use of anatural resource.The growing world population have

boosted the number of world citieswith populations in excess of fivemillion residents (so-called megacities).During the past 50 years the numberhas more than quadrupled, and in thenext seven years it is expected todouble again.The challenges and opportunities

associated with urban water shortages(normally given only minimalconsideration by local governments) onthe one hand, and increasing energyproduction and agricultural waterdemand on the other,make it necessaryto rethink urban water management.In addition, achieving the targets

defined in 2000 by the UNMillennium and JohannesburgSummits will require enormousamounts of finance and fundamentalreforms to water governance, in acontext where involving private capitalis the key opportunity for governmentsto alleviate the ever-increasing burdenof public finance,particularly wheredeveloping countries are concerned.

Developing a strategyApproaching the economic evaluationof practicable future strategies that mayenable faster water business change andtherefore the ability to decide today onthe shape of the future is the keychallenge for water utilities’ topmanagement.The more managementcan achieve an economic balancebetween meeting customerrequirements and investors’expectations of reward, the morecompetitive their business will be.Such a mission requires the

definition and adoption of strategiesthat adequately meet shareholders’economic expectations or, in otherterms, can ‘create economic value’ forthem,while improving businessperformance and increasing the levelof service provided.According to the IWAReference

Paper on sustainable cost recovery, a

water services undertaking needs toachieve and maintain a specifiedstandard of service,both for present andfuture generations, either throughaffordable water charges, as is often thecase in developed countries,or througha combination of water chargesand targeted, reliable, long-termgovernment subsidies, as is the casein many developing countries.Given that water policies cannot

be effective and compliant with thisgoal without a clear breakdown ofresponsibilities between publicauthorities, service operators andfinancing organisations,being wellinformed about the latest internationalwater data allows utilities to preservegood governance and managementschemes and gives the water sector aproper, functioning framework.

IWA Statistics and EconomicsSpecialist GroupTo help achieve this, the IWA Statisticsand Economics Specialist Group (SG)is keen to provide a forum whereprofessionals and academics can debatehow utilities are financed, their variouswater tariffs structured andperformance measured.Among its institutional activities, the

Group has a particular focus on sharinginformation, experience and funda-mental and practical issues relating tocurrent pricing and funding practicesthat water utilities need to consider aseconomic and responsible behaviour.This September the Group finalised

and presented at the IWAWorldWaterCongress inVienna the latest revisionof its leaflet on international statisticsfor water services.Based on detailedsurveys, this covers the entire watercycle from drinking water to waste-water treatment,providing figures fortariffs, abstraction and consumptionaround the world.Thanks to the cooperation of a panel

of water professionals from utilities,national organisations and universities,who take the responsibility forproviding data, the SG’sTask Force onStatistics is able to update this leafletevery two years.This has always beenpresented both at the biennial IWAWorldWater Congress and to the IWAcommunity via its website (which canbe accessed by logging onto the SG’sweb page at www.iwahq.org).Domestic water charges (analysed for

Statistical information is critical to water utilities.DR RENATO PARENA looks at the latest work from theIWA Statistics and Economics Specialist Group.

International statistics for water services:the information every water manager should know


double-digit depreciation both againstthe Euro and in general against all theother currencies of the cities surveyed.The 2007 survey shows that more

than 40% of total water abstractioncame from groundwater in 40% of thecountries surveyed and from surfacewater in 50%,whereas in 2005,47%of water abstracted came from ground-water in the surveyed countries and27% from surface waters. Such amovement from ground to surfacewaters seems suggestive,on the onehand,of strong action against pollutionand closer attention to water qualityimprovement,but from the serviceabilityperspective, the increase in vulnerabilityto climate change seems evident.It is also possible that such a change

in the relationship between the waterindustry and the environment, and theassociated major expenditure, couldexplain the increase in water charges.Populations in the countries

surveyed ranged from 1.2 millioninhabitants (in Mauritius,where nearly100M.m3 of water was delivered in2006) to over 128 million inhabitants(in Japan,where nearly 14B.m3 wasdelivered in the same year).Potablewater supply coverage in all thecountries surveyed ranged from 90%to 100% of the population, except inSerbia,Romania,Malawi andLithuania,where the coverage ratio wasaround 70%.Sewer and wastewatertreatment minimum connection ratioswere found in Brazil (where 39% of thepopulation had a sewer connection)and in Serbia (where 25% of thepopulation has a wastewater connec-tion) while the maximum ratios werein Singapore andThe Netherlands(between 99% and 100% for both typesof connection).Comparing the results from the last

two leaflets and the relations betweenwater abstraction and delivery,verypoor elasticity of domestic waterdemand can be observed,notwith-standing the increased charges.

Drinking charges and wealthRelating drinking water charges to theGross Domestic Product (GDP) of acountry can give a macro idea of howwater charges could be related toaverage domestic wealth, allowing a

preliminary approach to watercharging affordability to be drafted.GDP is the standard measure of theincome generated by productiveactivity, so total GDP is normally usedas an indicator of the size of a country’seconomy,while per capita GDP is abroad indicator of economicliving standards.Relating the national GDP to the

national average charge for 200m3 ofdrinking water in the countriesstudied,via a linear regression model,shows at a first glance a considerabledegree of affordability and arelationship between the two variablesthat is the correlation measured by thecoefficient R2 at around 49% (whichexpresses, in percentages,how thefluctuation of the independentvariable,‘water charges’,may influencethe overall variability of the dependentvariable,‘affordability’).In order to better depict the water

policy frameworks that utilities have tooperate within, and to enable utilitiesto be well-informed about currentinternational water data so that goodgovernance and management schemescan be maintained at their best, theSpecialist Group on Statistics andEconomics undertook anothersurvey of water regulation in Europe(summarised inWUMI,October 2006)that may add more information to thatprovided in the leaflet.Some key issues can be derived from

both of the above studies.Waterresource issues are undoubtedlycomplex, even transcending the watersector itself, and macro-economicdevelopment,population growth andother demographic changes havegreater impacts on water demand thanwater policies do. It is therefore of theutmost importance for water profes-sionals to increase their understandingof the broader social, economic andpolitical context that they operate in,and politicians and other key decision-makers need to be better informedabout water resource issues,otherwisewater will risk being an area for politi-cal rhetoric and promises rather thanimplementation of the actions that areneeded.The International Statistics for

Water Services 2008 leaflet can bedownloaded from the reports anddocuments section of the Statistics andEconomics Specialist Group webpageat www.iwahq.org.�

the successful welcome the survey hasbeen given so far, it has proved difficultto increase the number of respondentcountries,which prevents the IWAcommunity from periodically updat-ing important information and com-parisons in an international context.For this reason, this article not only

aims to offer water professionals andinterested stakeholders who wereunable to attend the Congress anopportunity to understand whathappens behind closed doors, but alsoto invite them to visit the SG’s webpage and actively cooperate inmaintaining, and hopefully enhancing,the high value of the statisticalinformation provided.

2007 surveyData from the survey shows that in2007, consuming 200m3 of water inGeneva,Switzerland,mean payingnearly $625 for potable water, a figurethat increased to nearly $930 whensewerage,wastewater treatment andtaxes are taken into consideration. Inthe same year, for the same amountconsumed, the most expensive waterbill was paid inAarhus,Denmark –close to $1425 (nearly $347 for potablewater and close to $1078 for sanitationand taxes).At the other end of the scale, in the

city of Blantyre,Malawi, consuming200m3 of potable water meant payingaround $3 and in the city ofJohannesburg,SouthAfrica, close to$50, as in both cases sanitation andtaxes are not charged.In ten cities the annual global price

for water services (200m3 normalised)was more than $1000 (in 2005 only sixcities had prices at or above this level);in 77 cities the price ranged from $500to $1000 (up from 40 cities in 2005);52 cities had prices of between $100and $500 (up from 49 cities in 2005)and seven cities had prices below $100per year (the same number as in 2005).On average,drinking water charges

represented nearly 39% of the waterbill while nearly 38% was attributed tosewerage,nearly 7% to wastewatertreatment and nearly 15% to taxes andother charges.This seems to suggest a general

two-year growth in prices (which atfirst glance appears more acute forsanitation than for drinking water),though it needs to remembered thateven if expressing prices in a uniformcurrency allows information to becompared,when comparisons coverdifferent periods,movements in theexchange rate due to the depreciationof the common currency may enhanceor depress the gap observed over thetime period involved.This is particularly true of the US

dollar,which has recently suffered a

STATISTICS

The author:Dr Renato Parena is CFO of SMA TorinoSpa, Italy, Chairman of the IWASpecialist Group on Statistics andEconomics, and a Member of the IWAStrategic Council.


SAFETY

ThePhilippines pilots water safety plans

With water quality that meetsregulatory standards for

human health, consumers in thePhilippines can now be sure thattheir tap water is safe to drink.Thisimproved consumer confidence isthe result of a water safety plan.Water safety planning, an effective

means of maintaining a safe supply ofdrinking water to the public,wasintroduced in the Philippines in 2006by theWorld Health Organization(WHO) and the Department of Health(DOH) with funding support fromAusAID.MayniladWater Services wasselected for pilot implementation ofwater safety planning.The main objectives of a water

safety plan are the prevention ofcontamination of water sources,prevention or removal ofcontamination during treatmentand prevention of contaminationduring storage and distribution.A water safety plan is a tool for

assessing and managing risks through-out the water supply system fromcatchment to consumer.To preventdisease outbreaks and protect publichealth, a water safety plan follows thehazard analysis and critical controlpoints (HACCP) method, a systematicapplication of good practices for theproduction of safe water.HACCP anticipates problems and

designs the correct preventivesolutions.With water safety plans, thereduced incidence of drinking water-transmitted disease outbreaks couldgenerate socio-economic benefits.As a risk assessment and management

tool,a water safety plan ensures thedelivery of safe drinking water toconsumers. It identifies hazards that thewater supply is exposed to and the levelof risk associated with each;how eachhazard is to be controlled and prevent-ed; how the means of control andprevention will be monitored;how theoperator can tell if control has been lost;what actions are required to restorecontrol; and how the effectiveness ofthe whole system can be verified.

Improving services and safeguardingpublic healthMaynilad,which supplies water toabout 6.2 million people in MetroManila and Cavite province,was thefirst water utility in the Philippines tobe trained in water safety planning.

Managers and technical staff of theutility were given orientation on thenewWHO guidelines on drinkingwater quality,of which water safetyplanning forms a part.The trainees dida thorough assessment of the watersupply process from water source to theconsumers’ taps, identifying hazardsand risks along the way and whatactions to take with regards to these.After the training,Maynilad formed

a water safety plan team representingtask forces for water sources,watertreatment, groundwater anddistribution.WHO and DOHreviewed the water safety plan thatwas produced by the team.Next to be trained byWHO and

DOH in water safety planning was theLocalWater UtilitiesAdministration(LWUA),which works with 446 waterdistricts.The main water serviceproviders in the provinces, the waterdistricts collectively serve 15 millionpeople across the Philippines.Waterdistricts that will implement watersafety plans are likely to improve theiroperations and provide safe drinkingwater to a significant number of people.LWUA is taking the first steps in

making water safety planning a part ofits training package.The water safetyplan concept is now also beingendorsed by the PhilippineAssociation ofWater Districts.The Maynilad water safety plan now

serves as a useful document, accordingto Environmental ManagementDepartment managerAnnie Calderero.When turbidity at one of the dams

exceeded the limit, the Maynilad watersafety plan,which stipulates what to doin such a situation,was followed,including hourly monitoring, immedi-ate relaying of information, responsetime and corrective action.

Protecting public healthPreventive risk-management approachto the supply of drinking water is themost reliable way to protect publichealth. In a comprehensive water safetyplan,water suppliers and healthauthorities have plans that include clearguidance on when to issue warnings toconsumers, and how these warnings areto be communicated in the case ofwater contamination and diseaseoutbreaks.The integrated nature ofwater safety planning’s prevention-based approach to managing water

supplies safeguards public health.The Philippine National Standard

for DrinkingWater has included asection on water safety planning.Allwater providers, including waterrefilling stations, are now encouragedto have water safety plans.DOH and the local government

require water refilling stations to havea sanitary permit before they canoperate as a business entity.To obtain asanitary permit, the owner and opera-tor of a water refilling station arerequired to attend a five-day trainingcourse that includes HACCP,a basicpart of water safety planning.EngineerJoselito Riego de Dios, the ChiefHealth Program Officer and officer-in-charge of the water and sanitationdivision of the DOH’s NationalCenter for Disease Prevention andControl’s Environmental andOccupational Health office, says:‘Before it can operate its business, awater refilling station in theCalabarzon region is now required tosubmit its HACCP programme.’DOH has developed and made

operational a policy on drinking waterquality standards and is providingtechnical assistance to barangay(village) and municipal (town) localgovernments for its enforcement.‘DOH is working to make water safetyplanning a policy involving certifica-tion, monitoring, and performanceaudit,’ engineer Riego de Dios adds.During relevant national and local

conferences,DOH (www.doh.gov.ph)tackles the new edition of theWHOGuidelines on drinking water quality,which includes the water safetyplan framework.Some water utilities in the

Philippines are starting work on watersafety plans.The PhilippineWaterWorksAssociation,with technicalsupport fromWHO and DOH, isconducting training on water safetyplanning for the Ilocos Norte waterdistrict.This will be followed bysimilar training for the water districtsofAngeles city and Davao city.LWUA is encouraging water

districts to undertake water safetyplanning – indeed, the Calamba waterdistrict will soon be financing thedevelopment and implementation ofits own water safety plan.Water safetyplanning is also now being taught tostudents of Masters degrees inengineering at the University ofthe Philippines NationalEngineering Center.

Needs and challengesAccess to safe drinking water is a basichuman right,necessary to sustain agood quality of life.Water safety

Water safety plans have been piloted in thePhilippines and look set to take off across thecountry. LYN N CAPISTRANO looks at progress to date,and the issues addressed.


CUSTOMER SERVICE

The author:Lyn N Capistrano, Philippine Center forWater Sanitation.

Putting thecustomer first

WessexWater,which servesover 2.5 million customers

in the south-west of England, hasan enviable reputation for customerservice that has been underlined bya number of top awards.The company is regularly at the top

of the list of water service companiesfor its quality of telephone call han-dling performance, according to thelevels of service data of economicregulator Ofwat.Sue Lindsay, thecompany’s head of consumer affairs,says:‘Customer service is very impor-tant toWessexWater.We have workedvery hard to become a service businessthat delivers what its customers want.’She adds:‘This ethos is ingrained

across the business – a culture ofdelivering excellent service.We reallydo want this, from the top to the guyson the ground.We are a small localcompany and we are proud to be closeto the local community. [ColinSkellett], our executive chairman for20 years is committed to puttingcustomers first, so this approach hascascaded through the company.’Mr Skellett’s commitment of putting

customers first means the wholebusiness ethos follows,Ms Lindsayexplains.For instance, the companyundertakes a great deal of workobtaining customer feedback, and has acustomer non-executive director aswell as a sustainability non-executivedirector on the board, so the customervoice is a key part of the executive.The company also has two customer

liaison panels that meet two or threetimes a year and consist of customerrepresentatives with the customernon-executive director as chair.‘Wereally do listen to what they bring tous,’Ms Lindsay stresses.‘Customer research includes regular

satisfaction surveys,which are carriedout with customers who havecontacted us,whether it is a singlecall to pay a bill or a more complexoperational contact.An annual imagetracking survey is also carried out with

customers in our region many of whohave not contacted us, to ensure a widerange of views is captured.’For those who have made contact,

Ms Lindsay explains:‘We look at theend to end process, starting with theperson that answered the phone andfinishing with the guy driving off fromsite.’The company’s record is under-lined by the fact that last year researchshowed that 98% of its customersthought it was good or very good.She notes that the company wants to

deliver excellent customer service all ofthe time, and to make the customer’sjourney ‘as good as it can be – we wantto delight as much as possible,’ she says.Pragmatically, though, she notes thatthe company accepts that sometimesthings do go wrong,no-one isinfallible.‘We ask for both positive andnegative feedback, and encourage this.Where we do get things wrong we fixthem as soon as possible.We have gotan excellent compensation package –theWessex promise is one of the best inthe industry.We like to be the best – wedo more than is required and providemore compensation than is required,on a no-quibble basis.We apologise,rectify and compensate.’Ms Lindsayadds:‘What we aspire to is what makesus and other top performers different.’This approach will stand the

company in good stead for the changesthat are due to take place – Ofwat is tomeasure customer metrics somewhatdifferently going forward, changing thefocus of some of the performanceindicators in the Overall PerformanceAssessment from measures of speed ofresponse, for instance, to focus more onthe customer experience.The new system,which is still in the

early stages of development,will lookat such issues as how many avoidablecomplaints a company has received, forexample,which is a more accuratemeasure of failure to meet customerexpectations.This is very much in linewithWessexWater’s approach.‘Theidea is that you may reply to your

Wessex Water has implemented several schemes tomaintain and improve its customer service approach.LIS STEDMAN speaks to the company about generatingcustomer satisfaction.

planning prevents disease outbreaks,which have negative implications forhuman health and development.Unsafe drinking water is a humandevelopment challenge for a vulnera-ble country like the Philippines.The usefulness of a drinking water

safety plan needs to be widely commu-nicated to the general public, as well asto regulators,national governmentagencies, local governments and civilsociety organisations in order to beappreciated.Public awareness, to fostera better understanding of water safetyplans, is particularly needed becausethere are various types of water serviceprovider in the Philippines.Given theintegrated nature of water safetyplanning, the active cooperation of allstakeholders involved in managingwater supplies is necessary.Water utilities and service providers

will need manuals that provide practi-cal guidance on how to undertake andimplement a water safety plan.Suchmanuals will complement training oncapacity building for water safetyplanning and encourage its widerimplementation to more waterproviders.As training in water safetyplanning gets under way for urbanwater utilities, the need to developprototype localised training andeducational materials for use in ruralcommunity settings is recognised.Another challenge is convincing

policymakers to scale up water safetyplan implementation.Research on thecost-benefits of water safety planningfor urban water utilities could be usedto advocate their use.The lack of fundsfor investing in improved water supplyservices, and the production of relevantinformation materials in the locallanguage and context to ensure watersafety plan implementation, alsoremain as challenges.For the government, the key chal-

lenge is monitoring and evaluation ofwater safety plans as well as the need toensure the benefits of water safetyplanning under its regulations.Despite the needs and challenges,

the water safety plan pilot project inthe Philippines has showed thatcooperation among stakeholders, alongwith the high level of expertise inwater and sanitation at DOH,Maynilad and LWUA,has been able tomove the process forward.Water safetyplanning is within the drinking watersafety framework of the SanitationCode of the Philippines and thecountry’s CleanWaterAct.Withadequate funding and technicalsupport, the future of water safetyplanning and implementation in thePhilippines looks bright.�

SAFETY


CUSTOMER SERVICE

complaints within the allowed numberof days,but you shouldn’t be gettingthem,’ explains Ms Lindsay.WessexWater’s call centre work has

been recognised for its excellence notonly by Ofwat in its DG9 quality oftelephone call handling performancesurvey but through external awards.‘We have come top of the water servicecompanies in every Ofwat DG9 surveyso far and we believe it is our approachto telephone answering that makes thedifference.’One key difference is that the

company is firmly committed to ‘warmvoice’ telephone answering, she adds:‘We don’t have a ‘push one and two’automated service.We have a fewdedicated 24 hour lines for leaflets andpayments, but if you ring the mainnumber you are answered by a localperson who is in touch with local issuesand can understand and sympathise.There are cheaper ways – such asoffshore call centres or automation,butwe have said absolutely not.We thinkthat’s what has led to customers votingus first.’The satisfaction surveys consistently

praise the company’s telephoneanswering performance,whichseparates it from many of the othermajor companies – not only utilities –in the UK.Ms Lindsay also emphasisesthe importance of staff retention inmaintaining this impressive trackrecord.‘We use agents that are very welltrained, and we keep them for a longtime.We have a stable group of people,so experience can build.’Not surpris-ingly she adds:‘We see the call centre asthe door into the business.The firstperson you speak to as a customer is thecall centre and the service has to meetthat challenge.’With operational calls,where a

company representative may have tovisit a property, it is important to ensurethe times of visits meet customerexpectations, that standards of conductare high and that the companycommunicates effectively and keeps thecustomer informed, she explains.‘It’s anethos we spend a lot of time trying tobuild into the workforce.’

AffordabilityAffordability, another critical area ofcustomer care,has won the company akey magazine industry award forcustomer care due to its tariff forcustomer in financial difficulty.Thecompany has also won a prestigiousBest CreditorAward from theCitizen’sAdvice Bureau (CAB) – ‘theirequivalent of an Oscar,’Ms Lindsayexplains.The company is also uniqueamong the water utilities in winning aQueen’sAward for Enterprise,something it is very proud of.‘Our approach to debt collection is

that there are generally two types ofcustomers – there are those who canpay their bills but for some reason donot want to, and we try to take a fairlytough line with those people.But thereis another group that simply cannotafford to pay.For these customers infinancial difficulty we have come upwith a range of schemes to help themget back on track supported by verysuccessful partnership working withCitizensAdvice Bureaux in our region.We work very closely with them.Wefund CABs across our patch – we putin £250,000 ($392,131) each year indirect funding for the provision of debtadvice for customers,’ says Ms Lindsay.WessexWater flags up this service

with customers that are experiencingdifficulties,‘because we believe thatthe CAB is best placed and has theexperience to offer independent adviceand assess ability to pay.When a cus-

tomer phones a creditor, they may saywhat they think the creditor wants tohear.The CAB offer an independentdebt assessment providing holistic debtadvice.They can maximise income aswell – often people are not getting thebenefits to which they are entitled.Then they will come up with sustain-able payment plans for creditors.Webelieve it is a better approach.’WessexWater itself offers a variety of

schemes – Restart and Restart Plus aretwo year schemes for those already indebt, to help them get back on track.The company writes off an equivalentamount of debt in the first year to thatwhich the customer pays. In the second

year the customer continues to pay andthe remaining debt is then written-off.The important thing with thisapproach is that the process engagesthe customer and forms a habit ofpayment ensuring the customer isback on track after the two years – ithas also been hugely successful,MsLindsay reports.The much-praised newAssist tariff

was introduced in recognition of thefact that some customers simplycannot afford to pay their bills.‘If acustomer goes to the CAB and is onone of the main means-tested benefits,and the CAB believe they cannotafford to pay their current bill thenthey can be put forward for theAssisttariff.This is first tariff to be based onthe ability to pay.’This tariff wasimportant to winning the industryaward, the Queen’sAward and theCAB accolade.WessexWater also keeps an eye on

other companies’ customer serviceefforts in its efforts to remain at the top– benchmarking, in various forms.‘Wedo benchmark against other watercompanies – we like to be offering thebest there is.We also ask our customerswithin the surveys how they rate usagainst other utilities, and a lot of thetime they say we’re much better.’The company has undertaken a

‘huge amount’of research in thebuild-up to the draft of the next fiveyear business plan (AMP 5), askingcustomers which company brands theyadmire and why, and has led discussionsabout where its customers want thecompany to be – all of the companieshave had to produce 25-year visionstatements on this topic so thecustomer work has contributedsignificantly to this.‘We asked our customers what their

aspirations were for us, as I wouldimagine a lot of the other companieswill have done,’Ms Lindsay says.Thereis also another significant potentialfuture benefit to focusing intensely oncustomers.‘If competition does openup – and we’re clear that if it doesthen it needs to be for the benefitof customers – we want to be in aposition where if customers wereasked they would pickWessexWater.’The company is working extensivelywith Ofwat on preparatory worksuch as accounting separation –how to separate out the retail businessso that it is more in tune withits customers.Of course, it is early days in terms

of even thinking about universalcompetition.ButWessexWater’sfocused engagement with thecommunity that it serves isundoubtedly standing it in goodstead not only for its presentchallenges but for the future as well. �

‘There are cheaper ways – such as offshorecall centres or automation, but we have saidabsolutely not. We think that’s what has led to

customers voting us first.’Sue Lindsay

Collecting theCitizens AdviceBureau socialpolicy oscar award(Sue Lindsay farleft).Credit: WessexWater


SECURITY

Exporting Israel’s water security expertise

Whitewater Security, asubsidiary of theWhitewater

Technology Group, has introducedto the market a comprehensivesecurity solution for water utilitiesand municipalities. Its uniqueselling point is that it combines inone package the various disparateaspects of security rather thantreating them as separate issues.The company’s approach differs

from other offerings in combining anindividually tailored security plan withthe latest tools and expert training toenable water authorities to take fullcontrol of all aspects of their watersystems.Whitewater Security recentlyexhibited its offerings at the giantWeftec show in Chicago, attracting agreat deal of interest.Its security system is founded on an

in-depth needs analysis and coversacross-the-board water crisis manage-ment including protection,monitoringand contamination detection.Designedand implemented by security specialists,theWhitewater solution aims toprotect against either deliberate oraccidental contamination,minimiseinfrastructure vulnerability and ensurea continuous supply of safe water.The customisable tri-phase solution

involves a thorough assessment ofvulnerability,development of aspecially tailored security programme,implementation and support.Theend-to-end offering incorporates abroad range of components thatinclude area mapping, supervisorycontrol and data acquisition (SCADA)control, a decision support system,physical security monitoring and crisismanagement procedures.Company CEO Dovev Levinson

explains:‘There are a range of threats towater systems,which are usuallyapproached like islands – there is aphysical solution island, a monitoringsystems island, and a consultancyservices island.Each island can onlyprovide a partial solution to a particularproblem.Our solution integrates theislands into a comprehensive solution.’Water protection experience

Israel-basedWhitewater integratesadvanced technologies from both the

security and water fields to delivereffective,unified strategies,he adds. Itoffers a real-time,online solution thatintegrates seamlessly with SCADAsystems.Whitewater’s technologies takeadvantage of the military experiencewithin its specialist team,which has adeep understanding of the seriousthreats in today’s world.The companyalso works closely with Israel’s nationalwater utility,Mekorot,which hasdecades of experience in protectingwater quality.Mr Levinson notes:‘This is the first

time that Israel has exported its knowl-edge, expertise and technology in thefield of water security.Our approach isbased on integrating physical securityelements such as monitoring systemswith information from external

systems such as customer complaints.’Whitewater Security’s continuously

updated solutions protect againstoperational error and can providecrucial assistance to municipalities inthe aftermath of natural disasterssuch as earthquakes and storms aswell as deliberate acts.Warning ofcontamination, the solution is claimedto reduce both health risks and thecosts associated with contaminationof water supply systems, fromwhatever cause.

Decision support systemKey to the solution is its decisionsupport system (DSS),whichWhitewater developed with high-techengineering academyTechnion.TheDSS is able to detect direction of flowin a water network,which enables it toassess the correct decision in the eventof a contamination event – assessinghow much time the contaminationwould take to reach any particularpoint and what actions should be taken

in any instance, such as the opening orclosure of particular valves.The system processes receive input

from a wide variety of sources,including public information,physicalsecurity and water quality monitoringsensors, as well as the external systemsand data mentioned above viaWhitewater’s specially-designed watersecurity SCADA.This evaluates the information it

receives and when it recognises acredible threat it alerts and triggersaction.Mr Levinson explains:‘Thewater security SCADA includes theDSS, and is able to provide a totalwater security solution.’Operators can monitor the processes

and view videos, tables, graphs,Geographic Information System(GIS), short message service (SMS),email and network decisions.Intelligent corrective action can betaken rapidly, either automatically ormanually,using information from thesystem including data derived fromthe DSS.In actual crisis situations,pop-up

windows provide instructions aboutprocedures to control and manage theevent.The real-time,online systemenables authorities to quickly grasp,control, and manage all eventsthroughout the water supply chain –including the pinpoint monitoring ofspecific locations within cities.There are other elements of the

system that are not connected to theDSS or SCADA – the company workswith experts in intelligence across a

Israel-based company Whitewater Technology offers awhole-system security package for utilities, protectingthe water supply and providing management in theevent of an emergency. LIS STEDMAN explains how thissecurity solution works.

‘When you are talking about water security,both intentional and unintentional, terrorismmight be more frightening but accidental

contamination is much, much more common.’Dovev Levinson


About Whitewater

The Whitewater Technology Group was founded in 2006 by OriYogev and Hana Gertler, and focuses on solutions to the growingglobal water crisis. Whitewater’s efforts to meet the needs of thewater industry have already borne fruit, as can be seen by earlysales in the US, recognition by the EPA and certification of anumber of its products.

Whitewater Security also aids municipalities in the US, Europeand other developed nations by sharing its expertise in areasincluding security programme development, utility measurementand self-assessment, monitoring and identifying contaminants,sensor improvement and early warning detection, analysis of pipetransfer of water contaminants, risk evaluation of contaminateddrinking water, water utility operation, strategy development andplanning for emergency backup and crisis situations.

Among Whitewater’s offerings are rapid, sensitive bioassaysdeveloped by CheckLight. These sophisticated solutions usenon-pathogenic luminous marine bacteria as sensors in themonitoring of water quality.

The company sees its mission as ensuring an ongoing andefficient supply of clean, safe, high-quality water by creating a‘technological powerhouse’ to develop new concepts, models andsystems – and ongoing delivery of advanced water technologies tomunicipalities in the western world. To this end Whitewateridentifies, nurtures, invests in and acquires selected highpotential, cutting-edge water technology companies in Israel.

DEVELOPMENT

TheAustrian DevelopmentCooperation (ADC) has

supported the countries of southeastern Europe since 1994. Fromthe foundation of the AustrianDevelopment Agency (ADA),which is the ADC’s operationalunit and competence centre,ADA has been responsible forimplementing projects andprogrammes as well asadministering their budgets.Kommunalkredit Public Consulting

(KPC) has been theADC’s consultantsince 1994, and is responsible foridentifying and monitoring over 100projects and programmes in the watersupply and sanitation fields in southeastern Europe.ADC’s main goals are to reduce

global poverty, safeguard peace andsecurity, and preserve the environment.South eastern Europe has madeconsiderable progress in economictransformation and democratisation,but is still politically unstable andeconomically weak.TheADCtherefore supports the region’scountries in their efforts towardsEU integration, transformation andlasting peace.Albania,Bosnia andHerzegovina,Kosovo,Macedonia,Montenegro and Serbia are the prioritycountries in the region.

Programmes and projects focus onissues including the private sector anddevelopment, education, the role oflegislation and civil society, andenvironment,water and energy (inparticular, improvements toinfrastructure required for economicdevelopment,promotion ofinnovative environmental projects,improvements to water supplies anduse of renewable energy).TheADC coordinates closely with

otherAustrian funding agencies andseeks synergies with private businessesin the country.Regional cooperationand donor coordination is also animportant component of its strategy insouth eastern Europe.

ADC guiding principlesWater sector measures must be basedon a holistic, strategic,well-coordinatedapproach in which the basic conditionsare aligned.This is because water is alimited and potentially endangeredresource and also because there is needto consider the complex interactionsin the sector and the need for sustain-ability, which can only be obtained bybuilding up the necessary institutionsand competences.There is therefore an important

principle of combining ‘hardware’–infrastructure improvements – and

Ten years’ experience insouth eastern Europe:a best practice reportAustria’s status as a smaller bilateral donor has led itto think carefully through its approach to projects.CHRISTOPH PRANDTSTETTEN of Kommunalkredit PublicConsulting (KPC) sets out the country’s viewsand experiences.

range of media,who provide specificinformation focused on water securityat any specified location.The companyis involved in providing this service to‘one of the global giants in water’,MrLevinson says.

Dealing with threatsThe threats that the company’s securityoffering can address range from terror,accident,malfunction and naturaldisasters to climate change.Recoveryis another aspect that the companycovers, providing mobiledecontamination systems either at apersonal, family,building or mobilecontainer level – its units were used inthe aftermath of the recent earthquakein China to allow potable water to beabstracted from raw surfacewater supplies.One of the key benefits of the

solutions the company offers is thebroad range of threats they can dealwith.‘When you are talking aboutwater security,both intentional andunintentional, terrorism might bemore frightening but accidentalcontamination is much,much morecommon,’ comments Mr Levinson.‘Our solution deals with almost anykind of threat imaginable,dealing withall the aspects.Monitoring detectscontamination,whether it isintentional or unintentional.’The company cooperates with

suppliers of technologies such aschemical, biological and evenradioactivity monitoring equipmentaround the globe. In its uniqueposition,Mr Levinson is confident itcan provide the levels of security thatutilities are increasingly realising thatthey need. �

SECURITY


DEVELOPMENT

economic realities.Technology is another issue – the

choice of adaptive and flexibletechnologies, provision of technicaltraining and securing a supply of spareparts.There is also an institutionaldimension,which involves building uplasting and efficient operator structuresand regulatory authorities.Social aspects are also important –

the enforcement of personalresponsibility and awareness-raisingamong the population, andimplementation of transparentdecision-making processes thatinclude all population groups.Finally,ecological issues must be considered –the protection of resources fromcontamination and excessive use.The use and stabilisation of local

institutions (rather than parallel struc-tures) is an important element within asustainable approach.Also key is havinga clear approach to an increasingtransfer of responsibilities (phasing out)and subsequent support (backstop-ping). Rehabilitation or replacement ofexisting infrastructure has to be basedon detailed analysis of past problems toavoid similar failures in future.

Adaptation to the socio-cultural andsocio-economic contextAll measures in the water sector have tobe adapted to the social, cultural andpolitical context.TheADC feels it mustapply the sustainable livelihoodapproach,which takes populationperceptions into account as well as theirstrategies for securing their dailyexistence, integrating their abilities,resources and patterns of action.Technologies and planning strategies

are ‘adapted’ if they correspond todemand, the socio-cultural needs andthe solvency of the population, aswell as the available organisationaland technical capacity.Adaptedtechnologies have to offer flexiblemechanisms for adaptation andexpansion.Traditional forms ofallocation and cultivation of waterresources must be considered andenhanced with respect to povertyreduction and distributive justice.

Participation, personal responsibilityand demandADC supports a demand-driven,participative approach that focuses onthe most possible co-determination,cooperation, acceptance, identificationand personal responsibility among thetarget population group, as well as theuse of local potential.Participative planning,mobilisation

and awareness-building enable localpopulations to make well-foundedchoices based on personal needs fromamong the technical and institutionaloptions available. In this way, it ispossible to ensure that disadvantagedgroups in particular are properlyintegrated into the process.A participa-tive approach is particularly importantin the sanitation sector, as hygieneimprovements in individual householdscannot be achieved by regulation alone.The population should provide

co-payments for implementing themeasures, depending on their financialcircumstances, and should be responsi-ble for maintaining the infrastructure.They should also have representativesin the newly-created institutions andact as their controlling body.

SituationIn south eastern Europe, even in thenew millennium, there are still many –mainly rural – settlements with lowquality water supplies and significantnetwork losses of around 50%.Manysettlements have no water network andalmost every city undergoes watershortages, particularly in summer.Thereare also insufficient connections towater and wastewater treatment works.A functioning and sufficient water

supply and wastewater disposal directlyenables improvements to quality of lifeand hygiene.Creating primary supplysystems can help to reduce migrationfrom rural areas to cities,which meansthat populations remain in their regionsand can achieve further development.

Environmental trendsKey environmental trends include warand ethnic conflicts – the militaryconflicts of the Balkans have on onehand led to a general economic crisis,resulting in a reduction of air pollution,and on the other to poor maintenance

‘software’measures such as strengthen-ing institutions, raising awareness,training and creating a legislativeframework.Connected issues must alsobe taken into account – for instance,water supplies must take into accountthe resultant wastewater.This can only be achieved by using a

programmatic approach that is well-integrated into national structures andconsiders at least a larger, connectedarea rather than a single, local issue.As abasis for planning use of waterresources, IntegratedWater ResourceManagement (IWRM) principlesshould be used.

SustainabilityA basic supply of potable water is ahuman right, so meeting the basicwater needs of all population groups isa high priority.One of the mostimportant criteria when choosing thecorrect technologies, the necessarylevel of provision of services and theoperator model is affordability.Sustainability is a key basic principle

for all measures in the water sector.TheADC’s goal is to secure a high-qualitysustainable development process.Evaluating the success of theADC’sactions based only on output, theshort-term achievement of therequired supply ratios or the economicefficiency of implementation cannottherefore be justified.There are a number of dimensions

to sustainability that must be consid-ered in detail. Financial issues includeaffordability, that is, covering at leastthe current operating and maintenancecosts from appropriate incomes, andinvestment in solutions adapted to

Cucer Sandevowastewatertreatment plant(see box).Credit:KommunalkreditPublic Consulting


DEVELOPMENT

of existing environmental infrastructure,made worse by the increasingmigration of the population from ruralto urban areas.Further consequencesinclude accumulations of dangerous,untreated waste, the destruction oflandscape and the creation of minedregions, as well as the presence ofpartly-deactivated bombs andradioactive ordinance.Environmentalproblems were also marginalisedbecause of the urgent day-to-dayproblems of the population.After 1990, contamination patterns

in the reformed states began toapproach western European levels.Thecauses included increases in traffic,municipal waste and contaminationfrom small enterprises, introduction ofnew chemicals and materials,morecomplex small-scale ‘pollutant cock-tails’ in the air, and the sealing of

formerly-protected areas.Economicgrowth has caused an increase in oldpollutant emissions over the past fewyears,mainly due to a lack ofenergy efficiency.In the second half of the 1990s, the

environmental debate in the regionfocused mainly on the vast investmentcosts allegedly needed to adapt towestern European standards.Anoften-quoted EU study suggested aninvestment of up to€100 billion($128.6 billion) would be needed toenable ten eastern European states toreach European Union (EU)environmental standards.The size of the investment is

questionable, as in many cases it wasassumed that modern,westerntechnologies would be adopted.Thesize of the estimated costs also led theEU’s grants programme to focus on

expensive investment projects.Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)have criticised the lack of considera-tion of ‘least-cost’options and use oflocal know-how.Unlike the investment costs,

operational expenses for environmen-tal infrastructure in south easternEurope are not given sufficient consid-eration.This is possibly becauseheating fees and water tariffs are paidby local populations whereas newinfrastructure projects often requireinternational finance. It is however afact that in some south easternEuropean states, the very high heatingfees contribute significantly to poverty.Although the price of energy andwater is considered to be very high bymost of thepopulation, the tariff normally doesnot cover costs.Fees will rise further infuture, if no investment is made inenergy efficiency.Cost-savinginvestments in water and wastewaterutilities are therefore urgently needed.

Infrastructure issuesThe rate of connection to the publicwater and wastewater supplies in southeastern Europe is still unsatisfactory.Only 40% of Macedonians and 60% ofCroats, Serbs and Montenegrins wereconnected to wastewater systems at theend of the 1990s, and just 40% to 50%of municipal waste inAlbania andBosnia-Herzegovina is collected.Apartfrom the positive effects of isolatedenvironmental investments in the1990s, insufficient progress has beenmade to overcome the generaldeterioration of the infrastructure.

Specific problemsA number of potable water supplyproblems need to be addressed:• the condition of the water supplysystems in many cities is unsatisfactory

• there are not enoughwastewater systems

• there are only a few adequate watersupply systems in rural areas

• the wastewater systems in manyurban areas are in poor condition

• there are high water losses and verylow water-use efficiency

• there is a shortage of potable water• system operation and maintenanceis inefficient

• public utilities have a low rate of

Active leakage control to combat water loss

Leakage is still a key problem for the existing utilities. The lack of well-structured waterutilities has led to high losses in supply systems and, depending on the systems’structures, to high operational costs and poor customer service. Customers are frustrat-ed and not prepared to pay for poor services, which leads to low fee-collection and lowincomes for the utilities as well as often times illegal house connections. Limited waterutility resources lead to a lack of operation and maintenance – a vicious circle.Consequently, many customers experience intermittent supplies.

In general, once an intermittent supply is established, service lifetime will declinedue to frequent, rapid changes of pressure. Burst frequency increases significantly andefforts to improve the supply have limited effect. Usually water consumption does notdecrease as customers install tanks to store water for their daily use, which means thatthe same amount of water is supplied over a shorter period, which means larger pumpsand pipes have to be installed and the system becomes inefficient.

As the supply is not permanently pressurised, contaminated groundwater orwastewater can enter the system, which renders the water non-potable.

To return to a continuous supply requires considerable investment and awareness ofthe problems. A clear political mandate should make utilities accountable for providinggood services and continuous supplies. Water utilities need trained staff to undertaketechnical and administrative tasks.

Professional active leakage control, which requires modern equipment, well-trainedstaff with considerable experience in leak detection and repair, plus ongoing re-trainingcombined with pressure management provide a basis for improvement.

In rural areas, leakage control is best achieved at a regional level by pooling theactivities of a number of utilities or by contracting experienced private providers ofleakage control services.

A comparison of Macedonian and Austrian water andwastewater tariffs

Based on an average annual income of around €3500 ($4503)per household in Macedonia, the annual water supply andsanitation bill of around €170 ($218.6) is 5% of total income. InAustria, the average annual income is €30,000 ($38,567) andwater and sanitation costs around €600 ($771), that is, 2%of income.

Illegal connections.Credit:KommunalkreditPublic Consulting


Water supply and sanitation for Cucer Sandevo, Macedonia

The first support project in 2000, which created a reliable water supply, was the first steptowards long-term cooperation with the municipality of Cucer Sandevo, which is 12kmnorth of Skopje and has around 10,000 inhabitants.

Due to the development of groundwater abstraction systems, the ideal preconditionsfor establishing a central water supply system, with clean drinking water, were created.New and rebuilt reservoirs and new connecting pipelines facilitated water supplies formost of the municipality.

In the first phase, the emphasis was on the urgently-needed construction of areliable water supply, through investments in the infrastructure, and further workexamined the technical and economic operation of the treatment works. A communalenterprise was inaugurated and supported throughout the project cycle.

The communal enterprise is the basis for sustainable operation of the water supplysystem. A water tariff model with functioning fee system that accounts for water use wascreated. As the operational tasks of the municipality and communal enterprise wereoptimised, the income increased and the utilities were therefore able to be operated andmaintained properly. The water supply system project was completed at the endof 2004.

Because of the success of this project, another looking at sewerage and wastewatertreatment began in 2006 and will finish this year. Special attention is being paid toimplementing the simplest possible technologies, to ensure low operation andmaintenance costs.

revenue collection• there is no regular monitoring ofwater quality and quantity inrural systems

• there is no database at a national levelof drinking water supply issues

• there is low public awareness ofwastewater as a pollution source

Cross-cutting issuesAdequate provision of water andsanitation is a prerequisite for a healthyand equitable society,both in terms ofhealth improvements and in enablingchildren to attend school.Good governance is required, to

ensure all citizens’water needs areconsidered and the institutionsresponsible for managing water andwastewater are accountable whetherthey be public,private orcommunity organisations.Resource protection is vital, not

only of the water supply but also otherelements of the natural cycle suchas soil and plants.Activities such asover-abstraction and wastewaterdischarges may endanger ecosystems.Awareness-raising is needed to counterthese negative effects.Discharges of raw wastewater into

the environment cause widespreadpollution. Interventions that improvesanitation should also contributetowards improving the quality of theenvironment and protection of naturalwater resources.Reuse of treatedwastewater and sludge can also beintegrated into farming practices,contributing to the developmentof local agriculture andaquaculture systems.

Lessons learned and best practiceSince the mid-1990s,ADC has used astrongly results-oriented approach,which means particular attention waspaid to concrete results althoughbudgets were tight.This is why studiesand pure consultancy has rarely beenfinanced – the main target has beensmall and medium-sized projectsthat could serve as best practicefor other donors and regional ornational investments.Austria is a small donor compared to

other bilateral and multilateral donors.This encourages speed and flexibilityand is why the country can react tochanging situations very quickly.Onthe other hand budgets are quite small,with the average project budget beingaround€1 million ($1.28 million). Inline with the Paris Declarations,Austria tries to harmonise its policies,strategies and activities with otherbilateral donors such as Switzerland.Cooperating with other donors,Austrian activities can have agreater impact.In principle, longer-term develop-

ment projects have substantial advan-tages.Not just technical aspects butinstitutional partnerships betweenproject partners can be developed,ensuring the success of the activitiesand enabling local know-how andexperience to be leveraged.One key reason for success is the

efforts ofAustrian consultants to useand implement lean and adaptedtechnologies such as constructedwetlands or lagoons,which reduceinvestment,operation and maintenancecosts on one hand and on the otherhand achieve EU requirements such asthose of theWater FrameworkDirective.Key experiences and lessons

learned include:• stakeholders,most importantly

citizens,must be involved• the finished projects have had a vitaland sustainable impact on thepopulation and environment

• An emphasis on institutionalmeasures in recent years has made itpossible to train the staff of operatorsin implementing a water tariffsystem and managing the necessarybusiness instruments

• the exemplary nature of the projectsand the possibility of reproducingthem has enabled interventions to beachieved in other municipalities.Akey aspect is the use of simple,sustainable technology with lowoperational cost and effort, such asthe constructed wetland in Jasenovoand the aerated lagoons inKrivogastani

Leakage. Credit:KommunalkreditPublic Consulting

DEVELOPMENT


DEVELOPMENT

• in the beginning, cooperation withsouth eastern European countriesconcentrated on water supply,butsince 2004 there has been an empha-sis on combining this with sanitationand wastewater measures.Thisreflects the important fact thatimprovements in water suppliesare likely to aggravate pollutionunless wastewater treatment systemsare present

• ADC aspires to boost scientificcooperation and knowledgetransfers between the region andAustrian academic institutions

• ADC’s cooperation with otherbilateral donors in the water sectorenables financing of larger and moreintegrated projects such as interven-tions at a regional or river-basinlevel.Because of its experience andlong-term presence in the region, aswell as its good image and contactswith administrative authorities,Austria is able to take a coordinatingand mediatory role as an ‘honestarbitrator’

• over recent years, various localauthorities in cooperation withinternational donors have written anumber of strategy papers on thewater sector.However, the structureand instruments to finance andimplement projects (such as manage-ment capacity, technicians and otherexperts, and national subsidies) arestill missing.This makes thealignment of international donorswith national structures and localwater sector programmes difficult

• small municipalities in particular areoften unable to cope with handlingoperation and maintenance of their

water systems.There is a lack ofadministrative and/or managerialcapacity as well as financial meansand support from authorities at anational or regional level.There hasbeen good experience in othercountries with joint boards – that is,associations of local authorities thatjointly manage a particular service(such as the unification of watersystems, the creation of joint leakdetection teams and combinedconstruction teams)

• for sewage treatment, the EUWaterFramework Directive approach ofriver basin management, in whichentire river basins rather than singlemunicipalities are considered,wouldbe suitable.This means it is necessaryto cooperate with other donors toobtain the necessary funds forinterventions at this level

• another possible area of interventionrelating to river basin managementis support for regional water supplysystems and operators, focusing oncooperation between individualwater sector operators or jointtechnical, leak detection andconstruction teams as suggestedabove.This would be possible,given donor cooperation, andwould take the beneficiaries partof the way towards fulfilling theEU‘acquis communautaire’ .�

About Kommunalkredit Public Consulting

Kommunalkredit Public Consulting (KPC) acts as a partner for public-sector clients in Austria and many othercountries around the world offering consultancy services for state and local authorities, publicly owned enter-prises and International Institutions.

KPC supports its clients to identify and implement projects, programmes and public support instruments inthe infrastructure sector and is specialised in offering economic and financial consultancy services during thepre-investment stage of projects. KPC’s most important services include:• needs assessment and project identification;• preparation and review of feasibility studies, project contracts and financing schemes;• appraisal of infrastructure investment projects;• advice on preparation and implementation of PPP-projects;• project management support throughout the project cycle.In Austria, KPC is responsible for managing and implementing the state environmental grant scheme on behalfof the Federal Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Environment and Water Management. Kommunalkreditmanages the entire programme from receiving the grant applications, appraising the project proposals(technical, economic and financial appraisal), concluding the grant contracts and fiduciary management(disbursement of the grant funds).

Another Austrian client is the Austrian Development Agency (ADA), Austria’s bilateral donor organisation.The Agency is – among other activities – providing subsidies for water projects in the Balkan Countries, andKommunalkredit is supporting them by providing project management and monitoring services and strategicadvice. For example, Kommunalkredit recently prepared a water strategy for the Agency for the Balkan region,which it will use as a strategic reference framework for future activities.

KPC is also managing and implementing Austria’s Joint Implementation and Clean DevelopmentMechanism Programme (JI/CDM) where it is responsible for carrying out regular call for proposals, evaluating ofthe projects and negotiating contracts. Since the start of the programme in 2003 14 projects have been signed,representing around 14 million tons of Emission Reduction Units (ERUs).

DIARY

International Conference - Water Efficiencyin Urban Areas: Concepts, Technologies,Socio Economics29-30 January 2009, Wuerzburg, GermanyEmail: [email protected]:www.otti.de/pdf/wea3091.pdf

AWWA Utility Management Conference17–20 February 2009, New Orleans, USAContact:Tricia LougheadEmail: [email protected]:www.awwa.org/conferences/umc

Benchmarking water services: the wayforward12-13 March 2009, Amsterdam,NetherlandsContact:Conference SecretariatTel:+31 725 899 062Email:[email protected]:www.moorga.com

5th World Water Forum16-22 March 2009, Istanbul, TurkeyWeb:www.worldwaterforum5.org

International Conference on NutrientRecovery from Wastewater Streams10-13 May 2009, Vancouver, CanadaContact:Conference SecretariatEmail:[email protected]

8th International Symposium on WaterSupply Technology10-12 June 2009, Kobe, JapanContact:Conference SecretariatTel:+81 663 723 052Email:[email protected]:www.intergroup.jp/water/en/index.html

6th Leading-Edge Conference on Water andWastewater Technologies23-25 June 2009, SingaporeContact:Adrian Puigarnau,TheNetherlandsTel:+31 703 150 793Email:[email protected]:www.let2009.com.sg

2nd International Conference on WaterEconomics, Statistics & Finance3-5 July 2009, Alexandroupolis, GreeceContact:Konstantinos P.TsagarakisTel:+30 28310 77433 or+306945706431Email:[email protected]:www.soc.uoc.gr/iwa

Water Loss 200929 April 2009, Cape Town, South AfricaEmail:[email protected]:www.waterloss2009.com

The author:Dr Christoph PrandtstettenSenior ConsultantKommunalkredit Public Consulting,GmbH

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