Water affordability: alternativem measurement and explanatory Factors in Andalusia

Using information on a basic or “lifeline” level of domestic water use obtained from a Stone-Geary water demand function and estimated at around 128m3 per household per year, we calculate water affordability indexes relating the cost of such lifeline to average municipal income levels in a sample of municipalities in Southern Spain. The analysis of the factors behind the differences in that ratio across municipalities shows that the relative cost of purchasing the lifeline appears inversely related to average income levels. We also found that higher charges affect the basic levels of use in tourist municipalities, and that lower prices are charged where water services are directly managed by the municipality.