The sustainable development goal for water and sanitation - to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all is a lofty one. Worldwide, 2.4 billion people remain without access to improved sanitation, and nearly 0.7 billion remain without access to improved...

Climate-informed projects aimed at boosting water utilities' performance are likely to succeed in achieving intended results by investing in energy efficiency, nonrevenue water (NRW) reduction, climate resilience, and demand-side water use efficiency. Extending water supply and sanitation (WSS)...

We estimate the impacts of two interventions implemented as field experiments in informal settlements by Nairobi’s water and sanitation utility to improve revenue collection efficiency and last mile connection loan repayment: (i) face-to-face engagement between utility staff and customers to...

Urban regions derive social and economic benefits as local governments supply water and wastewater services. We analyze differences in water and wastewater spending programs in US city-regions. The municipal provision of water and wastewater services is situated in a regional context, examining...

The issue of sludge utilization from wastewater treatment in agriculture is an important socio-economic and environmental problem in the European Union (EU) and Bulgaria. It is becoming topical issue along with constantly growing amount of produced wastewater treatment sludge, deficiency of...

Wastewater and pollution management issues are usual negative externalities in the pursuit of economic development. This is true in the Philippines where industrial and domestic refuse often end up in tributaries and major waterways, sometimes even contaminating groundwater due to improper...

While the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic reinforced the critical role that water supply and sanitation (WSS) plays in preventing its spread, it affected the financial stability of service providers in the industry. In response to demands from the client countries, the World Bank carried...

This policy note outlines key challenges and identifies specific recommendations for improved, inclusive, and sustainable development of Ukraine's water supply and sanitation (WSS) sector, which is important for the health and well-being of the country's people, the economy, and the environment....

We estimate the impacts of two interventions implemented as field experimentsin informal settlements by Nairobi’s water and sanitation utility to improverevenue collection efficiency and last mile connection loan repayment: (i)face-to-face engagement between utility staff and customers to...

This paper compares water and sanitation services in municipalities that entered into a concession arrangement with a private operator versus those in a comparable control group of municipalities that continued with a public operator, and we explore five variables of interest: (i) water coverage;...

Decentralisation promises efficiency gain and improved access to public goods and services, especially at the local level. Under decentralised governance arrangement, regional and environmental peculiarities are given prominent consideration in delivering public goods and services. Given the...

The paper investigates the relationships between costs and user charges in the sewage industry in Norwegian local governments. The purpose of the analysis is to answer the following questions: (i) To what extent is a higher unit cost passed on to consumers in terms of a higher user charge? (ii)...

Access to water supply and sanitation (WSS) services remains stubbornly low in Zambia. This poor record on WSS service delivery is disastrous for Zambia's economy by negatively affecting human capital development, which in turn creates a drag on the economy. Successive governments in Zambia have...

D0 bleaching wastewater from E. globulus Kraft pulping industry was treated by Fenton and photo-Fenton processes. The aim was to optimize the operational conditions for adsorbable organic halides (AOX) removal, namely oxidant concentration, [H2O2], catalyst concentration, [Fe2＋], and treatment...

As “market referees”, regulators contribute to the delivery of essential public services. Their organisational culture, behaviour and governance are important factors in how regulators, and the sectors they oversee, perform. The OECD Performance Assessment Framework for Economic Regulators...

The sustainable development goal for water and sanitation - to ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all is a lofty one. Worldwide, 2.4 billion people remain without access to improved sanitation, and nearly 0.7 billion remain without access to improved...

Since 2006 Lithuania has taken steps to ensure higher operational efficiency and to reduce the disparity in prices for water supply and sanitation services. However, progress has been slow. Concerns have emerged regarding representation of small municipalities in consolidated utilities and...

Despite remarkable improvement in water supply and sanitation services, Estonia faces finance and investment challenges to keep up with social expectations and environmental health regulations. With downward demographic trends expected to affect water utilities revenues and the projected phasing...

We study the extent to which collusion can explain the under-provision of clean sanitation technologies in developing countries. Using desludging services in Dakar as a case-study, we document that prices are 66% higher in areas where prices are likely coordinated by a large trade association,...

Since 2016 the World Bank has explored a wide range of country experiences in delivering better water supply and sanitation services. The analyses led to publication of three new global frameworks for designing water reforms: Policy, Institutional, and Regulatory Incentives, which looks at the...

This report explores how scarce public resources can be used most effectively to achieve universal delivery of water supply and sanitation services. It analyzes the prevalence and performance of subsidies in the sector, then guide policymakers on improving subsidy design and implementation to...

The objective of this study was to inform Solomon Water of potential service delivery models for the expansion of water and sanitation services in informal settlements in Honiara. Currently, a range of water service delivery models are in use by residents of settlements. As described below, many...

Regulations play a fundamental role in achieving public policy objectives, including the protection of human health and the environment, the fight against monopolies, or the efficient provision of water and sanitation services. Regulatory impact assessment (RIA) is an important tool for ensuring...

The COVID-19 pandemic has acted as a magnifying glass on pressing water and sanitation challenges in African cities, stressing and widening inequalities, especially for the 56% of the urban population living in informal settlements, lacking basic handwashing facilities, and relying on public...

Natural disasters have increasingly damaged water supply and sanitation (WSS) facilities and infrastructure, leaving entire communities without safe and reliable drinking water and the appropriate disposal of wastewater. These emergency events could arise from inundation of facilities, loss of...

A set of case studies was prepared as part of the World Bank's Water Global Practice initiative "Wastewater. Shifting paradigms: from waste to resource" to document existing experiences in the water sector on the topic. The case studies highlight innovative financing and contractual...