Run water as a public utility with a reinvestment mandate and a standing leak-reduction program

#00190

Reform water governance so operating margins are locked into a reinvestment mandate—pipe renewal, leak detection, and repair—rather than extracted as profit or dispersed by weak management. A public regie has a structural advantage in drying climates: it is not penalized by selli

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Cochabamba, Bolivia

Partial

SEMAPA (municipal utility) with citizen board seats; self-built water committees in Zona Sur · since 2000 · City

Cochabamba is a critical cautionary case: in 2000 the 'water war' expelled the Bechtel-led concession after tariff hikes, and SEMAPA returned to public control with citizen seats on its board. Fifteen or more years late…

Non-revenue water at SEMAPA, 15+ years after remunicipalization~40-50%percent

Water price paid by tanker-dependent Zona Sur households vs. network price5-10x network pricesmultiple of network price

Municipal utility revenues; community self-funding for Zona Sur water committees · 1 source

Paris, France

Success

Eau de Paris (municipal regie), City of Paris · since 2010 · City

On 1 January 2010 the City of Paris replaced its Veolia and Suez water distribution contracts with a single municipal regie, Eau de Paris. The regie cut prices 8% in 2010–11, invested 560 million EUR in the network and…

Estimated annual gains from remunicipalization~35 million EUR/yr (operator's own figure, partly debated as accounting-perimeter effects)EUR/yr

Water price change at transition-8%percent

Water tariff revenues retained within the public regie · 1 source

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