Water Papers
183 items available
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Water Papers are produced by the Water Global Practice, taking up the work of the predecessor Water Unit, Transport, Water and ICT Department, Sustainable Development Vice Presidency.
Items in this collection
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Publication
Water in Circular Economy and Resilience
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-09-15)Rethinking urban water through the circular economy and resilience lenses offers an opportunity to transform the urban water sector and deliver water supply and sanitation services in a more sustainable, inclusive, efficient, and resilient way. Circular Economy principles have emerged as a response to the current unsustainable linear model of "take, make, consume, and waste." In a circular economy, the full value of water – as a service, an input to processes, a source of energy and a carrier of nutrients and other materials – is recognized and captured. This report presents the Water in Circular Economy and Resilience (WICER) Framework together with global case studies that show the benefits of becoming circular and resilient. It describes the key actions needed to achieve three main outcomes: 1) deliver resilient and inclusive services, 2) design out waste and pollution, and 3) preserve and regenerate natural systems. The report sets out to demystify circular economy by showing that both high-income and low-income countries can benefit from it. -
Publication
Joining Forces to Combat Protracted Crises: Humanitarian and Development Support for Water and Sanitation Providers in the Middle East and North Africa
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-02-05)Protracted crises in urban contexts of the Middle East and North Africa region present a growing challenge for water supply and sanitation (WSS) service providers and, in turn, the governments and international organizations that support them. The protracted nature of crisis in countries characterized by fragility, conflict, and violence (FCV) transcends conventional notions of (pre-, during, and post-) crisis management. This report examines five pernicious problems identified by WSS service providers operating in protracted crisis in the Middle East and North Africa region. The five problems are: (1) inadequately governed water resources management; (2) aggressive competition from alternative providers (tanker trucks), undermining network services; (3) paralysis of high-tech wastewater treatment plants; (4) escalating energy costs of off-grid generation; and (5) the cashflow crunch as service provider costs jump and revenues fall. The pernicious problems are shown to stem from precrisis vulnerabilities that have their origins in the rapid period of urbanization and infrastructure expansion across the Middle East and North Africa region. Humanitarian and development actors should strengthen their partnerships in both anticipating and responding to protracted crises. Strengthening humanitarian-development partnerships to support WSS service providers in these ways will address key aspects of precrisis resilience building and also of resilience (re)building in protracted crisis. -
Publication
Water Scarcity in Morocco: Analysis of Key Water Challenges
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-01)Morocco is expected to be faced with a major water shortfall prompted by either expansion in demand for water or reduction in precipitation induced by climate change. This paper examines the economywide impacts of these factors for Morocco. It uses a computable general equilibrium model augmented with submodules that trace consumption of water by uses and land allocation across sectors including crops, livestock, and forestry. Results show that water scarcity and changes in crop yields induced by climate change could reduce the GDP of Morocco up to 6.7 billion US dollars per year at 2016 constant prices and eliminate many job opportunities, in particular in the rural areas of this country. Only a portion of these negative impacts can be removed with improvements in water use efficiency. The factors mentioned above will reduce productivity of Morocco’s cropland and have the potential to reduce irrigated areas. Due to these changes, production of crops and food products are expected to fall, with increases in crop prices by up to 14.3 percent, assuming other factors being equal. Investment in water use efficiency practices that save water, in particular in agricultural activities, and shifting toward more valuable and less water intensive crops can help to partially mitigate these adverse impacts. -
Publication
Dividing the Water, Sharing the Benefits: Lessons from Rural-to-Urban Water Reallocation
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-06)Rural regions are often seen as key sources of urban water supply, creating pressure for reallocation and potential hotspots of competition for water between cities and agriculture. How effective and equitable is reallocation from rural to urban regions, and what have we learned from the global experience? This synthesis report examines the drivers, processes, politics, and outcomes of reallocation based on a review of the literature and insights from four in-depth case studies where governments have reallocated relatively large volumes of water from rural to urban regions: Melbourne, Australia; Mokopane, South Africa; Monterrey, Mexico; and São Paulo, Brazil. The findings suggest that water reallocation can play an important role in regional development. However, reallocation projects have also been controversial because of distributional conflicts regarding who wins and loses. The concept of benefit sharing, long applied to transboundary river basin management, offers a framework for designing effective and equitable reallocation processes, shifting the focus from dividing the water to sharing the benefits among rural and urban regions. The report identifies seven key lessons for realizing the potential of reallocation and limiting the risks. -
Publication
Water Supply in a War Zone: A Preliminary Analysis of Two Urban Water Tanker Supply Systems in the Republic of Yemen
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-07)A combination of poverty, water scarcity, armed conflict, and warfare has produced serious challenges for both water supply and sanitation in Yemen. Although the tanker truck system plays a critical role in filling this gap, it raises serious questions with respect to affordability, health, environment, and water resources management. Because active conflict makes parts of the country remain inaccessible, little recent data are available on the state of the country’s water supply and sanitation systems. This discussion paper presents assessments of basic features of urban water supply systems in Sana’a and Aden, a detailed profile of the tanker truck service structure, including supply chain mapping, value chain analysis, and an assessment of changes to the sector since the war began. It also covers institutional support structure for the water sector, well-to-consumer supply chain, water quality, well operations, tanker trucks water delivery services, and household water demand. The analysis culminates in recommendations of interventions urgently needed to improve service delivery in Yemen’s two largest cities. -
Publication
Toward Efficient and Sustainable River Basin Operational Services in Indonesia
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-08)Since the introduction of the Water Law in 2004, national river basin management in Indonesia has been carried out by 30 public river basin management organizations (RBOs), called either Balai Besar Wilayah Sungai(s) (BBWSs) or Balai Wilayah Sungai(s) (BWSs); the two are referenced together here as B(B)WSs. These national government agencies fill both regulatory and management functions, as well as undertaking construction, operation, and maintenance of river infrastructure and irrigation systems larger than 3,000 hectares. Provincial water agencies also provide water resource and river basin management in provincial basins and basins of national river territories, in coordination with the national river basin agencies. -
Publication
Republic of Peru Robust Decision-Making in the Water Sector: A Strategy for Implementing Lima’s Long-Term Water Resources Master Plan
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06-30)This study draws upon state-of-the-art methods for decision making under deep uncertainty (DMU) to give SEDAPAL and decision makers in Lima answers to pressing questions. It draws upon several methodologies including Robust Decision Making, Decision Scaling, and Adaptive Pathways, to prioritize the investments in SEDAPAL’s Master Plan. Together these methods help define an investment strategy that is robust, ensuring water reliability across as wide a range of future conditions as possible while also being economically efficient. -
Publication
Capacity Development for Integrated Water Resources Development and Management in India
(Washington, DC, 2015-06-26)This paper's objective is to strengthen the capacity of various institutions in the Ministry of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation for sustainable water resources management, and to develop training tools for innovative techniques for further dissemination to state agencies and other stakeholders. -
Publication
Evaluation of Water Services Public Private Partnership Options for Mid-sized Cities in India
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06)Successful mid-sized cities will be vital to India’s growth and prosperity in the coming decades. Indian cities are home to over 375 million people now, and their population is likely to double by 2035. Yet water supply in most mid-sized cities falls short of Government of India benchmarks for service, efficiency and cost recovery. In many of them water flows in the pipes for 2 hours a day or less, its quality is poor, and it is provided by utilities that cannot even cover their operating costs. Following a brief introduction to the three city case studies (section two), the report lays out the Indian water sector’s unique challenges, and using case examples to substantiate findings (section three). The challenges include day-to-day operational issues associated with running a utility, as well as policy and planning issues that affect the utility’s governance and investment planning to meet current and future demand. The results of a financial viability gap analysis, applied to Bhubaneswar and Coimbatore reveal the magnitude of improvements required, and the key drivers that affect the utilities’ financial performance (section four). These complex challenges make traditional PPP models, Management Contracts, Concessions and Leases, less amenable for use in mid-size Indian cities. As section five describes, this is because the traditional models are too risky for the operator or government or too limited in scope to create lasting improvements. The remaining sections focus on explaining the design and procurement strategy for the two innovative PPP models, the phased performance based contract and the Joint Venture (JV) Partnership (section six and seven). These models have the potential to deliver better results than the traditional PPPs and business as usual scenarios. This is because in addition to reforming dysfunctional utilities into focused and accountable organizations, they are able to respond to information uncertainty, include strong incentives, have clear sources of funding, and promote capital efficiency. -
Publication
Professionalization Contracts for Small Municipal Water Service Providers in India: Business Model Development
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-06)Professionalization contracts are a new concept. The aim of these contracts is to enlist the support of specialized private firms in turning public water utilities into competent professional operators. This report looks at how the business model for such contracts may work. This report builds on fieldwork and consultation in India. The model described in this report reflects two weeks of meetings with water sector stakeholder in India, including a workshop held at the World Bank country office in Delhi on 22 March 2011. The report gives introduction in section one. It describes briefly the need for professionalization contracts in India, and the target market section two. It then summarizes what the contractor will do, and how this differs from traditional capacity building, as well as from traditional public private partnership (PPP) concepts such as management contracts section three. The report then describes the complementary policy and institutional reforms that will be needed at the state and local government levels to make professionalization contracts successful section four. Section five looks at the political economy of professionalization contracts, identifying risks, and how these risks can be mitigated through design of the institutional reforms and the business model. Section six then turns to the true business model aspects by describing indicative costs of the professionalization contract and the complementary investments required. Section seven considers what the sources of funding for these costs would be, and section eight goes on to explain how the contractor will be paid, and hence the incentives under which it will operate. Section nine looks at the market of potential contractors, and examines their incentives to participate. Finally, section ten sets out some considerations for developing the concept.