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
Toward Managing Rural Drinking Water Quality in the State of Punjab, India
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-01)Rural drinking water quality is an emergent issue in the State of Punjab. In response to health concerns related to children being exposed to metals in some regions, and reports of higher incidence of cancers in the state, the department of drinking water supply and sanitation conducted blanket testing of all its water supply sources. The objective of this study was to systematically examine the drinking water quality issue and provide practical guidance to the state on possible responses. The state’s commitment to addressing this issue is highlighted by its allocation of 59 million dollars for a component to improve water quality through the Punjab Rural Water and Sanitation Sector Improvement Project, financed by the World Bank. While the study seeks to provide an analytical basis for understanding the occurrence and impact of the contamination, practical actions have been explored and demonstrated to allow the state to begin actively managing the water quality issue. The study is designed around three key areas: understanding the problem; taking appropriate action; and institutional sensitization and action. This report is a first step toward understanding and managing water quality issues in the state. It provides an analytical basis for moving forward and has demonstrated approaches that have yielded valuable lessons for scale-up. The next steps are for the state to identify key actions and develop detailed action plans for implementation. -
Publication
Salt of the Earth: Quantifying the Impact of Water Salinity on Global Agricultural Productivity
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-10)Salinity in surface waters is on the rise throughout much of the world. Many factors contribute to this change including increased water extraction, poor irrigation management, and sea-level rise. To date no study has attempted to quantify impacts on global food production. In this paper we develop a plausibly causal model to test the sensitivity of global and regional agricultural productivity to changes in water salinity. To do so, we utilize several local and global datasets on water quality and agricultural productivity and a model which isolates the impact of exogenous changes in water salinity on yields. We then train a machine learning model to predict salinity globally in order to simulate average global food losses from 2000-2013. These losses are found to be high, in the range of the equivalent of 124 trillion kilocalories, or enough to feed over 170 million people every day, each year. Global maps building on these results show that pockets of high losses occur on all continents but can be expected to be particularly problematic in regions already experiencing malnutrition challenges. -
Publication
The Nitrogen Legacy: The Long-Term Effects of Water Pollution on Human Capital
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-10)The fallout of nitrogen pollution is considered one of the largest global externalities facing the world, impacting air, water soil and human health. This paper presents new evidence that nitrogen pollution in water is an important determinant of variations in human capital. Data from the Demographic and Health Survey dataset across India, Vietnam, and 33 African countries are combined to analyze the causal links between pollution exposure experienced during the very earliest stages of life and later-life health. Results show that pollution exposure experienced in the critical years of development from the period of birth up until year three – is associated with decreased height as an adult, a well-known indicator of overall health and productivity, and is robust to several statistical checks. Because adult height is related to education, labor productivity, and income, this also implies a loss of earning potential. Results are consistent and show that early-life exposure to nitrogen pollution in water can lower height-for-age scores during childhood in Vietnam and during infancy in Africa. These findings add to the evidence on the enduring consequences of water pollution and identify a critical area for policy intervention. -
Publication
Mainstreaming the Use of Remote Sensing Data and Applications in Operational Contexts
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018-01-31)This report presents the activities and outcomes to date of the global initiative on remote sensing for water resources management phase two. The Initiative was conceived to help mainstream the use of beneficial remote sensing applications in operational projects of the Bank, as well as to facilitate the adoption of remote sensing applications in World Bank client countries. By bridging the gap between the supply of remote sensing data and the needs from the Bank’s operational projects, Earth Observations can better inform client country agencies by improving monitoring and predictive capabilities and supporting better water-related operations. This report is addressed to technical staff in national water agencies, project leads from development and financing institutions, and water practitioners in general. The goal of the report is to present insights from a range of innovative remote sensing applications developed within the Remote Sensing Initiative, to help address specific water resources management challenges. The results presented here include constraints identified in the adoption of remote sensing, the approaches adopted to make applications functional in different contexts, the project applications themselves, insights on their sustainability, and ways forward. These applications can be replicated, up-scaled, and adapted in many other contexts to address similar challenges. We hope the information contained in this report will help country agencies and project teams in integrating the use of remote sensing in their water resources management practices, as well as in project design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. -
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.