Water Papers

183 items available

Permanent URI for this collection

http://hdl.handle.net/10986/16997

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

Now showing 1 - 10 of 107

Determinants of Declining Water Quality

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-19) Ayana, Essayas

This is a background paper for "Quality Unknown: The Invisible Water Crisis." (Report No. 140973)This review examines determinants of poor water quality and natural and anthropomorphic factors determining water quality. It also discusses various water quality parameter measurement tools that can be applied in situ or remotely to assess water quality easily so measurements can be used to evaluate the economic impact of poor water quality. The correlation of water quality indicators to determinants (natural or anthropogenic) is also summarized based on the abundance of literature supporting the relationship. In doing so, this paper takes a thematic approach and applied the following search phrases to the literature review: "determinants of (parameter) in surface water," "drivers of (parameter) in surface water," and "remote sensing techniques to estimate (parameter)."
Wastewater: From Waste to Resource – The Case of Arequipa, Peru

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-10) World Bank

SEDAPAR S.A. (Servicio de Aqua Potable y Alcantarillado de Arequipa) is one of the public service enterprises in Peru. It is a limited liability company owned by 8 provincial municipalities and 26 district municipalities in Arequipa Department. It provides water and sanitation services to the metropolitan area of Arequipa and a large part of the department. SEDAPAR serves over 1.1 million inhabitants through 280,000 connections. Coverage ratios are over 94 percent for water and over 80 percent for sanitation services. SEDAPAR is the second-largest utility in Peru in terms of population served—after Sedapal in Lima—and is the largest in terms of coverage area. Arequipa Department, at a size of 63,345 square kilometers (k
Wastewater: From Waste to Resource – The Case of Nagpur, India

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-10) World Bank

Water stress has become a problem in most Indian cities, as rapid population growth increases simultaneously water demand by households, industries, and power plants. Utilities need to meet this growing demand while ensuring fair tariffs for users and promoting a sustainable use of water resources. As federal and state governments look for innovative alternatives to freshwater, the reuse of treated wastewater is gaining attention and being promoted at the federal and state levels. In addition to the environmental, health, and social benefits of treating wastewater; treated wastewater can become a reliable water source for industrial users, freeing up freshwater resources for households and helping address water scarcity in big cities. The government of India has taken steps to promote wastewater reuse, starting with the regulation of industrial water consumption and the setting and enforcement of mandatory water reuse targets for industries. The national target is to treat and reuse 50 percent of total wastewater by 2022 (PwC 2016). Some cities have set their own, more ambitious targets, and states such as Gujarat (Government of Gujarat, 2018) and Maharashtra (IndianExpress, 2017) have implemented new policies to promote wastewater reuse. Moreover, the government of India has adopted policies, established strong mechanisms of regulation, and provided funding for various programs, such as the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM), to enable municipal authorities to enter into public-private partnership (PPP) arrangements to attract private funding. As a result, municipalities across the country have started to implement wastewater reuse projects. Most of these initiatives are led by utilities, through partnerships with the private sector, and with the central government covering part of the capital costs. The success of these projects reveals that wastewater reuse activities can be viable if properly structured and supported by enabling policies and institutions.
Watershed: A New Era of Water Governance in China - Thematic Report

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-12-01) World Bank

Each of the chapters presented in this report is based on a series of 15 thematic reports. They provided the basis for the joint identification of key priority reforms by the World Bank and China that were bought together and published in an accompanying Synthesis Report. Topics included: (1) overview of water governance in China; (2) evaluation of China’s water security status and issues; (3) advancing water quality markets in China; (4) macro-economic impacts of water scarcity and redlines in China; (5) re-examining the Three Red Lines Policy; (6) water rights verifications and transactions; (7) best practices in cost-benefit analysis for water investments; (8) water prices, taxes, and fees; (9) flood risk management and protection; (10) ecology compensation and governance; (11) legal reform for water governance; (12) China’s water management administrative system and its reform; (13) technical innovation and development of an information platform in China; (14) Public Private Partnerships and water governance in China; (15) summary and overall design of China’s water governance system. These discussions emphasized key issues for water governance in China, including the need for a stronger legislative foundation for water governance; enhanced basin-scale governance institutions; harmonization of existing policy tools, such as water permits and water rights; better information and data-sharing; and the need to promote ecosystem resilience. Based on these consultations and discussions, a final set of 15 key recommendations have been put forward. These recommendations form the core of the accompanying Synthesis Report. Each priority area is the subject of a separate chapter focusing on the rationale for each of the policy recommendations, drawing on research completed by each study team.
Water and Sanitation Services for Informal Settlements in Honiara, Solomon Islands

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-10) World Bank

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 of do not result in safe and affordable drinking and domestic water. Similarly, a range of sanitation practices are in use, most are not likely to result in safe containment of human waste. Solomon Water is currently expanding and improving its water and sanitation services in Honiara, and other regional towns urban center's. As a part of this improvement and expansion agenda, there is the opportunity to improve the water and sanitation services used by residents of informal settlements. In recognition of the diversity of environmental, social and economic diversity amongst urban residents in Honiara’s informal settlements, a range of water and sanitation service delivery models may need to be offered. This assessment identifies the range of possible water and sanitation service models, and, with input from Solomon Water, informal settlement residents and other stakeholders, together with analytical information and lessons about service delivery models used elsewhere, makes recommendations about the water and sanitation service options best suited to informal Honiara’s settlements.
Building Urban Water Resilience in Small Island Countries: The Case of South Tarawa, Kiribati

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-10) World Bank

The water sector in South Tarawa, the capital city of Kiribati, is entering a time of deep transition. In a small island context risks can materialize faster than elsewhere and have disproportionate consequences. Strengthening water sector resilience is therefore critical to people’s welfare and to the economy. This report was conducted in parallel to the preparation of the South Tarawa Water Supply Project, to provide a diagnostic of the remaining vulnerabilities the capital city’s water supply sector may face after the completion of this project. Its main objective is to inform decisions by the Government of Kiribati on how to address these vulnerabilities. Section one gives introduction. Section two sets the stage with a brief presentation of the concept of water supply resilience in a context of water scarcity. Section three provides a summary of water supply conditions in South Tarawa and analyzes the impacts of various stresses and shocks on freshwater availability. Section four discusses potential measures to reduce water supply deficits during major crises. Section five offers an overview of these measures, in the form of an action plan, and presents several lessons that can be applied in water scarce cities in small islands and elsewhere.
Wastewater: From Waste to Resource - The Case of Santiago, Chile

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-09-26) World Bank Group

A set of case studies was prepared as part of the World Bank's Water Global Practice initiative "Wastewater: from waste to resource" to document existing experiences in the water sector on the topic. The case studies highlight innovative financing and contractual arrangements, innovative regulations and legislation and innovative project designs that promote integrated planning, resource recovery and that enhance the financial and environmental sustainability of wastewater treatment plants. This case study documents Santiago, Chile.
Safely Managed Sanitation in High-Density Rural Areas: Turning Fecal Sludge into a Resource through Innovative Waste Management

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-09-01) Verhagen, Joep ; Scott, Pippa

Safely managed sanitation is a focus of the SDGs and central to stunting reduction and early childhood survival, both identified by the World Bank's Human Capital Index as critical for humans to develop their full potential. In 2015, 4.5 billion people lacked access to safely managed sanitation. This paper finds that hundreds of millions more people are exposed to significant health risks due to unsafely managed sanitation. This report explores the challenges of fecal sludge management (FSM) in densely populated rural areas and it presents some typical current practices, examples of financially sustainable FSM services, and global innovations in waste management with potential replicability for FSM. Its aim is to promote dialogue on how to move from the Millennium Development Goals' approach to rural sanitation—effectively, building toilets—to the Sustainable Development Goals' approach: safely managed sanitation systems. The paper concludes that the sanitation service chain spans both private and public goods, and market mechanisms are not always adequate to mitigate the safety risks. Public funding will be needed to cover the affordability gap and address safely managed sanitation, requiring a clear and long-term commitment and support from government. The case is similar to that for networked sanitation: without public support, improving the safety of existing FSM services is likely to decrease profit margins and potentially render businesses unviable.
Doing More with Less: Smarter Subsidies for Water Supply and Sanitation

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-08-28) Andres, Luis A. ; Thibert, Michael ; Lombana Cordoba, Camilo ; Danilenko, Alexander V. ; Joseph, George ; Borja-Vega, Christian

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 improve their efficacy and efficiency in attaining their objectives.
Women in Water Utilities: Breaking Barriers

(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-08-27) World Bank

Women are significantly underrepresented in the water workforce. Multiple barriers, ranging from social norms, to inadequate HR policies, to an unwelcoming work environment, pose challenges to female water professionals’ entering, staying and advancing in the water sector. This study explores these barriers and provides utilities with practical approaches to advance their gender diversity.