Poor people in Asian cities spend far more for far less water than do the more affluent. But it doesn't have to be that way, according to a veteran water supply expert.
In his newly released book, Asian Water Supplies - Reaching the Urban Poor, Arthur McIntosh, former Asian Development Bank senior water supply specialist, puts a magnifying glass on the inequities of water costs and distribution in Asia and offers solutions to age old problems that have kept the urban poor paying high rates for less, often substandard quality water.
This hard-hitting book tackles myths and sheds light on many never-before-discussed urban water issues of governance and corruption, shortages, willingness to pay, non-revenue water, private sector involvement, and utility efficiency, among others.
To highlight disproportionate rates, McIntosh uses the example of his long-time house helper who paid approximately US$18 per month (20% of the average working poor Filipino's monthly salary) to an itinerant water vendor to fill her plastic containers with a modest supply. In contrast, the McIntosh household paid about $4 a month for five times as many cubic meters and 24-hour water service.
McIntosh claims that such disparities, which he witnessed during a 20-year career in international development, can be bridged with a combination of political will and civil society determination through a series of suggested solutions that involve all sectors.
One of his more interesting arguments for its counter-intuitive approach is that, if managed appropriately with planned 24-hour piped service to all residents, raising piped water tariffs in a city can provide adequate funds to connect the previously un-served who are paying huge premiums for water that passes through many middlemen before delivery to their homes.
His approach confronts the philosophies of some civil society groups that claim to be protecting the poor from high water rates by protesting tariff increases. Yet he points out that the poor have proven they are both willing and able to pay for water, and raised rates for the affluent can actually mean lowering water fees for the poor while giving them access to a piped supply.
The book, published jointly by the Asian Development Bank and the International Water Association, is a guide and sourcebook to help Asian governments and donors "avoid repeating the mistakes of the last 20 years."
Asian Water Supplies - Reaching the Urban Poor is available free online or by ordering ($15 including shipping). More information
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