The Price of Water

The price of water is a key determinant of both the economic efficiency and the environmental effectiveness of water services. This book reviews current practices and recent trends in water pricing practices for the household, agriculture, and industrial sectors in OECD countries. It addresses pricing issues related to the full range of water services, including public supplies, sewage treatment and disposal, abstraction and discharge fees, and cost recovery. It also outlines recent developments in institutional arrangements related to water pricing, and briefly considers questions concerning the affordability of water services and the responsiveness of water demands to changes in price levels. Its broad coverage of issues, sectors, and countries makes it a unique overview of trends in the water pricing field.