Effective Utility Management A Primer for Water and Wastewater Utilities

Introduction: This report presents the findings and recommendations of the Effective Utility Management Steering Committee to the Effective Utility Management Collaborating Organizations— Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies (AMWA); American Public Works Association (APWA); American Water Works Association (AWWA); National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA); National Association of Water Companies (NAWC); United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); and Water Environment Federation (WEF)—referred to as the Collaborating Organizations. As described below, the findings and recommendations in this report are to be used by the Collaborating Organizations to develop a water utility sector management strategy

Introduction The increasing scarcity of water in the world coupled with rapid population growth, particularly in urban areas, is an ever more concerning phenomenon and gives rise to the need for appropriate integrated water resources management practices. Water supply, sanitation and water management are recognised as global concerns and have become a part of the Millennium Objectives. The Heads of State and Government convened at the United Nations 2000 meeting committed –upon adopting the Millennium Objectives– to reduce by half the proportion of world population without access to drinking water or basic sanitation services, and to do so by the year 2015. Water is of vital importance to development. The water and sanitation deficit in the Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) region is a major cause for concern. The LAC region possesses 30 percent of the world’s water resources; however, large segments of the population live in areas where water –when it exists– is either scarce or polluted. In addition, the distribution of population with respect to these water resources is highly irregular or inequitable. At present, despite the fact that 86 percent of the region’s population has access to a source of drinking water, only 49 percent has access to sanitation services (Looker, 1998). In the LAC region’s large urban centres, the lack of appropriate sanitation services has resulted in tremendous health problems for the poorest population. It is estimated that close to 150 of the nearly 510 million inhabitants of the region do not have access to any safe source of water at all, and nearly 250 million do not receive sewerage services (Looker, 1998). Many Caribbean islands have a low availability of water, and some of the more populated areas are very limited in this resource. For this reason desalinizing plants have played an important role in some countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas and Barbados. In the cities of the LAC region 13 percent of the population has no access to sanitation services, whereas 7 percent has no access to a source of drinking water. The lack of access to a safe source of water and to sanitation services, together with high population density, generates immense public health problems. In developing nations – where less than 10 percent of wastewater is treated– diarrhoea is one of the primary causes of infant mortality, showing disproportionately high rates in the poor population of these countries. Vector-related disease, such as malaria, also increases in sites containing stagnant wastewater (Looker, 1998).

Abstract: Water has always been considered as a physically scarce resource particularly in North Africa, Central Asia, West Asia, among others. On the other hand, the current water management system is facing substantial difficulties due to the depletion of resources, the complexity of regulation, as well as the increasing demand of water in society. This article attempts to show the possibility of using blockchain technologies in managing scarce resources, such as water, to address environmental sustainability. Those applications could consolidate the seamless integration of the existing water management system through keen agreements which dwell on the blockchain and take into account automated work processes. It is expected that the implementation of blockchain technology will ensure trust, transparency, and accountability among individuals and other economic actors.