Water in the Green Economy

Overview and summary Economic instruments, such as water tariffs or pollution charges, are an important complement to technical, regulatory, and institutional tools to achieve a sustainable and efficient management of wastewater. Economic instruments use market-based, mostly monetary, measures with the objective to raise revenue to help finance wastewater services, to provide incentives to use water efficiently and carefully, to provide disincentives for the anti-social release of polluted wastewater, to make the polluter pay for the environmental damage done, and to raise awareness on the environmental and societal costs of water use and wastewater discharge. The most common economic instruments used in wastewater management are the pricing of wastewater services and levying of charges for wastewater discharge into the environment. In this lesson, different economic instruments used in wastewater management will be presented. Special emphasis will be given to the various tariff structures that are used to levy wastewater service fees. Tariffs determine the level of revenues that service providers receive from users. They are designed for different purposes, and often contain some elements to address poverty.

Introduction Local officials play an integral part in the administration of wastewater treatment plants within their com[1]munities. Wastewater treatment plants are a critical capital asset and as a local official it is your responsi[1]bility to understand the operations and management procedures associated with it. As public managers, local officials need the skills and tools to address problems that may arise at their community’s plants. Because wastewater may impede public health or the environment within a community, it is important that elected officials familiarize themselves with basic terminology and responsibilities relating to wastewater treatment plants. This handbook is designed to be a reference tool for local officials, public administrators, and managers. In addition to the basic treatment operations, this handbook will discuss the strategies to ensure compliance, funding, adequate training, and public education. This reference will also help public officials familiarize themselves with financial management tools, loan and grant assistance, as well as learn about capital improvement planning to enhance long term economic viability. The handbook is broken into different sections. Each section discusses important topics and subject mat[1]ters that will provide public officials with the basic information needed to understand how wastewater treat[1]ment plants operate. There are additional resources located at the end of each chapter for those who would like to learn more. In the appendices, topics such Advanced Evaluation Techniques, including the time value of money, are discussed in more detail, as well as sample forms for reporting and gathering information to properly manage their wastewater systems. In addition, this handbook has a comprehensive glossary of terms and glossary of financial terms.