Solving Asia's water problem

To reach the targets for water and sanitation in Asia, the money needed is about US$8b a year in investments
Ke Seetharam, Business Times 29 Nov 07;

GETTING water to flow out of a tap and be available 24 hours a day is still a distant dream for millions of people across Asia. We don't deliver milk in taps; we get it to people through other means. Similarly, if we are to solve Asia's water problem, we may need to think out of the box to make drinking water accessible for the poor.

Water is indispensable for healthy living. According to the WHO (World Health Organisation) definition, each individual needs about one to two litres of potable water per day. That is a very small quantity and one can argue that there are ways to deliver this water to individuals through other ways than pipes.

Technologically, we might want to supply water through pipes so that it is available all the time, and you can drink it anytime. If not, which is the case in many countries right now in Asia, the water is provided to people one or two hours in a day. They must collect it, then spread its use over their 24-hour requirements.

These one to two litres helps keep people in good health and ensures good hygiene within homes. If we can think about water like a food item or a medicine, then we should endeavour to supply it quickly and, if necessary, differently - for example just like how a bottle of juice or a can of milk is supplied to people.

For millennia, people in Asia have seen water as a free resource; historically people didn't pay for it. But there is now a lot of evidence that people are willing to pay for water - just like they pay for fruit juice and milk.

Moreover, there is a lot of literature, which shows that, in fact, poor people pay more for each litre of water they get than the rich, because they don't have access to the normal public piped water systems.

In many developing countries when the government is not able to provide adequate water requirements to citizens, people make their own arrangements to cope. For example, some people dig their own ground well, and they might have their own booster pumps.

They might have their own overhead tanks. Some people even use small treatment facilities in their homes. These are all investments. People are paying for them from their pockets. It's just that they are not paying to the government.

It only requires a little bit of intuition to add up all these costs and appreciate that there are potentially huge economies of scale if the government, or another agency, were to provide these services in a more efficient manner.

To illustrate with a different analogy, we all know that vegetables grow in a garden, but if everybody were to have his or her own small vegetable garden, then produce would be more expensive. That's why we have farmers who grow vegetables in bulk, which are delivered to us through large and efficient supply chains.

We have estimated that to reach the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets for water and sanitation in Asia, at a minimum, the money needed is about US$8 billion a year of investments in the sector. This would be the required annual investment for the next 10 years to reach the MDG target. This money is available in that there is an appetite in the capital markets and in money markets to invest in the region.

However, investors want to invest in facilities and infrastructures that are sustainable and can recover the costs of investment and operation.

We require the political will to embrace the right kind of reforms and put proper policy frameworks in place, which would help to sustain such investments.

For example, if it is a water infrastructure investment to improve water networks and treatment plants, those who are putting up the money need to know how they will be paid back and earn some return on their investments. There is an important role for governments to play here, and this is where political will can make all the difference.

We all know that water comes from the sky, flows through rivers and eventually into the sea - which is free. But when we want good quality water in our homes, coming out of taps, this requires a substantial infrastructure behind it, which has to be paid for. Governments have to take the lead in ensuring that this can happen.

The author is the principal water and urban development specialist at the Asian Development Bank