WATER GOVERNANCE IN CITIES: AN OECD SURVEY

Aziza AKHMOUCH, PhD & Oriana ROMANO, PhDOECD Water Governance ProgrammeWATEC Conference, 14 October 2015

Preliminary Results of a Report to be published on 1 December 2015

Analytical Framework Is urban water governance fit for the future?

Keywords associated with "water management in cities”(48 respondents/water departments, top 5 ranking out of 65 words)

Source : OECD, 2015 forthcoming, Water Governance in OECD Cities, OECD Publishing, Paris

Ageing infrastructure: a challenge for cities in OECD & BRICS

Water- related factors changing urban water governance

92%83%

37%

77%

63%

77%

Share of wastewater treatment(% of wastewater produced by the city that is collected and

treated to at least a basic/primary level)

Source : OECD, 2015 forthcoming, Water Governance in OECD Cities, OECD Publishing, Paris

Share of water loss( as % of net water production)

Average number of water utilities’ employees per 1000 connections

Figure 29 Average number of water utilities’ employees per 1000 connections

Note: In the case of unbundled services the average of employees and connection for each service has been calculated.Source: OECD Survey on Water Governance for Future Cities, 2014

Average price of water per household (USD value in constant prices, constant PPP)

An overview of water service management in cities

* Note: Based on answers from 48 cities for drinking water supply and 45 in the case of sewage collection and waste water treatment.Source: OECD Survey on Water Governance for Future Cities, 204

Number of service providers in surveyed cities by water functions *

Bundled services Unbundled services

62.50%

37.50%

Multi-level governance gaps

Lack of publicly available data on drinking water quality

Lack of accounting control through regular financial audits

Lack of competitive procurement processes

Weak judicial system for conflict resolution

Lack of benchmarking for service providers’ performance

Lack of publicly available data on economic and financial performance

Limited monitoring / evaluation guiding decision-making

Weak stakeholder engagement

Limited information sharing across local authorities

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

23%

23%

27%

31%

44%

46%

46%

48%

60%

Multi-level governance gaps

Administrative gap

Policy gap

Objective gap

Capacity gap

Funding gap

Information gap

Accountability gap

Perceived transparency and accountability challenges to urban water management

Source : OECD, 2015 forthcoming, Water Governance in OECD Cities.

OECD Principles on Water Governance A shared responsibility across levels of government

A Framework for improving urban water governance

Stakeholder engagement

To secure the willingness to pay, accountability and policies buy-in

Rural-urban partnership

For coherent policies on water, land use, spatial planning , nature

conservation, etc.

Metropolitan governance

Opportunity to pool resources and capacity at a critical scale for effective water management

Vertical and horizontal

coordinationPolicy

complementarities

3Ps

Policy

Places

People

Water function Water strategies

Drinking water • Promoting water supply from unconventional sources (Barcelona)• Favouring collaboration studies to increase water resources availability

(Malaga),• Securing supply of drinking water through cooperation between

communities (Nantes) • Joint research for water consumption reduction (Naples)• Long-range strategies for sustainable water supply management (Phoenix)

Sewage collection

• Rehabilitation of urban and metropolitan sewers (Acapulco)• Long range plans for infrastructure upgrades, rehabilitation and

maintenance (Calgary)• Impact assessment of strategic and local developments on water quality

(Hong Kong)• Urban planning and collaboration (Prague)

Wastewater • Environmentally friendly strategies for wastewater treatment (Marseille)• Energy efficiency strategies (Milan)• Rural neighbourhoods strategy (Zaragoza)

Drainage • Use of partnership approach (Liverpool)• Studies to optimize stormwater drainage (Malaga)• Green infrastructure ( New York City)

Water security • Flooding alarm system for the public (Acapulco)• Resilience study against extreme events in the metropolitan area

( Barcelona)• Environmental Recovering Program (Belo Horizonte)• Information services for citizens ( Cologne)• Water level sensor network in several rivers ( Rio d Janeiro)• Strategic plan to construct 52 flood management capital projects ( San Luis

Potosi)

Forward looking/adaptive strategies to manage water risks

THANK YOU

AZIZA.AKHMOUCH@OECD.ORGORIANA.ROMANO@OECD.ORG

WWW.OECD.ORG/GOV/WATER