Economics of Water Resources: From Regulation to Privatization (Natural Resource Management and Policy)

The Second Edition of Economics of Water Resources: From Regulation to Privatization updates and expands the exposition of the authors' central theses concerning:

• the integration of water quantity-quality issues, and the treatment of water as a multi-product commodity, with the market playing the major role in the determination of water quality-discrimination pricing;
• the drawbacks of public control, regulation and enforcement, and the need to expand privatization of water supply and of water and wastewater treatment facilities to ensure their appropriate, adequate, development and modernization through increased reliance on private capital;
• the unification and centralization of water management at river basin level in order to handle effectively the expanding pressures for water availability, for the evaluation of waterborne disease, for extensive and effective pollution abatement as well as for coping with the related issues of soil erosion, siltation in streams, channels and reservoirs, protection against stress from drought and floods, and with myriad problems relating to the environment, recreation and navigation.

While expanding and updating the underlying data, the authors maintain the basic division of the book into four parts. Part I presents the conceptual framework within which are examined the interacting elements in the management of water resources and the role of market in water pricing and in quality-graded quantity of water. Part II focuses on water quality control, on the nature and impact of pollution, on water recycling and reuse, and on the prevailing policy instruments. Part III points to the deficiencies of engineering solutions in the choice of public expenditures needed for the construction of water systems and stresses the role of privatization and of centralization at the level of river basins. Part IV underlines the need for coordinating all supply programs, projected demand, recycling and reuse.
Economics of Water Resources: From Regulation to Privatization probes the fundamental concepts concerning the regulation and privatization of water resources, of water pricing, of public policies concerning the allocation of water supplied to users, and examines all of the issues involved in a truly market-determined framework. It aims to inform and prepare all persons interested in the study and management of water problems. The book can be used in courses on water resource management and planning, economics of water resources, or as a basic reference work on water resources in general.