Financing Public Water

Financing is a key challenge for every community wanting to ensure water for all. The day-to-day running of a water utility comes at a cost and expanding access to water requires significant upfront investments. There are essentially two ways to pay for public water delivery: taxes or user fees. There is a desperate need for funding mechanisms that are without political conditions and that are oriented to serve societal goals. TNI supports progressive redistribution via taxation and cross-subsidised water tariffs, as well as exploring other local and national finance options, including floating of municipal bonds.

Blunt speaking opens up important debate at water summit

October 2013
Satoko Kishimoto

Instead of an ideological obsession with illusory private sector ‘solutions’, the international community would do better to support socially ambitious public operators working together in partnership with other public utilities.

Remunicipalisation

March 2013
Olivier Hoedeman
Satoko Kishimoto
Martin Pigeon, David A. McDonald

After decades of failed water privatisation, cities like Paris are starting to bring water back into public hands. Download this free 'must-read' book for policy makers and activists looking to democratise water services.