This report identifies opportunities and challenges for local financing of water utilities in Peru and suggests recommendations for removing barriers and creating incentives for scaling-up local financing to local water utilities. It was developed with an understanding that meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in water and sanitation in Peru will require scaling up local financing for the sector and that efficiency and effectiveness can be enhanced by greater involvement of local institutional investors and other parties. This joint study exposes many of the barriers to local private financing facing the urban water supply and sewerage (WS&S) sector in Peru. In short, the majority of local water utilities cannot meet credit rating and governance standards required to access private financing. Consequently, loans from financial markets are rare. These findings are probably not specific to Peru. Accordingly, there is great value for central governments to undertake similarly detailed studies to identify the obstacles preventing access to local financing unique to their country's WS&S sector. | Este informe identifica oportunidades y retos para el financiamiento local de las Empresas de Agua (EPS) en Perú y sugiere recomendaciones para eliminar las barreras y crear los incentivos que permitan expandir el financiamiento local a las EPS. Fue desarrollado partiendo de la premisa de que el logro de los Objetivos de Desarrollo del Milenio en Perú, en materia de agua y saneamiento, requerirá la expansión del financiamiento privado al sector; asimismo, que es posible incrementar la eficacia y la eficiencia de las EPS por medio de una mayor participación de inversores institucionales locales y otros actores.

Affordability of services is a determinant for people’s level of access to water. In this study, we analyse the effect of a programme aimed at improving the affordability of water services on users’ water consumption. The programme was implemented in 2012 by the local government of the city of Bogotá, Colombia, intending to provide an essential “lifeline” volume of water to poor households free of charge. Our assessment was carried out with secondary data and used difference-in-difference estimators in a panel data analysis of a two-period sample: 2011 and 2014. The unit of analysis was defined based on the city’s administrative divisions and the socio-economic stratification of residences. Over the period analysed, beneficiaries’ household consumption increased, reaching per capita consumption levels closer to those of the upper strata of users. Results suggest that the programme contributes to increased consumption and equity among users.

La seguridad en el acceso al agua potable está ampliamente relacionada con la capacidad y eficiencia que de su distribución hace el municipio, el cual constitucionalmente es el responsable de que la población tenga el agua necesaria para la satisfacción de sus necesidades. En el caso de Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, esta facultad se ha visto permeada por los requerimientos hídricos de la industria del mármol la cual, a decir de los habitantes del municipio, ha originado disminución en la cantidad de agua disponible. Con base en lo anterior, el objetivo de este trabajo fue conocer la forma en que se distribuye el agua en la cabecera municipal, e identificar la influencia de dicha industria en la escasez del líquido para consumo humano. Se realizó un estudio exploratorio, aplicando 40 entrevistas, y en una segunda fase se aplicaron 89 cuestionarios a las familias de la cabecera municipal. Se concluye que el ayuntamiento no realiza una distribución equitativa del agua, privilegiando a la industria del mármol, además de que no existe participación social en la administración y planificación para la gestión del recurso hídrico. | Security in access to drinking water is widely related to the ability and efficiency of a municipality in terms of its distribution; in constitutional terms this level of government is the one responsible for the population to have the water necessary to satisfy its needs. In the case of Tepexi de Rodríguez, Puebla, this faculty has been permeated by the water requirements of the marble industry, which, in the opinion of the municipality's residents, has caused a decrease in the amount of water available. Based on this, the objective of this study was to understand the way in which water is distributed in the municipal township and to identify the influence of the industry mentioned on the water's scarcity for human consumption. Exploratory research was performed, applying 40 interviews, and in a second phase 89 questionnaires were applied to the families in the municipal township. It is concluded that the local government does not carry out an equitable distribution of water, favoring the marble industry, and also that there is no social participation in administering and planning for water resource management.

17 ilustraciones. 11 tablas. | Tesis (M. Sc) -- CATIE, Turrialba (Costa Rica), 2002 | In two Honduran municipalities, San Pedro Sula y Puerto Cortés, in both places, different process were developed, they are called municipalisation of watershed areas that means the acquisiton, control and management processes of these strategic areas, upon different ways, including land purchase, union of municipalities, signing of agreements with farmers, area protection and management of areas, as well the implementation of incentives to the producers, owner or users located in the strategic parts (high stream) where the water comes from. In some cases, municipal actions began to recover, restore, protect and manage the high and middle parts of the watershed, up to the origin of the water source. The measures implemented in both municipalities have suggested to favour the quality and quantity of superficial and underground water derived from these hillsides. Both cited case studies were presented to the public opinion as success cases of municipal control over water resources. However, the present study which included field visits, social research workshops in the high parts of the Merendón mountain and the Tulián river basin, revision of documents and a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis were developed with the living forces of both municipalities, indicates that the water resources in both scenarios present degradation in the areas of water origin, with general differences in both municipalities. | En dos municipios de Honduras, en San Pedro Sula y Puerto Cortés, al norte de Honduras, en dos procesos diferentes que fueron llamados popularmente como "municipalización de cuencas hidrográficas" y ante la necesidad de asegurar el suministro del agua, ellas desarrollaron procesos de adquisición, control y manejo de estas áreas estratégicas, bajo modalidades diferentes. Estas acciones incluyeron en algunos casos la compra de los terrenos, mancomunidad de municipios, firma de convenios, protección y manejo, hasta la aplicación de incentivos a los productores, propietarios ó usuarios de las áreas instaladas en las partes estratégicas de donde proviene el agua. En algunos casos, se iniciaron acciones para recuperar, restaurar, proteger y manejar la parte alta y media de la cuenca, hasta el punto de presa o toma de aguas. Las medidas implementadas en ambos municipios han sugerido favorecer la calidad y cantidad de agua superficial y subterránea que fluye de esas vertientes. Ambos casos citados se presentan ante la opinión pública como casos ejemplares y exitosos de control municipal sobre el recurso hídrico. Sin embargo, en el marco del presente trabajo de investigación que incluyó giras de campo, talleres de investigación social en las partes altas de la Sierra del Merendón, y de la cuenca del Río Tulián, revisión de documentación y un FODA (taller de investigación social para determinar la fortaleza, oportunidades, debilidades y amenazas) desarrollado con las fuerzas vivas de ambos municipios, se detectan evidencias de degradación en las áreas en donde nace el agua con diferencias generales en ambos municipios. | 43 referencias inician en la página 79

Land subsidence due to aquifer-system compaction accompanying groundwater extraction is a global hazard. Rising urban construction and groundwater demand necessitate increased awareness and better understanding of the geological problem. Motivated by the lack of laboratory-scale studies on this issue, an experimental investigation on the newly developed Tongchuan region, China, is presented. The study addresses the deformation behaviors of three soil samples, with the lithology of silty clay, silt, and fine sand, under the conditions of groundwater withdrawal and recharge using the GDS Consolidation Testing System. Results indicate that all three samples were characterized by elastic–plastic deformation under the conditions of withdrawing and recharging. The vertical deformation of the silty clay in the aquitard above the first confined aquifer was larger than those of the other two samples, and its deformation is a gradual and long process; thus, considerable attention should be paid to deformation in this aquitard due to the apparent creep effect and tiny rebound deformation. However, the settlement of the fine sand in the second confined aquifer cannot be ignored due to the great thickness of the aquifer. For the same soil, as the pore-water pressure declined, the unit rate of vertical deformation decreased gradually, whereas the creep effect of deformation in the later declining stage of pore-water pressure was more apparent than that in the former declining stage. These observations are highly important to the local government, which is developing measures to prevent and control subsidence.