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The Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic (AICD) has produced continent-wide analysis of many aspects of Africa's infrastructure challenge. The main findings were synthesized in a flagship report titled Africa's Infrastructure: a time for transformation, published in November 2009. Meant for policy makers, that report necessarily focused on the high-level conclusions. It attracted widespread media coverage feeding directly into discussions at the 2009 African Union Commission Heads of State Summit on Infrastructure. Although the flagship report served a valuable role in highlighting the main findings of the project, it could not do full justice to the richness of the data collected and technical analysis undertaken. There was clearly a need to make this more detailed material available to a wider audience of infrastructure practitioners. Hence the idea of producing four technical monographs, such as this one, to provide detailed results on each of the major infrastructure sectors, information and communication technologies (ICT), power, transport, and water, as companions to the flagship report. These technical volumes are intended as reference books on each of the infrastructure sectors. They cover all aspects of the AICD project relevant to each sector, including sector performance, gaps in financing and efficiency, and estimates of the need for additional spending on investment, operations, and maintenance. Each volume also comes with a detailed data appendix, providing easy access to all the relevant infrastructure indicators at the country level, which is a resource in and of itself.

The National Water Act 36 of 1998 (NWA) introduced a new water law framework for South Africa. According to the NWA, all water uses must be authorised in terms of a water use licence, unless the water use constitutes a Schedule 1 water use, falls under a general authorisation, the need for a licence is dispensed with, or is recognised as an 'existing lawful water use' (ELU). This paper provides a critical analysis of the ELU concept within the context of South African water law. It explores the complexities and challenges associated with ELUs, including their validation, verification and registration, and also reviews recent case law that has helped to elucidate certain key aspects of ELUs. The paper underscores the necessity for more specific legislation to address these ambiguities and uncertainties. Additionally, it critically assesses the potential implications of the recently published National Water Resource Strategy III and the National Water Amendment Bill of 2023. This Bill proposes to abolish the right to declare an ELU, and to empower the relevant authority to impose conditions and/or obligations on ELUs as well as to curtail current ELU volumes.

Research analyzing perceptions of water services has focused on water quality, water safety, and the propensity to consume water from different sources. It has not assessed perceptions of water costs. To address this knowledge gap, this study collected nationally representative survey data from households in the United States about water issues and incorporated these data into logistic regression models. In doing so, our study advances the water and public policy literature in three ways. One, it addresses the need for household resolution information about water issues given the absence of data at this scale in the United States. Two, it creates and utilizes one-of-a-kind survey data to understand the perceptions of household water bills and the drivers of these perceptions. Three, we assess the impact of proposed solutions to improve water affordability on household perceptions of water costs. Model results indicate low-income and households in underrepresented groups were more likely to perceive their water bills to be too high. The perception of water costs also varied geographically. From a policy perspective, model results indicate utilities can positively affect perceptions of water bills via the frequency of water billing and provision of payment assistance programs.

This study aimed to determine the water demand of a Municipal Market building to propose water use efficiency measures. The flushing cisterns have the highest water consumption (63.15%), followed by washbasins, restaurant and coffee shop taps, and hairdresser’s showerhead (31.64%). Therefore, the implementation of two main categories of solutions: reducing water consumption through the adoption of efficient devices and installing a rainwater harvesting system (RWHS) when drinking water quality is not required, was evaluated. These solutions were organized in four distinct scenarios: (1) Flushing cistern replacement by dual-flush ones; (2) washbasins, restaurant, coffee shop taps, and hairdresser showerhead replacement; (3) scenario 1 combined to a RWHS for recharging the replaced flushing cisterns and (4) combining scenarios 3 and 4. Under scenarios 1, 2, 3, and 4, the expected water consumption reduction was 28.36%, 17.06%, 57.36%, and 74.41%, respectively. As a result, the annual water bill reduction was €3835.81 (scenario 1), €2307.07 (scenario 2), €7757.65 (scenario 3), and €10,064.73 (scenario 4). Furthermore, to ensure the harvested rainwater attains the required standard for recharge flushing cisterns, it is advisable to dispose of the first-flush rainwater collected after a long dry period.

Water is a rapidly shrinking commodity. As we continue to use water for industry, farming, and sustaining our own lives, we must realize its intrinsic value. In December of 2020, water was given a new value as a future on a commodities market. This paper aims to discuss the practical, ethical, and financial considerations of trading water in this manner. A thorough conceptual analysis of the literature and research from 2009 to 2020 related to commodities and their history was performed, and a more contemporary review of water policy and pricing. The goal is to develop a mixed solution that gives value to water without allowing it to be exploited to the detriment of the poor; water must be accessible and affordable if it is to be managed ethically. Approaching water as a high-value resource might create a market that makes it unobtainable for most of us; however, with a system that controls pricing, creates standards, and simultaneously works to increase the supply of water, we may be able to create a “market.” Our critique of the research and available solutions indicates rising water prices and mostly regressive policies. As a result, market controls need to be implemented to control pricing while ensuring water availability for all.

Recent advances in mobile technologies, especially in the utility payment space, are having an increasingly profound impact on our daily lives and offer advantageous services in the utility sectors. This paper examines the prevalence and patterns of customer uptake of an electronic water payment (EWP) system and its implications for water delivery in the Tema Metropolitan Area, Ghana. Data for the study comprised a survey of 250 utility customers and the review of a 12-month water use and customer payment database from a water supply company. Results indicate that although customers were aware of EWP’s existence, overall uptake was very low. EWP awareness and intention to use EWP were not significantly associated with customers’ gender, phone/mobile money ownership, educational status, and water usage. However, age, employment status, income, and means of receiving monthly bills were found to be statistically different in relation to the awareness of EWP. These findings offer several implications for water service and utility providers to market mobile payment solutions and to increase the consumer uptake of these services and payment options.

The proper management of water resources plays a key role in the socioeconomic development of Armenia. On average, Armenia has sufficient water resources. Taking into account all available water resources in the country, Armenia has sufficient resources to supply approximately 3,100 cubic meters per capita per year well above the typically cited Falkenmark water stress indicator of 1,700 cubic meters per capita per year. These water resources are not evenly divided in space and time with significant seasonal and annual variability in river runoff. In order to address temporal variations in river runoff, the country has built 87 dams with a total capacity of 1.4 billion cubic meters. Most of these dams are single purpose, mainly for irrigation. Armenia also has considerable groundwater resources, which play an important role in the overall water balance. About 96 percent of the water used for drinking purposes and about 40 percent of water abstracted in the country comes from groundwater. Irrigation remains the largest consumptive user.

The current freshwater pricing in Jordan is based on Block Rate tariffs, with a flat rate and fixed price per-block, this pricing system has several drawbacks, including and not limited to the breach of equity principle, and is not progressive enough to penalize irresponsible consumers of water in a dry country like Jordan. This paper proposes an alternative pricing system using fuzzy logic; this system consists of 3 stages, input curves, which are based on the water consumption, output curves, which are based on the water prices per cubic meter, and logical rules to move inference from input to output. Our experimental results, based on simulated water bills, show that the proposed pricing system is flexible, provides fair sale prices to both customers and water suppliers, is more progressive, as it penalizes the larger consumers of water, rewards the smaller consumers of water, and increases the number of happy customers, and consequently, saves water by preventing irresponsible use. Therefore, we recommend the propose pricing system to be used for pricing water in Jordan.

Despite significant reforms in South Africa since 1994, water allocation continues to reflect colonial and apartheid legacies, with recent research revealing that Black South Africans control merely 0.5% of water resources while white South Africans retain access to 98.6%. This paper examines how Rawls' theory of distributive justice, particularly the ‘difference principle’, can provide ethical guidelines for water allocation that prioritise the most disadvantaged. Drawing from interview data, systematic literature review, and press analysis of the National Water Amendment Bill of 2023, the article critiques prevailing governance approaches that entrench inequalities by privileging powerful stakeholders. The proposed amendments represent significant yet limited steps toward transformation as governance efforts remain largely symbolic. While acknowledging operational challenges, this analysis demonstrates the value of Rawls' difference principle in measuring redistributive outcomes’ impact on the most marginalised, providing a moral position where institutions serve all citizens rather than preserving historical privileges.

This research is focused on the water usage patterns in two student residences—one for male students (Residence I) and the other for female students (Residence II). Surveys and measurements of flushing cisterns, taps, and shower flows were conducted to understand water use behaviors. Scenario 1 proposed replacing washbasin and kitchen taps and installing flow reducers in showers, while Scenario 2 combined Scenario 1 with a rainwater harvesting system for recharging flush cisterns. Showers were found to be the most water-consuming devices, accounting for 46% and 61.41% of water consumption in Residences I and II, respectively, followed by kitchen taps (31.51% in Residence I and 11.52% in Residence II). The flushing cistern consumption was 7.02% in Residence I and 13.22% in Residence II. The implementation of Scenario 1 anticipates a 13% reduction in total water consumption in Residence I and a 10% reduction in Residence II. The reduction in hot water consumption would result in a decrease in annual electricity consumption by 27.8% and 23.06% in Residence I and II, respectively. With the implementation of Scenario 2, the total potential water savings for Residence I could increase to 19.98%, and for Residence II, it could rise to 23.17%. The proposed measures aim to enhance water sustainability in these buildings and can be replicated elsewhere.