Meeting the mandate for clean water : an evaluation of privately managed U.S. water and wastewater systems

Reliable provision of clean and safe drinking water is critical for public health, economic stability and growth in the United States. Due to a combination of financial, regulatory and operational challenges, however, it is becoming increasingly difficult for publicly owned and operated water utilities to provide affordable and safe water along with efficient service delivery. Since the 1980's, new actors have entered the U.S. water utility scene in the form of large international firms that specialize in water utility management, offering the opportunity to increase efficiency, expedite long-delayed maintenance, minimize rate increases and provide needed capital for system expansion. Private management of water and wastewater systems, however, can have unintended and negative consequences on localities, including: * The loss of employment and pensions for the municipal utility work force; * Higher water rates because private firms charge full cost, must pay taxes and earn a profit; * Surrender of local control over ratemaking and other financial issues to state public utility commissions; * Loss of municipal control of daily operations and the setting of service standards, as well as loss of control over planning for long-term growth and economic development.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Freund, Evan Benjamin

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Lawrence Susskind.

• Urban Studies and Planning.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/33408

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/33408