ABSTRACT
The growth of population and economic activities in expanding metropolitan regions in the Asia-Pacific, as elsewhere, has led to conflicts over water use between major economic sectors and within each sector. These conflicts are particularly acute because of accelerating urban demands for water and sanitation facilities in developing countries. The combined effects of urbanization, industrialization, and population growth have greatly increased the demand for potable water and urban sanitation. Complicating the developing countries’ metropolitan water supply problem is their aged piping systems. Post-construction maintenance of distribution systems is rarely adequate. In many developing countries, the effort to extend water supply services to new neighborhoods has far outweighed the commitment to treat and safely dispose of waste in the past decade. The ensuing discussion presents four arenas of conflict within the urban water supply and sanitation sector: infrastructure standards, cost recovery, unaccounted-for water, and community participation.
