ABSTRACT
Drinking water is one of the most crucial components of any water law and policy framework. This is due to the intrinsic link with the realization of the human right to water. It also deserves separate treatment in the context of water law reforms because it has not been given significant attention in the new laws examined in other chapters of this section of the book. This is not because other specific laws have been adopted for drinking water in recent years, but because drinking water has in fact not been a real priority in ongoing law reforms. While all documents linked to water sector reforms reiterate the position that drinking water is the first priority of the water sector, the laws that have been and are being adopted are not specifically concerned with drinking water. Yet, this does not mean that no reforms have been undertaken concerning drinking water. On the contrary, since at least the middle of the 1990s, sweeping reforms have been introduced for drinking water supply in rural areas. The reform of the policy context for the provision of drinking water in rural areas has, however, never been discussed in the context of any legislation. There has thus been no parliamentary oversee of the process. In the case of urban areas, reform of water supply services has been proposed at the level of individual cities. This may be part of a stand-alone project focusing on the privatization of water services or be part of a broader urban reform project.1
