Water pricing.

• Author: Singh, Sahana
• Position: FROM READERS - Letter to the editor

"Water Wars: Is Water a Human Right or a Commodity?" [March/April] gives a good overview of some water issues, but dwells too much on the privatization debate.

Today, the privatization debate is not the same color as it was some years back, at least not in Asia. With 90 percent of the world's water in the bands of the public sector, it is a no-brainer that outright privatization is not going to happen in most parts of the world. Today the debate is more about the different forms of public-private partnerships (PPPs) that could give the maximum benefit, such as build-operate-transfer, engineering procurement construction, or fixed-term management contracts. Every city that wishes to involve the private sector has to weigh the pros and cons of different PPP models and tailor win-win contracts to suit its needs. China and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, are at the forefront of the PPP movement.

What the article did not explore in much depth was the issue of tariffs for water. It costs money to get water from a source, treat it, and then supply it to thousands of households. With inordinately low tariffs set for water in most parts of the world, utilities are unable to meet their expenses and therefore run into huge debts...