User talk:Niyeze/sandbox

History
Privately owned water utilities were common in Europe, the United States, and Latin America in the mid and late 19th century. Their importance gradually faded away until the early 20th century as they proved unable to expand access and publicly owned utilities became stronger. A second global dawn of private water utilities came in the early 1990s in the aftermath of the Thatcher privatizations in England and Wales, the fall of communism and the ensuing global emphasis on free market policies. The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund played an important role in this process through the conditionality of their lending.

Going back to the beginning of the concept of privatizing water in England and Wales, the emergence of the first private water companies dates back to the 17th century. In 1820, six private water companies operated in London. However, the market share of private water companies in London declined from 40% in 1860 to 10% in 1900. In the 1980s, their shares all over England and Wales was about 25%. The tide turned completely in 1989 when the conservative government of Margaret Thatcher privatized all public water and sewer companies in England and Wales. In Scotland, local governments dominated by the Labour party kept water systems in public hands.

The water supply of Paris was operated by two private companies from 1985 to 2010, each serving one half of the city.

Meanwhile, the water sector in France has always been characterized by a coexistence of public and private management, with their respective shares fluctuating over time. The two largest private companies are Veolia Environnement, formerly the Compagnie Générale des Eaux and then Vivendi Environnement, and Suez Environnement, formerly Lyonnaise des Eaux and then Ondeo. The Compagnie Générale des Eaux was founded in 1853 and Lyonnaise des Eaux in 1880. In the late 19th century, municipal governments, dissatisfied with high tariffs and the lack of expansion of networks to poor neighborhoods, did not renew private concessions and created instead municipally-owned utilities. The share of private water operators declined to 17% in 1936. The share of the private sector gradually increased to 32% in 1954, 50% in 1975 and 80% in 2000 using a new model: Instead of the concession contracts, which gave the responsibility to finance investments to the private company, the new lease contracts (affermages) made the private operator only responsible for operation and maintenance, while major investments became a responsibility of the municipalities. The French water companies also escaped the nationalizations after the war and later under President François Mitterrand, because the central government did not want to interfere with the autonomy of municipalities and was unwilling to finance heavy investments. The water supply of Paris was privatized in 1985 when a conservative mayor awarded two lease contracts, each covering one half of the city. In 2010, a socialist mayor remunicipalized the water system of the French capital.

The water supply of Barcelona has been managed by a private company, Aguas de Barcelona, since 1867.

In Spain, private water companies maintained their position, budging the global trend during the late 19th and early 20th century. The largest private water company in Spain is Aguas de Barcelona. Initially created by French and Belgian investors, it was sold to Spanish investors in 1920, only to gradually come back under French control in the early 21st century.

In Germany, a British private water company had set up the first piped water system and treatment plant in Berlin in 1852, but the city, dissatisfied with the lack of investment in particular in sewerage, cancelled the contract in 1873. In 1887 Gelsenwasser was created, which remains an important regional water supplier in the Ruhr district. The German water sector has always been dominated by municipally owned utilities. Despite this, the water system of Berlin was partially privatized in 1999 for fiscal reasons.

In the United States, 60% of piped water systems were privately owned in 1850. This share declined to 30% in 1924. As of 2010, 2000 water and wastewater facilities in the U.S. were operated under public-private partnerships, a joint effort between the private group and the municipality it was operating in.

Demonstration in Johannesburg, against the privatization of water, December 2008

With the continuing expansion of water privatization, European and local private water companies expanded in Latin America, Africa, and Asia in the second half of the 19th century, all while their importance declined in Europe. In Uruguay, water supply was privately managed from 1867 to 1950; in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a brief period from 1887 to 1891 and again from 1993 to 2006; in Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt, from 1867 to 1956; in Beirut, Lebanon, from the 19th century until 1951; in Shanghai, China, from 1875 to 1949; in Casablanca, Morocco, from 1914 to 1962 and then again after 1997; in Senegal until 1971 and then again after 1996; and in Côte d'Ivoire from colonial times until today without interruption.

In Central and Eastern Europe, private companies expanded during the late 1990s, especially in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania.

However, some water privatizations failed, most notably in 2000 in Cochabamba, Bolivia, paving the way for a new pragmatism and a reduced emphasis on privatization. In 2019, Austria forbid the privatization of water provision via its constitution.

External Influences
External influences, such as from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), often play a role, as it was the case in Bolivia and in several African countries. This may take the form of structural adjustment programs and aid in form of loans. In some cases, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) would implement rules that require countries to partially use their loans to privatize their water resources. Other aid agencies have also supported water privatization. These include the Inter-American Development Bank (e.g., in Ecuador, Colombia and Honduras), the Asian Development Bank (e.g., in China), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Eastern Europe, German development cooperation through KfW (e.g., in Albania, Armenia, Jordan and Peru), French development cooperation (e.g., in Senegal) and British development cooperation (e.g., in Tanzania and Guyana). — Preceding unsigned comment added by Niyeze (talk • contribs) 02:21, 12 November 2020 (UTC)

Prevalence
Prevalence of public-private partnerships

There are widely differing estimates of the number of people served by private water companies. The World Bank estimated that, as of 2007, about 270 million people received water from private companies in more than 40 countries, including about 160 million in developed countries and 110 million in developing countries. The report did not include estimates of the number of people served by private companies on the wastewater side. The Pinsent Masons Water Yearbook uses a broader definition, including also wastewater services. More importantly, it also includes cases where a private company operates a water or wastewater treatment plant on behalf of a publicly owned and operated utility that serves the final customer. Based on this broader definition and taking into account the growth of both population and water privatization between 2007 and 2011, it estimates that the private sector served 909 million in 62 countries or 13% of the world population in one form or another. This includes 309 million people in China, 61 million in the United States, 60 million in Brazil, 46 million in France, 23 million in Spain, 15 million in India, and 14 million in Russia. In England and Wales, the entire population of 55 million is served by private companies. In addition, in Chile, the Czech Republic, Armenia, and four African countries – Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Gabon, and Senegal – private companies provide water services to the entire urban population. In Hungary, they serve almost half the population. In Algeria, Colombia, Germany, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, and South Africa less than half the population is served by private companies. In the Philippines, Indonesia, Bulgaria, Estonia, and Cuba private water companies serve only the capital city. 24 countries, such as Argentina, Bolivia, and a number of small countries like Guyana or the Central African Republic, had reverted to public management as of 2009. However, 84 percent of contracts awarded mostly in the 1990s were still active. on the other hand, in many countries, such as Japan, Canada, Egypt, Pakistan, or Scandinavia, there are no private water companies. Nicaragua, the Netherlands, and Uruguay have even passed laws banning water privatization. Similarly, in Italy, in June 2011 a law favoring water privatization was repealed by an overwhelming majority of Italians through a referendum. In 2019, the City of Baltimore, Maryland became the first major city in the United States to ban water privatization.

TABLE IN BETWEEN

A World Bank report lists the following examples of successful public-private partnerships in developing countries: the full privatization in Chile; the mixed companies in Colombia; the concessions in Guayaquil in Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Eastern Manila in the Philippines, Morocco, and Gabun; and the lease contracts in Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and Yerevan in Armenia.

Small-scale operators: the other private sector

Niyeze (talk) 18:14, 13 November 2020 (UTC)

Water Privatization
Water privatization is short for private sector participation in the provision of water services and sanitation. Water privatization has a variable history in which its popularity and favorability has fluctuated in the market and politics. One of the common forms of privatization is Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).[1] PPPs allow for a mix between public and private ownership and/or management of water and sanitation sources and infrastructure. Like any other system, the privatization of the water system has its supporters and opposers due to varying reasons that are going to be discussed below.

Privatization, as proponents argue, may not only increase efficiency and service quality but also increase fiscal benefits. There are different forms of regulation in place for current privatization systems. For instance, people who spent a significant amount of hours to find a source of clean water would have time to get educated and work, which would increase the overall economic growth because more time is allocated towards building one's potential rather than on fetching water from miles away. On the other hand, the opposing side has different perspectives on why water should not be privatized. For instance, opponents mention how the drive for profits will not necessarily make private sectors work efficiently as previously believed.

Private sector participation in water supply and sanitation is controversial. Proponents of private sector participation argue that it has led to improvements in the efficiency and service quality of utilities. It is argued that it has increased investment and has contributed to expanded access. They cite Manila, Guayaquil in Ecuador, Bucharest, several cities in Colombia, and Morocco, as well as Côte d'Ivoire and Senegal as success stories.[1][2][3] Critics, however, contend that private sector participation led to tariff increases, and privatized water systems are incompatible with ensuring the international human right to water, with the belief that public water will no longer be public. Aborted privatizations in Cochabamba, Bolivia, and Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, as well as privately managed water systems in Jakarta and Berlin, are highlighted as failures. In 2019, Austria forbid the privatization of water provision via its constitution.[4][5][6][7][8][9] Water privatization in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in England are cited by both supporters and opponents, each emphasizing different aspects of these cases.

Figures outlining the accessibility of water from the private sector also display the controversy of private water sources: one source claims that 909 million people were served by "private players" in 2011 globally, up from 681 million people in 2007. This figure includes people served by publicly owned companies that have merely outsourced the financing, construction, and operation of part of their assets, such as water or wastewater treatment plants, to the private sector.[10] The World Bank estimated the urban population directly served by private water operators in developing countries to be much lower at 170 million in 2007.[1] Among them, only about 15 million people, all living in Chile, are served by privately owned utilities. Privately managed but publicly owned companies serve the remainder under concession, lease, and management contracts. Niyeze (talk) 00:32, 17 November 2020 (UTC)