Privatizing Water Systems: A Primer

This Essay will discuss the reasons behind the trend of privatizing water systems, explain the basic concepts involved in privatizing water systems, and assess the benefits and challenges of privatization. The private sector has long played an active role in helping governments design, finance, construct, operate, and maintain potable and waste water systems. The 1990s, however, were witness to a dramatic rise in the use of the private sector to supplant--and not merely supplement--the public sector in the water area