Neoliberalism and sustainable urban water sectors: A critical reflection of sector characteristics and empirical evidence

Abstract

Urban water sectors in industrialised countries are increasingly facing a diverse range of challenges. Aging assets, environmental concerns and economic issues put pressure on the current governance and organisation of these sectors. In recent years, a plethora of neoliberal reforms have been initiated in various countries as efforts to counteract these developments. While rather successful in infrastructure sectors, such as energy or telecommunication, neoliberal reforms have proven difficult in many industrialised, urban water sectors. The article argues that this is related to distinct characteristics of the water sectors. Specificities include large-scale technologies, high externalities and the nature of the good. This article analyses these key characteristics of urban water sectors and shows their implications and challenges for neoliberal reforms by drawing on the privatisation of the English water sectors. The results show key trade-offs between economic and environmental issues, and less with social goals.

Civil Society and the Governance of Water Services: German Political Parties’ Reactions to Right2Water

“…In the remaining member states, the minimum number of the signatures was not reached. Among them are countries such as the United Kingdom-which comes as no surprise, considering that in England and Wales all utilities are owned privately [1,13]. In substantive terms, Right2Water called on the European Commission to propose legislation implementing the human right to water and sanitation as recognised by the United Nations' General Assembly Resolution 64/292 of 2010 [31].…”

“…At the time when the proposal was put forth, private companies were already involved in water services in several member states at the national, regional and local levels. For example, private water companies were involved in the provision of water services in England, France, Italy, Portugal, Spain, and Wales [1,[9][10][11][12][13][14]. However, the concessions were often awarded on the basis of public procurement law and the pertinent national laws were often different from one another in the individual member states [12].…”

“…It should be noted that while interrelated, liberalisation and privatisation refer to two different processes. Liberalisation is the process of defining a regulatory framework for promoting competition, whereas privatisation is the process by which private organisations can contribute to the production of collective goods [13,33]. While we are aware that liberalisation and privatisation are different concepts, in the remainder of this study we will refer to both since this was what happened during the public debate.…”

“…Rather than the right to water or access to water and sanitation, this specific feature of Right2Water led to successful mobilisation [12]. Liberalisation and privatisation have "gained a high level of attention-often negative-in the media, civil society and the public administration" [13]. With respect to environmental issues and the maxim that drinking water has to be free of pollutants, the scepticism regarding the willingness of private companies to invest in further purification steps is of major concern [3].…”

A transition in the Dutch wastewater system? The struggle between discourses and with lock-ins

“…Previous studies have also highlighted the role of history, lock-ins and incremental changes in the water/wastewater system. For instance, it is captured by a global rationality of the centralised infrastructure (Fuenfschilling & Binz, 2018); sector characteristics such as the large-scale infrastructure, monopolies and high environmental externalities can hinder reforms (Lieberherr & Fuenfschilling, 2016;Meehan, Ormerod, & Moore, 2013); and regulatory, environmental and industrial interests are a powerful 'drive to sewer' (Rockefeller, 1998, p. 12). In this way, the overview provides a foundation for exploring today's discourses, the influence of history and possible lock-ins.…”