7.4.3 The Cost and Pricing of Water Delivery
Water users in most countries are generally charged but a small
fraction of the actual cost of water abstraction, delivery, disposal,
and treatment (Briscoe 1999; WHO/UNICEF 2000; Walker et
al. 2000), and in some countries implicit and explicit water subsidies can reach up to 93% (Pagiola et al. 2002). Moreover, externalities associated with freshwater use, such as salinization of soils,
degradation of ecosystems, and pollution of waterways, have been
almost universally ignored, promoting current inefficiencies in
use and threats to freshwater ecosystems. In general, those with
access to abundant or underpriced water use it in a wasteful manner, while many, usually the poor, still lack sufficient access to
water resources.