|
Water Underpriced and Overconsumed in Canada; Pricing Reform Needed: C.D. Howe Institute
TORONTO, Feb. 5 2009 - The current state of municipal water pricing in Canada is significantly flawed, with costs that include underfunded water agencies, aging infrastructure, excessive consumption and stifled innovation, according to a study released today by the C.D. Howe Institute. In Wave of the Future: The Case for Smarter Water Policy, author Steven Renzetti argues that increased infrastructure funding for municipal water agencies will not address the underlying problem of flawed water pricing. Reforms are required in the pricing of water, he says, that include the expanded use of water meters and seasonal surcharges that better reflect costs.
On average, says Professor Renzetti, municipal water agencies lose or cannot account for 20 percent of the water leaving their treatment plants. They face a significant backlog of infrastructure repairs, and replacement costs have been estimated to be billions of dollars. They do not know how much water is consumed by one-quarter of their residential customers whose water use is unmetered. And, in 2007, the revenues they earned represented only 70 percent of their recorded expenditures - which by most accounts understates the costs of their operations.
Potential reforms include:
- expanding the use of water meters;
- moving to a full-cost-accounting approach for water pricing; and
- using seasonal surcharges to better reflect the marginal costs of water use during peak summer months.
Such reforms would help establish an efficient and sustainable water industry in Canada, says the author.
For the study go to: http://www.cdhowe.org/pdf/commentary_281.pdf
For further information:
Steven Renzetti,
Department of Economics, Brock University,
(905) 688-5550 x3121;
Colin Busby,
Policy Analyst, C.D. Howe Institute,
(416) 865-1904,
email: cdhowe@cdhowe.org
Published at The Investorideas.com Renewable Energy and GreenTech Business and Stock News RSS Feed: Subscribe : http://www.investorideas.com/RSS/feeds/RES.xml
Become an Investorideas.com Member:
Gain Exclusive Insight on Leading Sectors, Global Trends, and Insider Trading Ideas, News, Articles and the complete renewable energy stocks directory.
Learn more: http://www.investorideas.com/membership/
InvestorIdeas.com Disclaimer: Issuers of press releases and articles are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content
|
