Private sector provision of rural water services : a desk study for Water For People

This desk study provides a broad overview of how the private sector currently engages with rural water services in Africa, Asia and Latin America. A review of publicly available literature has been undertaken to identify examples of a private entity (whether individual, small enterprise or large firm) providing water
services in a rural setting. The review seeks to assess the prevalence of private sector management models and their potential to improve both the coverage and sustainability of rural water supplies. It also considers the conditions under which these approaches might succeed, and the associated equity and resource implications.

The study covers household self-supply, dispersed community water points, decentralised community water treatment and small piped schemes. Outside of delegated management for small piped schemes, it found few large-scale examples of private sector provision of rural water services. Even scarcer were instances of private investment in rural water scheme installation where upfront costs are recouped through user fees.