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Regulation of Water and Sewage Corporations: Impact on Prices and Services

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Regulation in Israel

Abstract

Regulatory changes have taken place in the urban water and sewage sector in Israel over the years. In 2001, the Water and Sewage Corporations Law was enacted. The municipal departments that dealt with the water and sewage issues until then were shut down and over the years, 56 water and sewage corporations were established. At the same time, the regulation of the water sector in Israel has also changed and is the responsibility of the State Water and Sewage Authority established in 2007. The Authority coordinates both administrative and regulatory measures, and is in charge of managing, operating, developing, and regulating the activities of all the water corporations that have been established throughout the country. In this article, we examine the structure of regulation, the functions of the regulator, and especially the effect of regulation on the quality of services provided to the consumers of the water and sewage corporations.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    We wish to thank Mifal Hapayis (Israel’s State Lottery) for their support of the research on this topic.

  2. 2.

    The conference participants called for new approaches to the assessment, development, and management of freshwater resources, due to the different conflicting uses and overuses of water. Principle four of the Dublin conference states that “… it is vital to recognize first the basic right of all human beings to have access to clean water and sanitation at an affordable price.”

  3. 3.

    Cross-subsidization is a situation in which profits from one activity are used to pay for another activity that is losing money or making less money.

  4. 4.

    All interviewees were assured of confidentiality so that they could express themselves freely.

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Tevet, E., Talit, G. (2021). Regulation of Water and Sewage Corporations: Impact on Prices and Services. In: Tevet, E., Shiffer, V., Galnoor, I. (eds) Regulation in Israel. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56247-2_4

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