Abstract
This chapter analyses three themes in the evolution of urban water sector governance and regulation in developed countries over the last few decades. The first theme is a reduction in direct government management and control of the urban water systems through a process we describe as devolution. The second theme is the growing sophistication and use of policy tools for regulating the urban water sector, in part as a result of the devolution and separation of ownership, operation, and regulation. The third theme is the re-emergence of broader social and environmental concerns in the water sector, prompting a variety of government responses. The themes are necessarily high level, one reason being that, historically, they have appeared in a variety of forms and under a diversity of governance, regulatory, and environmental circumstances. We draw on evidence from across the developed world and use case studies from Australia and France to illustrate how the themes have manifested.
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Law No. 82–213 of 2 March 1982 on the rights and freedoms of the communes, departments and regions, followed by other laws in 1983 (No. 83–8 and No. 83–663).
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Directives 2004/18/EC, 2004/17/EC, and 2009/85/EC. A directive is a European law that all member states must adopt in their countries.
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The European Commission (EC) is an executive body of the European Union. It is composed of one appointed commissioner per member state.
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In France, as in many Mediterranean countries influenced by Roman law, public and private sectors are subject to separate legislations (public law versus private law). The doctrine of public law relies first on this specific legislation and second on the jurisprudence of the Conseil d’Etat, a specific court of appeal for public law. Equity of treatment and continuity are two fundamental principles of public law deriving from this doctrine.
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Reinhardt, W., Guérin-Schneider, L. (2015). Governance and Regulation of the Urban Water Sector: Quoi de Neuf?. In: Grafton, Q., Daniell, K., Nauges, C., Rinaudo, JD., Chan, N. (eds) Understanding and Managing Urban Water in Transition. Global Issues in Water Policy, vol 15. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9801-3_20
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