THE COST OF WATER IN IRAN, TURKEY AND SAUDI ARABIA

Norooz, Reyhaneh (2017) THE COST OF WATER IN IRAN, TURKEY AND SAUDI ARABIA. In: 16th Iranian Hydraulic Conference, Spetember 2017.

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Abstract

Pricing of water and water-related services is an important mechanism for managing demand and promoting efficient use of water, for allocating water among competing uses and for generating finance to invest in water-related infrastructure and services. When consumers do not pay the full cost of water, they tend to use it inefficiently. At the same time, when the price levels are high, this may pose problems of continued access to water for poorer consumers, and the affordability of the water bill for low income households needs to be taken into account. Water problems are expected to be a major constraint on sustainable development in some countries in the 21st century. Water pricing is a key tool for overcoming this constraint. This study provides the latest information about water pricing practices in Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. These three countries have made considerable progress in the past decade toward improved water pricing practices, including: increased management autonomy for water utilities, more emphasis on “full cost recovery”, including reduced (or at least more transparent subsidies, wider use of marginal cost principles in pricing structure, higher water price levels in the household and industrial sectors (but not generally in agriculture). The results show that water price in Turkey in much higher than Iran and Saudi Arabia. In comparison to other countries water price in Iran is one of the cheapest.

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