Ofwat price review 2009
Ofwat price review 2009

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Commons: Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2009-07-24

Total Pages: 164

ISBN-13: 9780215540409

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A report in which the Committee calls on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to review Ofwat's entire remit so that the regulatory regime will keep pace with the changes set to follow from greater competition and the challenge posed by scarcer water resources.

Water Management
Water Management

Author: Great Britain: Parliament: House of Lords: Science and Technology Committee

Publisher: The Stationery Office

Published: 2006-06-06

Total Pages: 561

ISBN-13: 0104008717

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The Committee's report examines a range of issues relating to water management in England and Wales, including the regulatory and legislative framework, water demand and supply issues, water efficiency, and environmental aspects including the Water Framework Directive. Amongst the 60 conclusions and recommendations made, the Committee finds that a sustainable balance between water resource development and demand management cannot be achieved until there is a co-ordinated institutional framework for water resource management, with a need for wider stakeholder engagement by means of new regional boards consisting of environmental and consumer interests, as well as Ofwat representatives. Ofwat and the Environment Agency should take a more realistic approach to long-term planning issues, including agreeing indicative pricing for each water company. Current levels of leakage from the distribution network are unacceptably high in parts of the country, which damages the public's attitude towards sensible water use, and Ofwat should sanction water companies to spend more on reducing leakage with targets that take greater account of environmental and social factors as well as economics. The Government should make it easier for water companies to impose water meters on households in the driest parts of the country, in order to help reduce demand and ensure fairer charging practices, with support through the tax and benefit system for vulnerable customers who have difficulty with their bills. In order to address the very high level of unpaid water bills, those people who can afford to pay but refuse to do so should be partially disconnected from the water supply.

Adaptive Water Management
Adaptive Water Management

Author: Farideh Delavari Edalat

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2017-09-05

Total Pages: 168

ISBN-13: 3319641433

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This book explores a new framework of Adaptive Water Management (AWM) for evaluating existing approaches in urban water management. It highlights the need to adopt multidisciplinary strategies in water management while providing an in-depth understanding of institutional interactions amongst different water related sectors. The key characteristics of AWM i.e. polycentric governance, organisational flexibility and public participation are investigated and described through a critical review of the relevant literature. The book presents an empirical case study undertaken in a selected developing-country city to investigate the potential gaps between the current water management approaches and possible implementation of AWM. Feasibility of AWM operations is examined in an environment surrounded by established water management structure with centralised governance and an institutional process based on technical flexibility. The key elements of AWM performance are (re)structured and transformed into decision support systems. Multi criteria decision models are developed to facilitate quantification and visualization of the elements derived from the case study, which is involved with water companies and water consumers. The book describes how the concept of AWM, along with structuring suitable decision support systems, can be developed and applied to developing-country cities. The book highlights the barriers for applying the AWM strategies that include established centralised decision making, bureaucratic interactions with external organisations, lack of organisational flexibility within the institutions, and lack of recognition of public role in water management. The findings outline that despite the lack of adaptability in the current water management in the case study, as an example of developing countries, there are positive attitudes among water professionals and the public towards adaptability through public-institutional participation.

Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent
Southeast Asian Personalities of Chinese Descent

Author: Leo Suryadinata

Publisher: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 1611

ISBN-13: 9814345210

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"This is a bold project recording the lives of a particular group of Southeast Asians. Most of the people whose biographies are included here have settled down in the ten countries that constitute the region. Each of them has either self-identified as Chinese or is comfortable to be known as someone of Chinese ancestry. There are also those who were born in China or elsewhere who came here to work and do business, including seeking help from others who have ethnic Chinese connections. With the political and economic conditions of the region in a great state of flux for the past two centuries, it is impossible to find consistency in the naming process. Confucius had stressed that correct names make for the best relationships. In this case, Professor Leo Suryadinata has been pursuing for decades the elusive goal of finding the right name to give to the large numbers of people who have, in one way or another, made their homes in, or made some difference to, Southeast Asia. I believe that, when he and his colleagues selected the biographies to be included here, they have taken a big step towards the rectification of identities for many leading personalities. In so doing, he has done us all a great service." - Professor Wang Gungwu, National University of Singapore