The document summarizes key findings from an OECD survey of water governance in cities. It identifies challenges related to the multiplicity of governmental and non-governmental actors involved in urban water governance, the complex interactions between cities and surrounding areas on issues like water quality and flood control, and the need for better policy coordination across water-related sectors like land use and energy. It provides opportunities for improved stakeholder engagement, rural-urban partnerships, metropolitan governance, and policy complementarities to help address these challenges.

1. WATER GOVERNANCE IN CITIES
KEY FINDINGS
6th OECD Water Governance Initiative
Paris, 2 November 2015
Aziza Akhmouch & Oriana Romano

2. OECD Survey “Water Governance in cities”
Key questions
METHODOLOGY
OBJECTIVES
• Challenges to urban water governance
• Performance indicators
• Governance gaps
• Best practices in urban water governance
• Factors of urban water governance
• Allocation of roles and responsibilities
• Interconnection with water-related sectors
• Tools and strategies to overcome fragmentation
TARGET
• Questionnaire to 48 cities from OECD and emerging economies
• Policy makers at local and national level
• Water managers at city and metropolitan level

3. Analytical framework for assessing
water governance in cities
Source : OECD, 2015 forthcoming, Water Governance in OECD Cities, OECD Publishing, Paris

4. The 3Ps co-ordination framework
Cities
complex
interactions
People
PlacesPolicies
Source : OECD, 2015 forthcoming, Water Governance in OECD Cities, OECD Publishing, Paris

5. PEOPLE

6. Facts
Multiplicity of governmental actors
with shared prerogatives on water
• Central governments : policy making (e.g. water
security 65%) and regulatory functions ( e.g.
drinking water 52%)
• Local government ( policy making, information,
financing e.g. drainage/ drinking water)
• Other sub-national governments:
information/monitoring/evaluation
Multiplicity of non-governmental
actors with a stake in urban water
governance
• Service providers (main counterparts of city
departments, 79%)
• Industry/ Business ( not frequent interaction )
• Irrigators and their association ( rare
interactions)
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Service providers
Regional / provincial
government
Local government
Advisors
Media
Customers and their
associations
Civil society
Central government
Business/ Industry
Sub-national institution
dealing specifically with water
Trade unions and workers
Science, academia and
research centres
Regulator
Inter-municipal /
metropolitan authority
Financial actors
International organisations
Irrigators and their
associations
Frequent interactions between cities and stakeholders
Obstacles
• Complexity of issues at hand
• Resistance to change
• Lack of funding for engaging stakeholders
Source : OECD, 2015 forthcoming, Water Governance in OECD Cities, OECD Publishing, Paris

7. Opportunities
• Building trust and ownership
• Securing the willingness to pay for water services
• Raising awareness on current and future water challenges
• Ensuring the accountability of city managers and service providers to end
users and citizens
• Managing conflicts on water allocation
• Ensuring the political acceptability of different ownership models
• Setting convergent objectives across policy areas.
Focus on  Stakeholder engagement
Focus on  Multi-level approaches to water governance
• Minimising overlaps
• Avoiding duplications
• Identifying grey areas
• Vertical and horizontal co-ordination

8. PLACES

9. Facts
75% 73%
63%
58%
54% 54%
44% 42%
8%
Issues generating interdependencies between
cities and surrounding areas• Major issues: water quality (75%) ,
flood control (73%), wastewater
treatment ( 63%).
• Ageing/lacking infrastructure and
extreme events are the main water-
related challenges for surveyed cities
(92% and 83%)
• For OECD countries as a whole,
investment requirements in the water
supply and treatment sector are expected
to increase by almost 50% by 2030
(OECD, 2007)
• Cities coordinate with rural areas and
other municipalities: 46% of cities
implemented inter-municipal co-
ordination mechanisms
• Lack of relevant scale for investment ( administrative
gap)
• Mismatch between hydrological and administrative
boundaries (administrative gap)
Obstacles
Source : OECD, 2015 forthcoming, Water Governance in OECD Cities, OECD Publishing, Paris

10. Opportunities
Focus on Rural- Urban partnerships
• Building synergies for a more efficient use of water
• Managing trade-offs and building trust and
capacities
• Integrate water management between cities and
their hinterland
Focus on  Metropolitan governance
• Enhancing information sharing and costs saving
for projects on water
• Integrate planning, policy making, strategy
setting and service provision across municipalities
Source : OECD, 2015 forthcoming, Water Governance in OECD Cities, OECD Publishing, Paris

11. POLICIES

12. Facts
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100% 81% 77%
71%
56%
39% 38%
31%
Policy areas influencing water challenges in
surveyed cities
• Land use and spatial planning (81%),
Energy (77%) and territorial
development (71%) mainly influence water
challenges in surveyed cities
• Surveyed cities coordinate across sectors
through planning, but also through
contracts (energy, agriculture);
coordination groups (territorial
development, environment)
Obstacles
• Lack of strategic vision across water
related policy areas ( policy gap)
• Lack of institutional incentives for
sectoral cooperation ( objective gap)
Source : OECD, 2015 forthcoming, Water Governance in OECD Cities, OECD Publishing, Paris

13. • Managing conflicts on water
allocation
• Efficiently allocating resources
• Increasing capacity
• Strategic vision
Opportunities
Focus on  policy complementarities
Coordination
mechanisms
Conditionalities
Financial
incentives
Joint
programmes
Partnerships
Contracts
Legal
requirements
Co-ordination
groups
Planning
Environment
Spatial
planning
Energy
Agriculture
Regional
development
Land use
Water
Waste
Source : OECD, 2015 forthcoming, Water Governance in OECD Cities, OECD Publishing, Paris

14. THANK YOU
AZIZA.AKHMOUCH@OECD.ORG
ORIANA.ROMANO@OECD.ORG
WWW.OECD.ORG/GOV/WATER