Guidelines for user fees and cost recovery for urban, networked, water and sanitation delivery

These guidelines have been prepared to assist Regional Member Countries (RMCs), service providers and RMCs investors working in project formulation and appraisal, sector and policy analysis in the water supply, sanitation, irrigation and related agricultural projects. The Guidelines acknowledge the widely held view that water is both a social and economic good and have been designed to assist all stakeholders in the implementation of sustainable services which support all consumers and users of water. The Guidelines are divided in two main parts: the Guidelines and the Knowledge Resources. Part1 includes the rationale and purpose of the guidelines; guidelines for user fees and cost recovery; and guidelines for networked and / or urban water supply and sanitation. Part 2 includes review of AfDB user fees and cost recovery policies; international review of cost recovery; summary of country experiences and knowledge resources on networked and/or urban water supply and sanitation. The document is one of three complementary documents. The other two documents consider rural, predominantly non-networked, water supply and sanitation and irrigation services.