A Study to Develop Strategies for Proactive Water-Loss Management Hyun Jung Park Directed by Dr. Mary Beth Walker Water conservation is one of the important policy concerns. However, most water conservation practices have focused primarily on reducing use by customers. Since a large amount of water lost in supply systems causes water providers to lose money, resources, and reliability, and the current passive approach cannot deal with water losses effectively, a proactive approach is necessary for water-loss management. The goal of this study is to help policymakers and water utilities develop strategies that proactively solve water losses. To develop strategies for water-loss management, it is essential to identify key factors that determine the level of water losses as well as the factors that encourage the adoption of the innovative control practices. Using three different datasets and statistical methodology, this study analyzed the factors associated with water losses and utilities responses to the problems. Based on case studies, this study explored managers perceptions about the adoption of water-loss management and identified organizational characteristics that may influence managements decisions to adopt such strategies. Operational and Maintenance (O and M) factors had the most significant impacts on water losses. In particular, system size, represented by total production or population served, and infrastructure rehabilitation were crucial factors. The effects of some internal factors on water losses were predicted but those of several internal factors were rather unclear and relatively complicated. This study confirmed that utilities were more likely to be motivated to combat water losses if certain external conditions, such as higher water demand, limited resource availability, and institutional pressure exist. This study found several internal and external factors associated with the adoption of proactive water-loss management; however, internal factors seemed to dominate in the decision-making processes over such adoption. The utilities that have already adopted proactive water-loss management seem to be more amenable to adopt new practices because they have certain characteristics and their managers have more positive perspectives. The findings suggest several policy implications and recommendations for the water industry. Finally, this study discussed limitations of the study, and suggestions for further studies.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Wyoming, 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on August 4, 2009). Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-95).

The bottled water industry in Mexico represents a new method of providing drinking water to a society without ties to a conventional central piped domestic water supply system. Mexico, the world's leader in bottled water per capita consumption, has struggled to provide reliable, safe drinking water for its citizens. This study examines the context in which the bottled water industry rose to become the primary source of drinking water for a majority of Mexicans. The study shows how the combination of factors allowed the industry's rapid rise from a niche market of elite and 'healing' waters to its present size. The cholera epidemic of the 1990s, the 1985 earthquake, and the financial crisis that left Mexico unable to invest in water infrastructure forced consumers to seek alternative water sources. Political factors and the liberalizing reforms of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s facilitated market solutions and private-public-partnerships to meet the needs of the Mexican citizens. The world's largest food and beverage distributors bought into the market and found that the public was willing to pay cash for water bottles where the public water sector had failed to deliver potable water. Despite the fact that bottled water is more expensive per unit of water than a centralized delivery system, consumers are willing to pay a high price for clean water. It is an open question whether consumers return to tap water even after improvements have been made, once the bottled water industry has been so established. / text

Thesis (M.E.S.)--The Evergreen State College, 2006. / Title from title screen (viewed 2/25/2010). Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-117).

Magister Economicae - MEcon / In this thesis, I explore the allocation and use of water for productive and domestic purposes in the village of Siyandhani in the Klein Letaba sub-area, and how the allocation and use is being affected by new water resource management and water services provision legislation and policies in the context of water reform. This problem is worth studying because access to water for domestic and productive purposes is a critical dimension of poverty alleviation.The study focuses in particular on the extent to which policy objectives of greater equity in resource allocation and poverty alleviation are being achieved at local level with the following specific objectives: to establish water resources availability in Letaba/Shingwedzi sub-region, specifically surface and groundwater and examine water uses by different sectors (e.g. agriculture, industry, domestic, forestry etc.,); to explore the dynamics of existing formal and informal institutions for water resources management and water services provision and the relationship between and among them; to investigate the practice of allocation and use of domestic water; to investigate the practice of allocation and use of irrigation water.The study concludes that there is a problem of water scarcity in the study area and that the water scarcity is caused by the growth in the population, specifically in the Giyani area; these problems are exacerbated by financial and institutional obstacles within local institutions of governance. The water scarcity is not, therefore, natural but anthropogenic in nature.The water scarcity is not felt by all sectors, however: some farmers have access to water for irrigation, while many others face great challenges in their farming activities.Overall, people in Siyandhani and surrounding villages surrounding villages in the Letaba Catchment do not have access to water because of human action, hence the use of the concept of manufactured scarcity. The lack of access to water, it is argued,leads to the violation of the human right to water. This study concludes that water reform, which is widely seen as a priority for South Africa, has not yet reached the villages of the Klein Letaba.

Water supply managers often look for easily applied metrics to determine where water use can be curtailed. Unfortunately, the one-size-fits-all mentality comes with a price of failing to fully grasp the consequences decision-making based on such metrics. One issue that water supply regulator like to use is per capita water use. Per capital water use is often used to show where there is “wasted” water use, such as excessive irrigation. However such a metric may not be truly applicable depending on other economic factors. A heavily industrial area may add to apparent per capital use, but actually is an economic development activity. The focus of this project is to look at various water utilities and their per capital usage with the intent of discerning whether or not a better metric could be developed that consider the economic development activities of the region and water use. / Includes bibliography. / Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Thesis (Ph. D. in Economics)--Vanderbilt University, Aug. 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 120-128).

Thesis (M.S.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 50-54).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Texas, Dec., 2007. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc. (Geography)) - Rhodes University, 2008