The primary objective of this work was to analyse how water companies are affected by climate change and how they try to adapt to it. Therefore, a systematic literature review was being accomplished. The work is being divided into a theoretical and a methodological part. First of all an overview of the climatic changes that are projected to occur during the next years is being given. Then, resulting impacts on the water cycle are being pointed out. Furthermore, raw water sources, water companies obtain water from are being defined as well as the treatment process. Within the methodological part the approach of a systematic literature review is being applied, which includes the selection of references as well as their evaluation. The results of the literature review are that concerning the effects of climate change on water companies, the risks water providers might face, clearly predominate possible opportunities. Especially the deterioration of the raw water quality caused by increasing temperatures, floods as well as heavy rainfalls can be seen as a serious problem. Moreover, the most often mentioned adaptation strategies are dealing with quantitative water problems such as measures to increase storage as well as treatment capacity or leakage reductions. All in all it can be stated that there is still uncertainty about how climate change is going to effect water companies, especially concerning water quality changes and the treatment process.

Many parts of the world, but South Africa specifically, are facing a water crisis, not only because of the scarcity of water, but also the quality of the water that is available. Companies are the primary users of water and can therefore have the most significant impact on saving water. It is thus imperative to determine how companies are measuring, managing, engaging with their stakeholders and disclosing water-related risks in their businesses. This study was conducted on the premise that South African companies have not as yet grasped the seriousness of the water crisis. Thirty JSE-listed companies classified as being water intensive were selected for the study. Their sustainability/integrated/annual reports for 2011 and 2013 were downloaded from the internet and analysed to determine if and how they were mitigating their water-related risks. The Ceres Aqua Gauge™ was used as the framework for this study. It was established during the analysis of the selected companies’ reports that, with the exception of food producers and food retailers, the companies had grasped the seriousness of the water crisis. One area of particular concern that was evident in all the companies was the lack of attention directed towards supply chain water management. Companies need to address water risks in their supply chain, and to also turn the water crisis from a threat into an opportunity. Investors need to engage with and put pressure on companies to improve their water management practices. / Business Management / M. Ph. Accounting Sciences (Management Accounting)

Many parts of the world, but South Africa specifically, are facing a water crisis, not only because of the scarcity of water, but also the quality of the water that is available. Companies are the primary users of water and can therefore have the most significant impact on saving water. It is thus imperative to determine how companies are measuring, managing, engaging with their stakeholders and disclosing water-related risks in their businesses. This study was conducted on the premise that South African companies have not as yet grasped the seriousness of the water crisis. Thirty JSE-listed companies classified as being water intensive were selected for the study. Their sustainability/integrated/annual reports for 2011 and 2013 were downloaded from the internet and analysed to determine if and how they were mitigating their water-related risks. The Ceres Aqua Gauge™ was used as the framework for this study. It was established during the analysis of the selected companies’ reports that, with the exception of food producers and food retailers, the companies had grasped the seriousness of the water crisis. One area of particular concern that was evident in all the companies was the lack of attention directed towards supply chain water management. Companies need to address water risks in their supply chain, and to also turn the water crisis from a threat into an opportunity. Investors need to engage with and put pressure on companies to improve their water management practices. / Business Management / M. Ph. Accounting Sciences (Management Accounting)

Since its inception in 1989, the private water sector of England and Wales has been enlisted as a centrepiece in debates concerning the merits of privatisation. Advocates point to increased environmental performance and increased investment. Critics note a significant retraction of the early free market aspirations and increasingly prescriptive regulation. However, market mechanisms and liberalisation are once again being emphasised in policy, reigniting the debate surrounding the commoditisation of water. This thesis engages directly and critically with Karen Bakker's 'Uncooperative Commodity' approach to the 'reregulation' of the industry, arguing its tenants must be adapted to accommodate these recent developments. While Bakker's earlier accounts of the reregulation of the water industry placed a great emphasis on the geography and biophysical properties of water, later work by both her and her contemporaries have developed more refined and socialised models of how water and society interact to produce temporary regularities in the material world. This thesis argues that an appropriate means of developing Bakker's original thesis would be a greater focus on socio-historical context when exploring the materiality of water, and hence the degree to which water may be transformed into a private commodity. Bob Jessop's Strategic Relational Approach (Jessop 2008) is deployed as a means of describing and relating: (1) the degree to which research can identify underlying mechanisms which govern the outcomes of attempts to commoditise water under capitalist modes of production, (2) the role of the state and politics in flanking or supporting the commoditisation of water and (3) the role of existing discursive-institutional structures in introducing path-dependencies and uneven power geometries which in turn effect the outcomes of collective action towards the commoditisation of water. The thesis documents historical developments in English and Welsh resource planning, regulation, and policy from 1945 to 2012 in order to explain the current structure of the industry, its response to water scarcity, and the origins of the current reform programme. It then focuses on the conflicts and tensions between actors in the industry generated by the current reform programme and their role in affecting the degree of success of the programme itself.

Dans un contexte de réflexions contemporaines sur la durabilité des services urbains d’eau potable, nous nous intéressons à la stratégie de responsabilité sociétale de Lyonnaise des Eaux comme contribution à la mise en mots et mise en œuvre du développement durable dans ce secteur d’activité. L’objectif de ce travail est d’analyser et questionner la stratégie de responsabilité sociétale de l’entreprise (RSE) pour y mettre en lumière d’une part ses causes, processus, finalités, et en comprendre, d’autre part, les impacts sur l’ancrage territorial de l’entreprise. Le mouvement de territorialisation de la RSE s’exprime dans un processus d’interaction global-local aboutissant à la régionalisation de la stratégie RSE de Lyonnaise des Eaux et à son incarnation locale sous la forme de projets développement durable. A partir de l’exemple de la gestion de l’eau potable dans la métropole bordelaise, nous avons étudié et mené deux projets de développement durable au sein de Lyonnaise des Eaux : le premier centré sur la gestion des usagers en situation de précarité hydrique ; le second portant sur l’accompagnement des usagers à la gestion durable de leur consommation d’eau. L’exploration des conditions territoriales de faisabilité de ces projets met en lumière les possibilités offertes à l’entreprise de répondre aux enjeux du territoire en limitant l’impact lié à son activité et de générer les ressources spécifiques nécessaires à son intégration dans des dispositifs locaux d’innovation. L’analyse spatiale de la responsabilité sociétale montre qu’elle est aussi l’interface négociée de l’adaptation et de l’action territorialisée de l’entreprise aux différents échelons. / In a context of contemporary reflections on the sustainability of urban water utilities, we focus on Lyonnaise des Eaux’s corporate social responsibility strategy as a contribution to putting into words and implementing sustainable development in this sector. This work aims at analyzing on the one hand the causes, processes, goals of Lyonnaise des Eaux CSR strategy and understanding on the other hand the impact of these strategies on the company’s territorial embeddedness. CSR's territorial impetus is expressed via a global-local interaction process leading to the regionalization of Lyonnaise des Eaux CSR strategy and, its local embodiment through sustainable development projects. Based on the example of water management in the Bordeaux metropolis, we have studied and conducted two sustainable development projects within the company, one focused on water poverty management and the other focused on sustainable management of domestic water consumption. Exploring the feasibility conditions of these CSR projects highlights the opportunities for the company to meet the challenges of the territory by limiting the impact associated with its business or generate specific resources necessary for its integration into local innovation systems. The territorial approach of corporate responsibility strategy shows that it also appears as a negotiated interface used by Lyonnaise des Eaux for its adaptation and action at different scales.

As water systems are critical infrastructures, their continuous service is essential for maintaining vital functions of society. During the past decades, a number of severe global challenges have put increasing pressure on the water systems, threatening the quality and availability of water. Digitalization is expected to play a fundamental role in managing these challenges, making the digital transformation of the water industry an imperative rather than a choice for water utility providers. However, the implementation of digital solutions also entails a number of challenges, risks and vulnerabilities to water systems. As such, water utility providers are faced with increased complexity and uncertainty, where the safety and security of the system is at stake. This thesis addresses the potential implications of a digital transformation of the water industry by exploring how digitalization affects the Swedish water sector from a safety and security perspective. By doing so, the thesis aims to enhance the understanding of how Swedish water utility providers can manage its ongoing digital transformation. The thesis consists of a qualitative research study where interviews with 16 representatives from the Swedish water industry contributed with a broad perception of the implications of the digital transformation. Theory on high reliability organizations and resilience was applied to obtain a deeper understanding of what the potential safety and security implications may entail for Swedish water utilities in managing and reaping the benefits of their digital transformation. The study finds that representatives from the Swedish water sector mainly view benefits related to the efficiency of their operations from their ongoing digital transformation, while the mentioned drawbacks are generally related to their organizational abilities in managing the emerging risks and increased level of complexity. With increasing digitalization, Swedish water utilities coincide with the high reliability organization theory to a higher extent, which emphasizes the increasing importance of employing bothtechnical reliability and organizational resilience practices. This thesis concludes that technical reliability has historically been well-managed and prioritized by utilities, whilst organizational resilience has become an increasingly important aspect to focus on with increasing digitalization. Hence, practices of organizational resilience, such as incorporating clear strategies, integrating work between divisions and increasing follow-up from disturbances, should be employed on a wider scale among water utilities. / Då vattensystem är kritisk infrastruktur är deras kontinuerliga funktion avgörande för att upprätthålla vitala funktioner i samhället. Under de senaste decennierna har ett antal allvarliga globala utmaningar ökat trycket på vattensystemen, vilket hotar vattnets kvalitet och tillgänglighet. Digitalisering anses vara avgörande för att hantera dessa utmaningar, vilket gör digitalisering av vattenindustrin till en nödvändighet snarare än ett val för VA-bolag. Att implementera digitala lösningar medför emellertid också ett antal utmaningar, risker och sårbarheter för vattensystem. VA-bolagen står således inför en ökad komplexitet och osäkerhet där systemsäkerheten står på spel. Denna uppsats behandlar de potentiella implikationer som kan uppstå av en digital transformation av vattenindustrin genom att undersöka hur digitalisering påverkar den svenska VA-sektorn ur ett säkerhetsperspektiv. Genom detta syftar uppsatsen till att öka förståelsen för hur svenska VA-bolag kan hantera sin pågående digitalisering. En kvalitativ forskningsstudie har genomförts där intervjuer med 16 representanter från den svenska VA-sektorn bidrog med en bred uppfattning om digitaliseringens implikationer för den svenska VA-sektorn. Teori om high reliability organizations och resiliens användes för att fördjupa förståelsen för vad de potentiella säkerhetsimplikationerna kan innebära för svenska VAbolag, både för hantering av riskerna och för att ta till vara på fördelarna med den digitala transformationen. Studien visar att representanter från den svenska VA-sektorn, i deras pågående digitalisering, huvudsakligen ser fördelar relaterade till effektiviteten i vattenproduktionen, medan de nämnda nackdelarna i allmänhet är relaterade till deras egna förmågor att hantera de framväxande riskerna och den ökade komplexiteten. Med ökad digitalisering kan svenska VA-bolag i högre utsträckning beskrivas med teori kring high reliability organizations, vilket medför en ökad vikt av att arbeta med både teknisk tillförlitlighet och organisatorisk resiliens. Teknisk tillförlitlighet har historiskt hanterats väl och prioriterats av VA-bolag, medan organisatorisk resiliens har blivit allt viktigare att fokusera på med ökad digitalisering. Därför drar denna uppsats slutsatsen att arbete med organisatorisk resiliens, såsom att införa tydliga strategier, integrera arbetet mellan avdelningar och öka uppföljningsarbetet efter störningar, bör utföras i större skala bland VA-bolag.

This study analyses the effectiveness of community participation in service delivery. The area of study, the Chris Ham District Municipality (CHDM), is a Water Services Authority, responsible for ensuring access to water services (water and sanitation) by all communities within its jurisdiction. There are eight local municipalities within the CHDM. The objective of this study is to determine whether systems are in place in local government to promote participation by communities in service delivery projects and whether these systems are being utilised efficiently by the role-players concerned. The role-players in this research are people who are involved in community development programmes of the municipality (municipal staff in the relevant departments of the municipalities under study, the social facilitators, civil society organisations, ward committees, ward councillors, traditional authorities as well as the representatives of communities (Project Steering Committees) who are beneficiaries of the projects under study). The projects that are under study were selected from a readily available list of CHDM capital projects that appear in the 2003/2004 financial year funding plan and are running. The findings of the study at both levels (local and district) show that the municipal environment is not conducive to promoting community participation. This is linked to factors such as the structural arrangements, whereby the offices relevant for promoting community participation are not fully occupied, which provided evidence that community participation is not prioritised. There is lack of coordination of programmes within the local government spheres as well within departments of the DM and strategies for community participation have been found to be non-effective. At project level lack of community participation is linked to the utilisation of ward committees as the only mechanism for community participation regardless of its un-equal and party biased representation. This study therefore concludes that although the systems to promote community participation are in place, they are not effective.

Vital societal functions are upheld by public infrastructure. For some time, normative theories describing asset management have disseminated in research and in business. Public infrastructure companies are increasingly required to adhere to management standards under regulatory pressure, however, the research area is in need of more empirical contributions on which challenges companies face when implementing management systems standards in their organization. For asset management systems and the ISO 55000 series in particular, the empirical data is lacking. This thesis addresses the challenges public utility companies face when implementing asset management principles. A qualitative case study was conducted during a five-month period at Sweden's largest water utility company, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall AB (SVOA). Fourteen interviews were conducted and compared with company documents to provide triangulation. The findings suggest that the main challenges a public utility company has to overcome to implement an asset management model are: 1) Lack of strategic and long-term planning responsibility. 2) Unclear division of asset responsibilities. 3) Lack of top management commitment towards asset management systems. 4) No standardized risk management. 5) Lack of information sharing between departments. The implications of this study are twofold: In a practical sense the thesis argues for top management of public infrastructure firms to commit to principles of asset management theory, provide a clear division of asset responsibility, introduce systematic risk management principles and policies, as well as promote cross-divisional exchanges of experiences. Academically, this investigation contributes to the literature by providing a better understanding of the ISO 55000 series, and the implementation process of standards similar to it, in the context of companies managed by the public sector. / Kritiska samhällsfunktioner möjliggörs av offentlig infrastruktur. Sen ett antal år tillbaka finns flertalet normativa teorier publicerade som beskriver hur tillgångshantering (asset management) ska gå till. Under krav från lagstiftning och tillsynsmyndigheter måste offentliga verksamheter i allt högre grad införa standardiserande arbetssätt. Det finns en brist på forskning kring utmaningarna att bygga upp och införa ledningssystem i verksamheten. Särskilt ledningssystem för tillgångshantering som till exempel ISO 55000 saknar empiriska data. Detta examensarbete behandlar de utmaningar offentliga infrastrukturbolag står inför för att implementera tillgångshanteringsprinciper. En kvalitativ fallstudie gjordes över fem månader på Sverige största leverantör av vattentjänster, Stockholm Vatten och Avfall AB (SVOA). Totalt fjorton intervjuer gjordes och jämfördes mot interna företagsdokument för att uppnå triangulering. Resultaten pekar på att de största utmaningarna ett offentligt infrastrukturbolag måste övervinna är: 1) Brist på strategisk och långtidsplanering. 2) Otydlig fördelning av tillgångsansvar. 3) Brist på ledningsengagemang för tillgångshanteringssystem. 4) Avsaknad av standardiserad riskhantering. 5) Brist på informationsutbyte. Konsekvenserna av examensarbetet är tvåfaldig: På ett praktiskt plan argumenterar examensarbetet för att ledningen av offentliga infrastrukturbolag bör förpliktiga sig åt tillgångshanteringsprinciper. De bör även införa en tydlig uppdelning av tillgångsansvar, introducera standardiserade riskhanteringsmodeller och policy, samt bidra till tvärfunktionella erfarenhetsutbyten. På ett akademiskt plan bidrar examensarbetet till att utöka förståelsen för ISO 55000 standarden och implementeringsprocessen för liknande standarder i kontexten av offentligt styrda företag.

The purpose of this dissertation was to identify factors that contribute to the sustainability of rural water supply facilities (WSFs). Twenty-four interviews were conducted: 16 from rural communities and 8 from water supply agencies. Key findings are that in order to achieve sustainability of WSFs, there is need to ensure that (1) there is an effective community organisation; (2) communities have the ability to operate and maintain WSFs; (3) communities are able to raise adequate user fees for purchasing spare parts; and (4) that there is a strong backup support at the district level to carry out major repairs. Major threats to the sustainability of WSFs include high poverty levels in communities, weak institutional framework and inability of communities to handle major breakdowns. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)

The purpose of this dissertation was to identify factors that contribute to the sustainability of rural water supply facilities (WSFs). Twenty-four interviews were conducted: 16 from rural communities and 8 from water supply agencies. Key findings are that in order to achieve sustainability of WSFs, there is need to ensure that (1) there is an effective community organisation; (2) communities have the ability to operate and maintain WSFs; (3) communities are able to raise adequate user fees for purchasing spare parts; and (4) that there is a strong backup support at the district level to carry out major repairs. Major threats to the sustainability of WSFs include high poverty levels in communities, weak institutional framework and inability of communities to handle major breakdowns. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Work)