Drinking water tariff policy: vulnerability, regulation, and sustainability in the Colombian case

Abstract

Until 4 years ago, the regulation of drinking water consumption in Colombia did not consider climate change variables and/or national and international guidelines on urban water matters in its rate policy. This study proposes from a systemic-thermodynamic perspective to reflect on water consumption, through the normative review and use of the Entropy-Homeostasis-Negentropy model. In this way, the 6 socioeconomic strata, the water endowment, and the geographical location of the cities under study were considered. It was found that for Bogota there is an initial increase for stratum 1 of 58 %, which can be considered high, compared to the cities of Medellín and Cali (53 % and 43 %). In this sense, the changes presented in resolution CRA/750/2016, consisting of a new basic consumption of the household public services of the Aqueduct, have a great negentropic impact on the economy of families, especially for strata 1, 2, and 3.