Canadian Small Water Systems: Demand and Treatment Costs

Abstract

According to the USEPA (2012, http://water.epa.gov/type/drink/pws/smallsystems/basicinformation.cfm ), 94 % of 156,000 public water systems in the US are small water systems, serving a population of fewer than 3,300 people. In Canada, the proportion of small systems in one survey was over 75 % (Environment Canada 2004 in http://www.ec.gc.ca/eau-water/default.asp?lang=En&n=ED0E12D7-1. Accessed 25 Dec 2014). With a smaller tax base, all small water systems face special challenges, unless the government aggressively supports small water treatment systems. In Canada, many continue to encounter boil water advisories and even disease outbreaks. With appropriate public funding, many of these problems can be reduced or eliminated. However, typically in North America, each small community or rural jurisdiction must cover the capital and operating costs of its drinking water supply, although some jurisdictions offer a subsidy for capital costs. Often a rural community has a small population, lower average income, and consequently a lower tax base. These financial constraints as well as other risk factors were highlighted at a 2004 conference on small water systems (Ford et al. 2005 in http://watercenter.montana.edu/pdfs/colloquium_report_final.pdf ). These constraints are more severe in developing countries. For small water systems, we attempt to answer the following questions: Is a price that reflects a volumetric charge an adequate tool to control water use and promote conservation? Are water consumers in small systems “different” from populations in larger cities? To what extent is their water demand sensitive to price? Is their consumer behavior conditioned by their special circumstances?