How to finance multiple use water systems for the rural poor? Lessons learnt from the domestic water sector in the Olifants river basin, South Africa

This international workshop paper focuses on the water policies and institutions in the domestic water sector of South Africa, and on characteristics of rural water supply in terms of level of services, costs and financing. Empirical data from the former homelands of the Olifants river basin show that, although the main determinants of costs are difficult to determine due to the extreme variability of situations, water costs per capita increase with the quantity of water delivered so without economy of scale. Very few water-pricing policies are implemented, so everybody, including poor people, have a free access to water.