West Oakland Health Survey

Overview

Water managers face significant challenges in meeting the water supply, wastewater collection and treatment, and stormwater management needs of the communities they serve. Numerous solutions have been proposed, including privatization, the controversial action of significantly increasing private sector involvement.

This report asserts that the debate over privatization overshadows a discussion of the determinants of water system performance, and that public versus private is not the bright line that separates success from failure. The authors detail specific characteristics of successful water management organizations, and recommend replicable practices based on these case studies.