There are a variety of organizational structures for the water industry, with countries usually having one dominant traditional structure, which usually changes only gradually over time.
Ownership of water infrastructure and operations •
local government – the most usual structure worldwide,
public utility •
national government – in many developing countries, especially smaller ones •
private ownership – more common in the developed world, see for example
Water privatisation in England and Wales •
co-operative ownership and related NGO structures, public utility
Operations • local government operating the system through a municipal department, municipal company, or inter-municipal company • local government
outsources operations to
private sector, i.e.
private water operators • national government operations • private water operators own the system •
BOTs – private sector building parts of a water system (such as a
wastewater treatment plant) and operating it for an agreed period before transferring to
public sector ownership and operation. • cooperation and NGO operators
Functions • Integrated water system (
water supply,
sewerage (sanitation) system, and wastewater treatment) • Separation by function (e.g.
Dutch system where sewerage run by city, water supply by municipal or
provincial companies, and water treatment by
water boards), though some Water Supply Companies have
merged beyond municipal or provincial borders. • Other separation (e.g.
Munich, separated into three companies for bulk water supply, water and wastewater network operations, and retail) ==Standards==