Communal services often tend to be taken for granted. When problems arise, local communities and their residents are directly affected; in most cases urgent action is then required. The provision of water-related services means a huge challenge to local politicians as any measures taken in this context are of both political and economic relevance. And although the arising problems are often rather complex and difficult to tackle, the public fails to acknowledgetheir true importance – as long as everything runs smoothly. Only when newspapers come up with flashy headlines like “local authorities hand out drinking water in bottles”, “fish die as sewage plant breaks down” or “floods ravage city centre”, the public begins to take notice that communal water management is constantly challenged and at risk.
(Source: aqua press Int. 1/2009)
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