Report on the governance of water services in Europe

If water is a public good, it is also true that providing water services is an activity with important technical, economic, managerial and regulatory aspects – whether carried out by public or private operators. Water services are essential in supporting the sustainable development of our societies, but still little is known about them. This is because the infrastructure is mainly underground, accessible only to few experts and sometimes situated in locations that are far from urban areas and protected for obvious security reasons.

This report will be helpful in providing a simple but comprehensive overview of water governance models in Europe, especially to those decision makers at EU and at national level who will work on the legislative instruments to reform water policy in the coming years.