Framework for Implementation

At a Glance

  • Environmental and water regulations should enforce a zero-tolerance policy for environmental waste and the discharge of effluents in order to prevent contamination, the straining of available freshwater sources, or the alteration of the course or flow rate of existing water sources.

  • It is fundamental to ensure that an institutional body that enforces and monitors water rights is in place. 

  • Water tariffs are typically required in order to ensure that the shared use of extractive-driven water infrastructure is sustainable.

  • An extractive company is unlikely to consider sharing any water infrastructure if it must carry out the operation and maintenance of a water system outside the project site once it has financed and/or procured the construction of water supply or water treatment facilities.

Key Resources

Topic Briefing

Proposing and implementing programs for sharing water resources and infrastructure is a complex undertaking. To ensure the success and sustainability of any arrangement, several preconditions are required: a legal and regulatory framework, an institutional setting that enforces and monitors water rights, appropriate water tariffs, and sustainable water infrastructure.

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A legal and regulatory framework: Environmental and water regulations should enforce a zero-tolerance policy regarding environmental waste and effluents discharge. Regulations should also limit the quantities and sources of freshwater that companies can extract, in order to prevent straining available freshwater sources or contaminating and altering the course or flow rate of existing water sources. This includes ensuring that environmental regulations impose strict penalties for environmental degradation and contamination of water sources, and institute a comprehensive water licensing regime for the allocation of water rights among competing users.

An institutional setting that enforces and monitors water rights: An institutional setting that enforces and monitors water rights must be in place. This requires (i) high-quality hydrological data on existing water resources, user demands on existing water resources, and a baseline study of water quality from which to monitor changes in water, among other types of information; (ii) efficient coordination among relevant ministries and agencies; (iii) institutional capacity to monitor water usage and compliance with environmental best practices; and (iv) institutional presence and capacity to supply water.

Full cost-recovery ensured by appropriate water tariffs: A water tariff applied to the use of water is required for any extractive initiative to be viable and sustainable. While full cost recovery may not always be feasible, given that certain segments of the population are unable to pay, the water tariff should at least include the cost of operating and maintaining a water system.

Sustainability of water infrastructure: A company is unlikely to consider sharing any water infrastructure if it must operate and maintain a water system outside of the project site after it has financed and/or procured the construction of water supply or water treatment facilities. In such a scenario, the provision of water supply services by an extractive company—for example, by financing low-cost water supply and treatment technologies—could be included as part of its corporate social responsibility policy.[1]

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[1] Toledano et al., A Framework to Approach Shared Use of Mining-Related Infrastructure (New York: Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment, 2014), 68.