Asit K. Biswas Pawan K. Sachdeva Cecilia Tortajada Remarkable

Water Resources Development and Management Asit K. Biswas Pawan K. Sachdeva Cecilia Tortajada Phnom Penh Water Story Remarkable Transformation of an Urban Water Utility Water Resources Development and Management Series Editors Asit K. Biswas, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK Cecilia Tortajada, Institute of Water Policy, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore Editorial Board Dogan Altinbilek, Ankara, Turkey Francisco González-Gómez, Granada, Spain Chennat Gopalakrishnan, Honolulu, USA James Horne, Canberra, Australia David J. Molden, Kathmandu, Nepal Olli Varis, Helsinki, Finland Hao Wang, Beijing, China Indexed by Scopus Each book of this multidisciplinary series covers a critical or emerging water issue. Authors and contributors are leading experts of international repute. The readers of the series will be professionals from different disciplines and development sectors from different parts of the world. They will include civil engineers, economists, geographers, geoscientists, sociologists, lawyers, environmental scientists and biologists. The books will be of direct interest to universities, research institutions, private and public sector institutions, international organisa- tions and NGOs. In addition, all the books will be standard reference books for the water and the associated resource sectors. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7009 Asit K. Biswas • Pawan K. Sachdeva • Cecilia Tortajada Phnom Penh Water Story Remarkable Transformation of an Urban Water Utility 123 Asit K. Biswas Pawan K. Sachdeva University of Glasgow Water Management International Glasgow, UK Private Ltd. Singapore, Singapore Cecilia Tortajada Institute of Water Policy Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy National University of Singapore Singapore, Singapore ISSN 1614-810X ISSN 2198-316X (electronic) Water Resources Development and Management ISBN 978-981-33-4064-0 ISBN 978-981-33-4065-7 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-33-4065-7 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. 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The registered company address is: 152 Beach Road, #21-01/04 Gateway East, Singapore 189721, Singapore Foreword When history looks back at 2020, it will be remembered as a point in time where the entire world had to battle against novel coronavirus. This pandemic has reminded all of us having access to safe water to wash hands is vital in protecting our own lives and those of our loved ones. The people of Phnom Penh, where this story takes place, do not have to worry about whether they can access clean water to wash their hands or have enough water to support their economic activities. This is because despite being a city in a developing country, Phnom Penh has miraculously enabled their citizens to have 24 h access to safe, drinkable water. Phnom Penh’s incredible water supply service was created in just over the course of a decade and has continued to revitalize the country whose infrastructure and resources were previously destroyed from long-lasting conflict and turmoil. In 1993, before the start of this transformation, only 20 per cent of the population in Phnom Penh had access to tap water. Additionally, only the limited number of staff had the professional skills in water management and staff morale was not always high. On top of this, the city’s water tariffs accounted for only a third of the revenue needed to distribute clean water to its residents. This book, therefore, provides a complete picture of how Phnom Penh, despite such challenges, was able to successfully revitalize its water supply service and overcome its many adversities. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), as a long-standing partner of the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA), has had the privilege of being involved in this miraculous story of revitalizing Phnom Penh. While this research is independent from JICA, as a development partner that promotes social and economic development across the globe, we seek to recognize three funda- mental elements that we believe underpin Phnom Penh’s continued success. First, we credit the unwavering dedication of the staff at PPWSA, led by its General Director, Ek Sonn Chan, who served as the primary architect in making this miracle possible. The PPWSA committed itself to taking on the enormous task of establishing a reliable water utility that ensures safe water supplies for all of Phnom Penh’s residents. This outstanding leadership can be largely credited for the increased accountability and transparency exhibited across the city’s water utility. While development partners did play a supportive role in this endeavour, the v vi Foreword success of this story is truly a result of the strong will and determination of the PPWSA. Without the dedication of local partners, external development cooperation itself cannot be wholly effective or sustainable. This book, therefore, empha- sizes how the PPWSA’s remarkable improvements over a short period of time were achieved primarily due to the leadership of the Cambodian people, including by the water utility’s dedicated managers. The second element that underpins this success story is the PPWSA’s emphasis on improving and expanding its services to keep pace with the city’s urban development and rising living standards. In order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and ensure water and sanitation access for all, water utilities must become financially sound and reinvest in their own facilities to expand and adapt their services to meet the needs of society. Under the strong leadership at PPWSA, the water utility was able to incentivize its employees to transform itself to do just that. The PPWSA initially took advantage of Japan’s grant aid to rehabilitate its facilities, and then it worked to become financially self-sufficient and eventually was able to repay its loans. Afterwards, the PPWSA succeeded in going public, becoming a partially publicly traded and owned entity. Throughout this process, the water utility continued to improve its tariff collection rate, reduce water leaks and provide professional development for their staff—serving as a good model to replicate in other developing countries to achieve the SDGs. The third major element that makes Phnom Penh’s story a remarkable success was the ability of the PPWSA to share its knowledge and replicate its experience, not only across Cambodia, but also beyond its borders. After becoming Cambodia’s Secretary of State for Water Supplies, Ek Sonn Chan, the former General Director of the PPWSA, prioritized efforts to dispatch several of his former staff to lead public water utilities in eight of Cambodia’s major provincial cities. There, the former PPWSA staff successfully navigated in turning around the water utilities in their cities. Once Cambodia achieved this miraculous transformation, Ek Sonn Chan then worked to share the PPWSA’s experiences with other developing countries through international conferences and forums and by conducting training programmes with development partners. Through these discussions, Cambodia’s experience was heard by numerous high-level government officials, including the Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation of South Sudan. The Minister was so impressed by the PPWSA’s ability to transform Cambodia’s war-torn water supply system that he decided to draft a revitalization plan for South Sudan emulating the PPWSA experience. Additionally, the PPWSA also greatly inspired Myanmar’s Yangon City Development Committee. Immediately after participating in a training course led by the PPWSA, the Yangon City Development Committee decided to build its own training centre for its water supply service after realizing the importance of investing more in human resource development. In this sense, South Sudan and Myanmar came to understand that their water utilities could also benefit from learning about Phnom Penh’s experience. Similarly, this book has used Phnom Penh’s story to provide seven key learnings and ten recommendations to provide guidance for leaders of water utilities around the world. Foreword vii While the PPWSA truly

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