City halls and their water boards in various parts of Europe

Abstract

The paper holds it interesting to contrast the-french model» for administering water with its vast water companies and their cross-feeding strategy with that of other countries, especially at this time when the debate as to the benefits of a private or public handling of municipal services is at its hight. It is also held to be impossible to seperate the public or private debate from its wider centralism or decentralization issue. The growing scarcity of good or even plentiful water in Europe has given rise to studies of the following: Geographical conditions, law and, most especially, such administrative or technico-economic factors proper to each country as might come to claim an outstanding relevance at a regional level for however odd these might seem valley, water shed agreements (traditions or water board or courts). It is felt to be imperative for Local Governing Bodies to adapt quickly to these changing times and for them to seek new grounds on which to establish their authority through a just handling of both the supplies and the supplying of water resources.