Ecobreves – MEXICO: Database for Assessing Water Services

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MEXICO CITY, May 26 2007 (IPS) - Academics are preparing the first database in Mexico to analyze the performance of public and private suppliers of water services. Using the cross of economic, hydrological, legal and bibliographic variables of water resources, the experts will evaluate the conditions of the concession contracts, deadlines, water prices and forms of payment, Delia Montero, researcher with the Metropolitan Autonomous University, told Tierramérica.

The goal is to make information about water services transparent, because there are areas where the data is cloudy, especially where private companies are involved, she said.

In its first phase, to be completed by the end of the year, the database will offer information about 14 municipalities or cities of more than 100,000 people in which private companies operate in obtaining, distributing and purifying water and collecting payment.