The timely reform of water management and water supply networks in Hungary – A holistic approach with recommendations

Abstract

The study places the systemic problems of water management and water utility networks in a framework that flinches from the global and then reaches the national level. For the identified shortcomings, it indorses an integrated and complex architecture covering different levels of management. The proposed solution does not methodologically separate short-, medium- and long-term resolutions, however, the proposals clearly indicate the timeframe for their applicability. At the outset, the essay briefly presents the global phenomena related to “water as a resource”, which – following established international research and policy arguments – primarily identifies as a problem of a natural-resource distribution. The author accepts that water has a public good character and emphasizes that its use should reflect more accurately both its social and economic value. The study is not critical to the common problems related to water treatment and water networks in Hungary, but based on the latest and professionally relevant sources, it arrives at a system of integrated solutions, which outline the need for system-level vicissitudes both at the state and consumer level, as well as vis-à-vis water management and water service management. In the last part, the author makes concrete proposals for the transformation of the Hungarian water management and water supply. Specific policy proposals are recommended to ensure long-term operation: the creation of a water trading platform and the setting up of the national water fund and introducing a new pricing for behavior-based water consumption. The author also notes that the study does not aim to overarchingly introduce all proposals, but it does propose to initiate the much-needed debate. The elaboration of the recommended solutions to the market failures requires further research, market analysis and stakeholder discussion, and furthermost, the dedication of the involved authorities at the governmental level.