Instituting change: regionalising the water business in Romania

Romania's water and sewage services have until recently been provided by some 600 separate operators, many of which are small, inefficient and under-funded. In preparation for the country's accession to the EU in January 2007, a pilot programme has been underway to encourage reform of its water sector into a series of larger, more efficient and self-sustaining regional utilities—helped by the implementation of a €100 million capital investment programme. So far ten regional water companies have been set up serving 3·1 million people in 12 of Romania's 41 counties. This paper reports on the many challenges involved in introducing major institutional change in a fragmented and poorly funded water industry.