ewer 1 Networks (cost fraction) Treatment (cost fraction) Storage only Financing costs2 Up to 40 15-25 10-16 Maintenance costs² Up to 45 13-25 Operating costs (30% labour)2 15-60 30-40 15-35 12-18 Taxes2/other Infrastructure cost per head 700-800 Ave 1 000-1 300 700-900 650-700 for 180-210 I/h/d (min.-max.) (450-1 800) (900-2 200) (650-1 400) (970-1 250) 1. Includes centralised treatment system. 2. Costs per 100 m³ per year. Source: Lee et al., 2001. Some advances have been made in providing water and sanitation services elsewhere. The water supply and sanitation decade (1981-90) was reasonably successful in cutting the numbers of people without these services, despite a tripling of population and a sixfold increase in the human use of water (Cosgrove and Rijsberman, 2000). Even so, sanitation provision is not keeping pace with population growth. In parallel, there have been significant investments in wastewater treatment that have improved environments, although in the two most rapidly developing countries, China and India, environmental degradation due to sewage discharges and other impacts is a major problem. Water for food, a major issue, has given rise to an explosion in groundwater use. Globally, almost without exception, centralised water and related services are subsidised even where provided by private companies. In Greece and Spain for example, water is priced at some 25-30% of the true costs, and in the United Kingdom at about 90%. In other countries water endowments cut costs to users, by USD 0.8 in Canada and USD 2.24 in Germany (Lee et al., 2001). This contrasts with the poorest unserviced populations who have to pay high costs for bottled or locally available INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030: TELECOM, LAND TRANSPORT, WATER AND ELECTRICITY - ISBN 92-64-02398-4 © OECD 2006 5. THE IMPACTS OF CHANGE ON THE LONG-TERM FUTURE DEMAND FOR WATER SECTOR INFRASTRUCTURE water. Even in these countries, however, water for irrigation or industry may be subsidised. In India it is estimated that irrigation is subsidised direc