July 2014: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has published a book, titled ‘Tap Secrets: The Manila Water Story,’ which highlights the case of the Manila Water Company as a successful story of utility reform. The book notes that Manila Water faced a number of challenges prior to emerging as a successful model for public-private-partnerships (PPPs).

The book includes chapters on: the water crisis and privatization; the PPP through a concession framework; the concession agreement; addressing the supply shocks and managing risks; corporate-style governance; enable; empower; excel; emerging challenges and issues; and conclusions.

Emerging challenges identified in the book include: urbanization and increased population; regulatory risk; climate change; replicating the PPP model in top metro cities; and the internal challenge of developing new talent and leaders in the water sector.

In order to address these challenges, the book highlights the importance of expanding wastewater services, addressing the gap between willingness-to-pay and the need for system improvements, considering creation of a regulatory office independent of Manila Water to reduce regulatory risk, addressing unforeseen events, including climate change-induced droughts and floods, and continuing to address barriers to expansion of Manila Water services to other urban zones around Manila. [Publication: Tap Secrets: The Manila Water Story]