Water supply in Cambodia is characterized by a low level of access in rural areas compared to relatively high access to an

improved water source An improved water source (or improved drinking-water source or improved water supply) is a term used to categorize certain types or levels of water supply for monitoring purposes. It is defined as a type of water source that, by nature of its co ...

in urban areas. In 2015, 76% of the population had access to "improved" water, 100% in urban areas and 76% in rural areas. Still, in 2015, around 9 million did not have access to "improved" water. Within the government, urban water supply policy is the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy. Service provision in urban areas is the responsibility of two water utilities in the largest cities, the

Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority The Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) ( km, រដ្ឋាករទឹកស្វយ័តក្រុងភ្នំពេញ) is the municipal water utility that serves Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh and surrounding areas. In 1992 it p ...

(PPWSA) and the

Siem Reap Siem Reap ( km, សៀមរាប, ) is the second-largest city of Cambodia, as well as the capital and largest city of Siem Reap Province in northwestern Cambodia. Siem Reap has French colonial and Chinese-style architecture in the Old F ...

Water Supply Authority (SRWSA), 11 Provincial Water Supply Authorities (known as PWWKs) as well as 147 smaller utilities. The Department of Rural Water Supply (DRWS) and Department of Rural Health Care (DRHC) of the Ministry of Rural Development are responsible for rural water supply for the smaller towns and villages with less than 1,000 households. The performance of the Provincial Water Supply Authorities, measured in terms of access, cost recovery through tariff revenues and

non-revenue water Non revenue water (NRW) is water that has been produced and is "lost" before it reaches the customer. Losses can be real losses (through leaks, sometimes also referred to as physical losses) or apparent losses (for example through theft or meterin ...

, lags behind the performance of PPWSA which has improved its performance significantly in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In 2012 the government of Cambodia launched a plan to bring the performance of the provincial utilities to levels comparable to those achieved by PPWSA by 2015, including their financial autonomy. In 2012 the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

approved a grant to provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Industry, Mines and Energy to support this process. Many international NGOs provide support for drinking water supply in Cambodia through local NGOs, including

Oxfam Oxfam is a British-founded confederation of 21 independent charitable organizations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, founded in 1942 and led by Oxfam International. History Founded at 17 Broad Street, Oxford, as the Oxford Co ...

in Pursat Province or Water for Cambodia that installs biosand filters in rural areas, runs the only water-testing laboratory outside the capital and promotes water literacy.

References

{{Water supply and sanitation by country Water supply and sanitation in Cambodia

See also

References