Domestic water pricing in Greece: a spatial differentiation

Procedia Engineering, 2016

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC clearly indicates that all member states should develop and apply water pricing policies to recover the Full Water Cost (FWC) (including the direct cost, the environmental and the water resource costs). Drinking water pricing policies set by the water utilities today do not comply with the WFD basic principle. They are rather determined locally, without taking into consideration environmental (e.g. river basin water balance) or economic issues (e.g. socially fair allocation of the water cost). This paper proposes a new, socially fair drinking water pricing policy, taking into consideration the FWC recovery and socially fairness. This methodology is applied in the water utility of Kozani, in Greece.

Procedia Economics and Finance, 2014

The EU, understanding the need for sustainable management of water resources, established a framework for community action in the field of water policy under the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC). Results reveal that an essential condition for sustainable water management is the understanding of its true value. Correct pricing of water helps to improve services for water distribution and also contributes to its preservation. Therefore, the aim of this paper is the presentation of the methods of calculating the environmental and resource cost, their application in a particular study area (Water Districts of Central and Western Macedonia, Greece) and the conclusions following from the estimations. After extensive literature review it was found that there is not a perfectly acceptable method of calculating the environmental and resource cost of water. What is more, the pricing of water use is necessary because water use requires actions having a direct economic cost, as well as 'external' costs to society such as the environmental and resource cost. Prices in a "justified" pricing model should reflect the recovery of full cost aiming at maximizing social welfare, preventing the exploitation of resources and securing access to water to the socially vulnerable members of society.

The relationship between water abstraction and water availability has turned into a major stress factor in the urban exploitation of water resources. There is a wide recognition nowadays that there is a need for strategies for the sustainable use of water resources and water demand management.

Urban Water, 2002

The objective of the paper is to investigate the attitudes and preferences of the residential water users of the city of Thessaloniki, in order to evaluate the demand management aspects of the urban water policy. A field survey has been conducted in the city of Thessaloniki and ...

2011

In the Mediterranean countries water management is not only a matter of setting the price of water, but also of securing the availability of water. In Cyprus, water supply is based on rainfall that is becoming less and less with time. Water pricing should take into account covering the primary costs for the acquisition of water such as the cost of the distribution networks, running costs for pumps, and the intended use of the water (agriculture, industry, tourism, households and so on). Households have the right to be supplied with water of good quality at reasonably low prices. Water used for industry and other economic activities should be priced at its real cost, increased by an "availability factor" that takes into account the available water reserves of the country. A good water policy should promote issues such as: saving water in all sectors of economy and preventing irrational water use (through proper water pricing schemes, etc.); minimizing distribution network l...

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution: Focus, 2004

This paper examines the perspectives of the implementation of a demand-oriented policy concerning residential water use, which covers almost 70% of urban water. Water demand, water pricing policy, as well as building capacity are examined and evaluated in order to investigate the current situation in urban water management in the city of Volos with reference to residential water use. The application of IWR-MAIN model in order to estimate future water needs and form different scenarios for sustainable water resources management together with a field survey in various water issues conducted in 966 citizens of the city of Volos justify the urgent need for the adoption of a demand driven policy.

Based on data from 92 Minnesota cities, the analyses shows that neither marginal price or average price appear as the better predictor of demand. The price elasticity of demand ranges from -. 17 for marginal price in the linear model to -.27 for average price in the log linear model. It appears from the analysis that many consumers are unaware of the marginal price of their water. Thus utilities should simplify their pricing structures and present consumers with an easy to understand costs of water such as the cost of six hours of lawn watering.

Greek an Roman Tragedy in Flavian Epic Poetry-International conference-Academy of Athens and Kapodistrian University, 2024

2023

See https://tyndalebulletin.org/article/88883-how-to-live-well-mimetic-ethics-and-civic-education-in-graeco-roman-antiquity-and-early-christianity. Mimesis played a crucial role in moral and civic education in Graeco-Roman antiquity. From classical Greek drama to Aristotle to the Graeco-Roman rhetorical traditions, mimetic ethics focuses on how personal example and imitation shaped people's behaviour and character. Extended contact with the Graeco-Roman traditions led early Christianity to adopt the concept of mimesis in the overlapping spheres of family and education. Discipleship and citizenship intersect in that Christians are called to be good disciples or 'citizens' in God's society. This study explores the Johannine, Pauline, and Petrine traditions and proposes that the mechanism of personal example and imitation regulates the ethical-political life of early Christians and instructs them to live well in both the church and society.

The European Legacy, 2017

In his recent work on postsecular societies Jürgen Habermas has stressed the need for a dialogue between religious and nonreligious citizens aimed at strengthening social integration and rejuvenating the moral bases of modern political and juridical institutions. This dialogue should focus on the translation of religious traditions into rational, secular forms. In his more recent work on the social function of rituals, however, he rejected the Durkheimian view of public secular rituals as mechanisms for fostering social integration. In this article I discuss Habermas’s early reflections on postsecularism and assess his interpretation of public religious rituals as sources of social integration. I then propose an alternative to his translation proviso whereby religious symbolic content would be translated into behavior-regulating technologies aimed at developing the dispositional resources needed for a continuous postsecular dialogue between religious and nonreligious citizens.