【正文】
socially desirable investments that are not profitable by themselves into mercially viable undertakings. Projects that are not demonstrably good for society at large or are unlikely to ever stand on their own do not justify subsidy support and are seldom undertaken. Good subsidy practice mits all participants to contribute to financing the provision of services:? ?Service providers invest and risk their own resources to set up the facilities and provide the services during a given time under specified conditions. ?Government subsidies help service providers meet some investment and startup costs. Subsidies are designed to reduce access barriers to which lowine groups are especially sensitive, such as initial connection, equipment, or installation charges. ?Customers pay for the use of services at least as much as is needed to meet operating and maintenance costs. Where domestic installations are involved, customers are also required to pay part of the investment cost, as a confirmation of economic demand for service and mitment to pay for service use. Consumption is subsidized only exceptionally and limited to small amounts of service regarded as essential. The design of subsidies is closely tied to the available service delivery mechanisms. Subsidies are channeled through the service supply chain in ways that aim at being neutral with respect to petition among service providers, service alternatives, and technologies. 2 Water supply Potable water and, to a lesser extent, sanitation services, are often a priority for rural munities. Willingness to pay for improved services depends on the distance to, and quality of, existing sources of water and sanitation facilities, as well as the consumers’ perceptions of the health threats of unimproved services. Solutions to improved water supplies in rural areas are almost always localized, the water supply (be it ground or surface water) and its treatment and distribution being provided in each munity as a standalone system. Network solutions only make economic sense in areas where water sources are scarce or expensive, or where munities are close to one another. For each water technology there are also service level options, which can range from shared facilities (public stand posts or munity hand pumps) to house connections (individual hand pump, yard tap, or inhouse plumbing). For sanitation services the choice of technology and ser