The provision of water supply, sanitation and wastewater
services generates substantial benefits for public health, the
economy and the environment. Benefit-to-cost ratios can be as
high as 7 to 1 for basic water and sanitation services in
developing countries. Wastewater treatment interventions, for
example, generate significant benefits for public health, the
environment and for certain economic sectors such as fisheries,
tourism and property markets. The full magnitude of the benefits
of water services is seldom considered for a number of reasons,
including the difficulty in quantifying important non-economic
benefits such as non-use values, dignity, social status,
cleanliness and overall well-being. Also, information about the
benefits of water services is usually hidden in the technical
literature, where it remains invisible to key decision-makers in
ministries. This report draws together and summarises existing
information on the benefits of water and sanitation.