The problem of pricing drinking water: Ankara Water and Sewerage Administration (ASKİ) sample

Water is a vital natural resource for all living beings. While there are alternatives to other sources, there is no alternative to water. Although water is so valuable, its rapid depletion and pollution due to industrialization, urbanization and global climate change necessitated taking some precautions. One of the solutions is the pricing of water. In this way, it is possible to eliminate some of the problems and provide a better water management.The purpose of pricing water is to enable consumers to use this scarce commodity more carefully, to cover the costs of the water service provided, and to ensure that wastewater is treated and released to the environment. The aim of this thesis is to deal with the pricing of water conceptually and theoretically and to examine the example of Ankara Water and Sewerage Administration (ASKİ) in Turkey. In this context, the main problem of the thesis is how water should be priced. This study is a case study. In the case study model, an individual, group, institution, environment or event is studied as an example.In this study, ASKI is taken as an example. In the study, literature and document review method, which is one of the qualitative research methods, is used as a method. This thesis consists of three parts. In the first part, the usage areas of water from past to present, the benefits it provides, the economic value of water and the methods of giving economic value to water, the sustainability methods in water pricing and its effect on water right, the relationship between water pricing and the right of management and ownership of water, financing sources and models of water are examined. In the second part of the study, water management and pricing in the world and in Turkey are discussed. In the third part of the study, water problems, historical water management, water-related legislation and studies, pricing of water, water tariffs, current problems and solutions are evaluated in terms of ASKI.