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Public – Private Partnerships as Catalysts for Community-Based Water Infrastructure Development: The Border WaterWorks Program in Texas and New Mexico Colonias

Author

Listed:
  • Maria Carmen Lemos

    (Center for Latin American Studies, The University of Arizona, 103 Douglass Building, Tucson, AZ 85721-0028, USA)

  • Diane Austin

    (Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology, The University of Arizona, Room 316, Anthropology Building, PO Box 210030, Tucson, AZ 85721-0030, USA)

  • Robert Merideth
  • Robert G Varady

Abstract

Increased awareness of shortcomings in both provision and maintenance of public services is triggering new approaches to policymaking and service delivery. Conventional debates over public versus private service provision obscure the multiple configurations possible. We consider the effectiveness and desirability of an alternative approach to public-service provision of water and wastewater services, specifically the Border Waterworks program, which has helped deliver water-related services to economically disadvantaged communities ( colonias ) along the US – Mexico border. We explore some issues that emerge when nonprofit organizations take on functions of governments and service providers, and examine the conditions under which the provision of water and wastewater infrastructure can be advanced by nonprofit organizations. We conclude that the general effectiveness of Border Waterworks was thanks to its ability to adapt to local circumstances and respond to situations as they arose in the context of the numerous problems in colonias. We also conclude that nonprofit providers are most effective when they serve as catalysts that assist the public sector rather than when they provide public-service infrastructure on their own.

Suggested Citation

  • Maria Carmen Lemos & Diane Austin & Robert Merideth & Robert G Varady, 2002. "Public – Private Partnerships as Catalysts for Community-Based Water Infrastructure Development: The Border WaterWorks Program in Texas and New Mexico Colonias," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 20(2), pages 281-295, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:20:y:2002:i:2:p:281-295
    DOI: 10.1068/c12w
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Carrie A. Meyer, 1996. "NGOs and Environmental Public Goods: Institutional Alternatives to Property Rights," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 27(3), pages 453-474, July.
    2. Evan M. Berman & Jonathan P. West, 1995. "Public‐Private Leadership and the Role of Nonprofit Organizations in Local Government: The Case of Social Services," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 14(1‐2), pages 235-251, March.
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