Pricing of water and water-related services is an important mechanism for managing demand and promoting efficient use of water, for allocating water among competing uses and for generating finance to invest in water-related infrastructure and services. When consumers do not pay the full cost of water, they tend to use it inefficiently. At the same time, when the price levels are high, this may pose problems of continued access to water for poorer consumers, and the affordability of the water bill for low income households needs to be taken into account.