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Water supply and sanitation Access to water and sanitation services varies greatly across the region. More than 75% of the urban population in Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Ukraine has access to water and sanitation services. The highest proportion of the urban and rural population with access to a centralized water supply and sanitation is found in Russia, at 100% in cities and 96% in small towns with less 10,000 residents, but even here only 31% of rural settlements have access to a piped water supply. Access rates for piped sanitation services in Russia are 100% in cities, 82% in small towns and 6% in rural settlements. More than half of the population in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan lack access to reliable sources of drinking water, and a major part of the urban and rural population gets water according to a fixed schedule (whether delivered or supplied via pipelines). In Georgia, most settlements also suffer from interrupted water supplies. Inadequate access to drinking water is a significant problem in Moldova and Tajikistan, especially for poor and rural populations. Access to improved sanitation (piped sewers, slab-covered pit latrines or toilets connected to septic tanks) is insufficient in Central Asia. Heat supply District heat supply systems, drawing on piped steam or hot water from centralized plants, are widely used in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. Over 70% of housing stock relies on these systems in Russia, over 60% in Ukraine, and above 50% in Belarus and Kazakhstan. According to national policies, the countries plan to gradually increase the proportion of the urban population with access to district heating by constructing thermal power plants and
introducing innovative high performance technologies. Public transport services In all countries of the region, except for Kazakhstan, there has been a decline in the quality and use of public transportation as a result of such factors as fare increases, deteriorating service and growing levels of car ownership. Over the past two decades, the only type of transport to have experienced a slight increase in investment and construction is underground railways. Solid waste management Waste management in Eurasia, as a rule, is limited to collection and transportation of waste to be dumped in landfills. Waste is not “managed” in the modern sense of this term. Delays in collection, non-sanctioned landfills and illegal dumping are common problems for most countries in the region. The legal regulation of waste management in the Eurasian region is targeted mainly at environmental pollution, rather than the reuse and recycling of solid waste. Most countries lack a system of separate collection for different kinds of waste. However, a number of cities of Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Uzbekistan have begun to implement selective collection, sort ing, and recycling. Management and financing Management models In Eurasia, there are positive trends in the evolution of management models, and most local authorities select the models they find most appropriate for managing the enterprises that provide basic services. At the same time, local authorities generally lack the power to set tariffs for services, which makes it difficult for them to fulfil their responsibilities for provision.