A comparison of studies on the dynamics of stakeholder participation suggests that there are similarities between the central committee (Alvim, 2003) and the Guarapiranga and Billings sub-committees (Cunha, 2004). In her in-depth study about the Alto-Tietê, Alvim (2003) notes that the participation of the different segments raises a problem. The state government, through the Water Resources and Environment secretariats and the management agencies under them (DAEE and CETESB), dominates not only agenda setting but also the outcomes of the discussions in both the main committee and the subcommittees. Municipal participation, in turn, tends to be much more intense in those sub-regions where they were previously organized around some regional issue, for example, the Inter-Municipal Consortium of the Greater ABC, in Billings region, or the Guarapiranga _UGP_ (Project Management Unit - World Bank).

Cunha’s (2004) analysis of social networks in the Guarapiranga and Billings subcommittees confirms this tendency, adding that actors from the state and municipal governments interact strongly while civil society representatives are clearly marginalized from decisions.

# **_9.3. Financial Self-Sufficiency_**

The funds available for the Alto-Tietê basin —an annual average of less than R$2.3 million or US$885,000 million— have been enough to provide minimal financial sustainability for all the basin’s committees. The basin’s water management needs are, however, estimated at about R$5.3 billion (US$2.04 billion ) for 2001 to 2010. Of this total, 97.2% refers to services and infrastructure and 2.8% to management activities (FUSP, 2002a).

Preliminary simulations made by São Paulo State (CORHI, 1997) have, however, noted that the Alto Tietê has the greatest potential among São Paulo basins to generate revenue through charging for water use. Indeed, the National Water Agency (ANA) is currently conducting a study that suggests that this basin would be able to collect more revenues than any other in Brazil<sup>39</sup> . The São Paulo bulk water charge system proposed in the draft state law under discussion is quite similar to the French system<sup>40</sup> , except in that it directly links charges to the volume of water for which the user has a water use permit. The proposed charging system can be briefly described as follows (CORHI, 1997)<sup>41</sup> :

> 39 Personal communication of Patrick T. Thomas, an official of the Superintendência de Outorga e Cobranca of the National Water Agency (ANA), in February 2005.

- 40 The French bulk water charge system, created at the end of the 1960s, is based on three water uses: withdrawal, consumption, and effluent discharges. Each use has a basic charge, which can be increased by any of a number of multiplier coefficients that take local specificities into account, such as type of water source (surface or groundwater), location (water source protection areas, etc.). Note that pollution is charged according to the pollution load. This is quite different from using effluent dilution (i.e., the volume of water needed to reach the concentration of pollutants set by standards in the water body where effluent are released) as occurred in a simplified form in the Paraíba do Sul River basin, and as has been proposed by several Brazilian studies (see, for instance, Laboratório de Hidrologia e Estudos do Meio Ambiente/COPPE/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, 2004).

- 41 Currently, a study is underway that will re-evaluate the charging system proposed in a 1997 study by CORHI. This new study, expected to be completed in 2005, may propose changes in the charging methodology and criteria.

- 38 -