Effective Water Management in Quito, Ecuador: Successes, Challenges, and Constraints

Looking to scale-up its funding of water and sanitation in Latin America, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) sought a case study of its work in the region to serve as an example from which to draw. The bank contracted the Capstone team to spend one month in Quito, Ecuador to evaluate its water and sanitation company, EMAAP-Q, and write such a case study. The Capstone team met with and interviewed various actors, including members of the city and national governments and community leaders in order to evaluate the historical precedents and current strategies that contributed to EMAAP-Q's successes and lessons learned. This information was used to create a case study outlining the story of the organization, including technical addenda, for both a lay audience and development practitioners. The case provides the IDB with information to help understand some of the factors that will be important to its future efforts to improve urban water management in Latin America.