Assessment of price policies and non-price policies to manage the water demand at the household level in the city of Leeuwarden, the Netherlands.

This thesis examines the role of policies in water demand management in the urban household, using the city of Leeuwarden in the Netherlands as a case example. Pressures on water resources have made water demand management an urgent policy concern. The effectiveness and social acceptance of the policies is an important part of the implementation. Using desk research and survey, this thesis assesses the effectiveness and social acceptance of policies for water demand management in the city of Leeuwarden. It is argued that the policies in place are not good enough to reach the goal set by the municipality and Vitens unless more policies provided more pressure to save water, even if it comes at a social acceptability cost. The policies in place in Leeuwarden are a start but need to increase the number of policies to properly manage the water demand in normal conditions and emergencies.