{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,19]],"date-time":"2026-01-19T03:30:43Z","timestamp":1768793443711,"version":"3.49.0"},"reference-count":51,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"15","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,30]],"date-time":"2023-07-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1690675200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"CERIS","award":["UIDB\/04625\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/04625\/2020"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Water"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Achieving universal access to water and sanitation services in developing countries requires a coherent legal, political, and institutional environment, along with a clear financial strategy. Regionalizing utilities may be crucial for addressing disparities, economic inequalities, and governance challenges. Regionalization offers economies of scale, resource efficiency, knowledge sharing, and collaboration. The cornerstone will be ensuring the financial-economic viability of regional utilities, considering their social impacts in terms of affordability. A case study of the state of Santa Catarina (Brazil) is assessed. In the case of Santa Catarina, only four regional utilities currently generate sufficient revenue, without factoring in necessary investments, indicating the need to review design parameters to improve operational efficiency and increase revenues. Additional financial support may be required to ensure universal access. Tariff adjustments must strike a balance between cost effectiveness and affordability for families.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/w15152756","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,31]],"date-time":"2023-07-31T01:39:32Z","timestamp":1690767572000},"page":"2756","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Reaching Universal Coverage of Water and Sanitation Services: Is Regionalization a Sustainable Path for Developing Countries?"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Willian","family":"Narzetti","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"POLITEIA, University of the State of Santa Catarina (UDESC), Av. Me. Benvenuta, 2007 Itacorubi, Florian\u00f3polis 88035-001, SC, Brazil"},{"name":"CIGAT, University of the State of Santa Catarina (UDESC), Av. Lourival Cesario Pereira, s\/n, Nova Esperan\u00e7a, Balne\u00e1rio Cambori\u00fa, Florian\u00f3polis 88336-275, SC, Brazil"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2016-3603","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Francisco Silva","family":"Pinto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CERIS, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"},{"name":"EIGeS, Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade Lus\u00f3fona, Campo Grande 376, 1749-024 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Daniel","family":"Narzetti","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"CERIS, Instituto Superior T\u00e9cnico, Universidade de Lisboa, Av. Rovisco Pais 1, 1049-001 Lisboa, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-2961-1839","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tiago","family":"Cetrulo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Arts, Sciences and Humanities, University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP), 1000 Rua Arlindo Bettio, USP Leste, S\u00e3o Paulo 03828-000, SP, Brazil"},{"name":"Federal Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (IFRS), 7000 Av. Senador Salgado Filho, Viam\u00e3o 94440-000, SC, Brazil"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,7,30]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Hutton, G., and Varughese, M. (2021). The Costs of Meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal Targets on Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene, World Bank. Summary report."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kolker, J.E., Kingdom, B., Tr\u00e9molet, S., Winpenny, J., and Cardone, R. (2016). 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