| Abstract from DBPedia | Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. These systems are what supply drinking water to populations around the globe. Aspects of service quality include continuity of supply, water quality and water pressure. The institutional responsibility for water supply is arranged differently in different countries and regions (urban versus rural). It usually includes issues surrounding policy and regulation, service provision and standardization. The cost of supplying water consists, to a very large extent, of fixed costs (capital costs and personnel costs) and only to a small extent of variable costs that depend on the amount of water consumed (mainly energy and chemicals). Almost all service providers in the world charge tariffs to recover part of their costs. Water supply is a separate topic from irrigation, the practice and systems of water supply on a larger scale, for a wider variety of purposes, primarily agriculture.上水道（じょうすいどう）とは、一般に飲用可能な水の公共的な供給設備一般を指す。上水道には単に「水道」という呼び方もあり、下水道や中水道などとの区別を強調する場合に上水道と呼ばれることが多い。水道水の用途には、飲用、洗濯、調理、トイレの水洗などがある。屋内水道水は、古くから存在していたが、19世紀後半に現在の先進国で普及し始めるまで、ごく少数の人々しか利用できなかった「屋内配管」を通じて配水されている。水道水は20世紀に多くの地域で一般的になり、現在では主に貧困層で不足している。 (Source: http://dbpedia.org/resource/Water_supply) |
