When the provision of services involves the same network there may be “joint” costs, “common” costs, or netwoik benefits. This is despite the fact that there may be some relevant differences in circumstances between particular customers that will not be closely reflected in the resulting charges. When considering issues of practicability, it is important to recognise that the availability of information is likely to evolve over time. This means that Ofwat retains the possibility of changing the way costs are assessed depending upon available information. Failing to do so raises equity issues, as future generations will have to foot the bill, either through decayed infrastructure or increased public debt. Typically, all things being equal, industry or municipalities should have an incentive to develop in regions where water is abundant and competition between water users is minimal, and they should cover the costs of a reliable access to water.