in some cases the poorest households may not be able to afford access to water services evidence in oecd countries suggests that affordability of water charges for lowincome households is a politically sensitive issue a variety of approaches have been deployed for this purpose most involve either direct support from the public budget eg additional direct income support for consumption andor subsidised connection fees or crosssubsidisation through the tariff structure eg increasingblock water tariffs where those who use only a small amount of water pay very little for it while higher levels of consumption are subject to higher tariffs a balance must be struck between economic environmental efficiency and equity objectives