the chapter also describes four broad principles used to justify the use of economic instruments for water management at present the country applies four categories of economic instruments for managing its water resources fees for water abstraction user charges for water supply and sanitation irrigation water supply tariffs and fines for noncompliance with regulations concerning water resources the chapter also discusses water pollution charges which were introduced in and then abolished in this is particularly important in present circumstances where water infrastructure and services are chronically short of money for their operation maintenance and new investment pegram and schreiner user charges set at proper levels are a reminder to water user sectors of the cost of the resource being consumed water prices are also useful to public decision makers ministers regulators in deciding the allocation of water when it is scarce and on the allocation of public budgets and investment programmes to water rather than other types of public infrastructure and services