Changes

[[Image:water vendor.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Water vendors (Mairuwa) at work. Photo: Biodun Ogunleye.]]

[[Image:nigeriawater.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A water vendor in Makurdi, Nigeria fills his cans with water from the polluted Benue River. Photo: Ameto Akpe. Nigeria, 2011.]]

The “re-discovery” of water vending was spurred by studies of willingness to pay for water. Indeed, the premium on vended water shows a willingness to pay for water that flies in the face of the claim that people believe water is a free good, which should not be bought and sold. This has been one argument for the increase of water tariffs and the capitalization of private initiatives in the water sector. Water vendors have been praised for their entrepreneurship, as well as their ability to reach the poor and areas that are difficult to develop with conventional infrastructure. At the same time, they are still often scorned for exploiting people’s absolute and basic need for water.