Water supply and sanitation in Egypt is characterized by both achievements and challenges. Among the achievements are an increase of piped water supply between 1990 and 2006 from 89% to 99% in urban areas and from 39% to 82% in rural areas despite rapid population growth; the elimination of open defecation in rural areas during the same period; and in general a relatively high level of investment in infrastructure. Access to an improved water source in Egypt is now practically universal with a rate of 99%. On the institutional side, the separation between regulation and service provision has been somewhat improved through the creation of a national Holding Company for Water and Wastewater in 2004 and of an economic regulator, the Egyptian Water Regulatory Agency (EWRA), in 2006.