Community-managed Water Supply Research Articles

Strategies for Achieving Sustainability of Water Supply Systems in Rural Environments with Community Management in Brazil

An urban–rural dichotomy currently exists in policy documentation, accessibility to resources, and human rights. In Brazil, there remains a significant deficit in water and sanitation services coverage, particularly in rural areas. To achieve universal access to water, the legal framework addresses the development of decentralization actions and co-participation in management. As a result, a community-managed water supply (CMWS) has emerged as the social tool in which the community effectively participates in decision-making and oversees the operation and maintenance of water systems. The long-term sustainability of these systems is affected by critical factors in implementation, management, and maintenance. However, no strategic plan exists to solve/mitigate the critical factors commonly associated with CMWS. We proposed an action plan with multiscale intersectoral management strategies to guarantee water security for rural populations. The strategies were separated into areas of responsibility discussed in the recent literature and evaluated by experts. The strategies at the national level were related to institutional aspects and policy formulation. At the local level, the strategies were related to supporting CMWS from project implementation to post-construction. Finally, at the community level, the strategies were related to the quality and financial recognition of the services.

Gender and social inclusion in community water resource management: lessons from two districts in the Himalayan foothills and the Terai in Nepal

ABSTRACT Despite decades of concerted efforts to address the problem, Nepal’s rural water supply sector continues to be laced with gender and social exclusion. This study provides insights from community water-user groups in two geographically and socially diverse contexts to better understand, from a gender and social inclusion perspective, and through institutional bricolage, how some water-user groups adapt to local contexts, shaping varied group dynamics that are not always equitable. Findings reveal that policies promoting social inclusion are difficult to implement amid the complex web of social and economic factors associated with community-managed water supply systems.

Review of Community-Managed Water Supply—Factors Affecting Its Long-Term Sustainability

Although water is considered a human right, rural communities in many countries face challenges related to the lack of a safe water supply. In rural areas, where there is no access to public or private water supply, populations have no other choice than to rely on other unsafe sources of water. Community-managed water supply (CMWS) has emerged as an alternative to address the lack of access to safe water. Nonetheless, this alternative has several critical characteristics that harm the sustainability of water supplies. Studies on sustainability and the long-term impact of the CMWS were explored through a review of recent literature using Scopus and Web of Science databases, which analyzed 86 papers reporting on research into the sustainability and efficiency of water supply systems managed and operated by local communities, as well as the long-term critical factors that can interfere with the functionality of these systems. Based on the critical factors most cited in the literature, we proposed a framework of strategies that interrelate and integrate the critical factors into levels of responsibility. The most critical factors are related to the community level, such as inadequate capacity and ineffective systems. This demonstrates the relevance of local characteristics in the implementation of water management systems. The most cited sustainability strategies refer to the local level as the one requiring action to promote effective community involvement and post-construction support. The framework helps to conceptualize what we called an enabling environment for decision-making, and thus, the achievement of the long-term sustainability of water supply.

Assessing water and water infrastructure quality in community-managed water supply systems in northern Pakistan

Abstract This research assesses the quality of water and water supply infrastructure under the Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP) in Gilgit-Baltistan, Northern Pakistan. Water samples were collected from 26 randomly selected rural and urban WASEP projects and 12 control sites. Results show that 94% of rural and 83% of urban water samples from WASEP projects conformed with WHO standards for drinking water with no Escherichia coli colonies overall compared with 8% of rural and 0% of urban control sites. This corresponds with higher water infrastructure scores for WASEP projects based on engineering audits of water at intake, system, and network level. These findings demonstrate the importance of water infrastructure design for the delivery of clean drinking water, and the role of the WASEP model of community water management in improving the delivery of potable water.

Sustainability and long-term impact of community-managed water supply in rural Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia

How can Community Managed Water Supply (CMWS) become more sustainable? Recent studies in several countries indicate that the sustainability of many CMWS is poor. As a result, their long term impact on village lives is limited. This paper presents the findings of research on the sustainability and long-term impact of a group of CMWS created by the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (RWSSP) in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. This project adopted a Community-Based Approach to maximize the sustainability and long-term impact of its CMWS. The research assessed the sustainability of these CMWS a decade after their completion. It used six measures to assess sustainability and examined four long-term impacts. The results are compared with studies from other countries. The influence of Community-Based Approach (CBA) on the results is discussed. Recommendations are made for changes in policies and strategies to improve the sustainability and long term impact of future CMWS in Central Asia and elsewhere.

Sustaining community-managed rural water supply systems in severe water-scarce areas in Brazil and Tunisia

In many countries, the challenge of sustaining rural water supplies is entrusted to community organizations, which have difficulties in performing durably the operation, maintenance and cost recovery of rural water supply systems. This paper analyzes how rural communities struggle to ensure a sustainable access to water, while seeking close interaction with outside actors such as the State, NGOs, and politicians. The analysis is based on field observations, interviews and participatory workshops in four community-managed water supply systems in Brazil and Tunisia. To sustain the access to water, communities limit their dependance on community-managed water supply systems and diversify water sources for different uses; they adapt the technical and organizational dimensions of water supply systems through bricolage; and use political leverage to obtain financial and technical support. Understanding how communities adapt the infrastructure and the organization of rural water supply, in close interaction with external actors, may inspire water providers in designing more resilient water systems.

Towards Financial Sustainability: Beneficiaries’ Perception and Performance of Community Water Supply Services in Ghana

Revenue mobilization is critical for community-managed water systems to overcome financial constraints and to achieve financial sustainability. Using data from beneficiaries of a community managed water supply system in Ghana, we employed descriptive statistics, chi-square, perception index and document review of the system’s financial reports to assess beneficiaries’ views and perception on revenue mobilization for operations and maintenance, system expansion as well as sustainability of the project. The results showed that revenue mobilization for sustainability of operations and maintenance is significantly influenced by water connection type and religion while marital status, age and income of beneficiaries determine sustainability of the project’s expansion. The findings further revealed a significant relationship between sustainability of replacement of the project’s accessories and water connection type as well as gender, marital status, age and income of beneficiaries. The average perception index of 3.2 showed that beneficiaries perceived revenue mobilization as very good for replacing the water system’s accessories. Revenue mobilization is able to support the water system’s expansion to help meet the increasing water demands. In addition, with an average perception index of 3.6, the beneficiaries’ perception was that revenue was enough to fund operations and maintenance. Furthermore, the document review of the system’s financial reports confirmed beneficiaries’ perception of sufficiency of revenue for operations and maintenance. Finally, we found weaknesses in revenue mobilization with over 40% of bills in arrears, mostly from private users. To build resilience to the financial crisis with enhanced innovations, the study recommends the institution of effective debt recovery strategies such as the provision of pre-paid metering for private users, adoption of a public standpipe pay-as-you-fetch system as well as the introduction of smart tap technology for public standpipes in community-managed water supply systems.

Service constraints and willingness to pay in community-managed water supply services in Ghana

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to support the development of effective strategies that enhance community water supply systems. The study examined service constraints and willingness to pay for better services in community-managed water supply services using empirical evidence from beneficiaries of a small-town water supply system in Ghana.Design/methodology/approachA survey design of both descriptive and exploratory research is adopted, the descriptive survey handles the quantitative aspect, while the exploratory survey handles the qualitative aspect. The authors collected data using a structured survey questionnaire from 387 beneficiaries who were public standpipe and domestic users. Descriptive statistics, Kendall's coefficient of concordance and Cragg's two-step model were the methods of analysis employed.FindingsThe respondents ranked lack of capacity (managerial) as the topmost constraint of the community-managed water system. The findings indicate that 57% of the beneficiaries were not willing to pay, whiles 43% were willing to pay. Also, results from Cragg's two-step regression model indicate that different sets of factors affect willingness-to-pay and amount-to-pay decisions. The study revealed that while a willingness-to-pay decision is influenced by income, education, marital status and customer service, the estimated-amount-to-pay decision is more influenced by income and education.Originality/valueBuilding on the empirical evidence, the findings indicated that the water and sanitation management team can increase the current fee of GH¢ 5.00/1 m3 (≈US$ 0.87) by increasing beneficiaries charge for a bucket of water from GH¢ 0.10p (≈US$ 0.017) to GH¢ 0.21p (≈US$ 0.036) for better services within the community. Importantly, the additional charge should take into consideration income and education which were noted to significantly influence the beneficiary's amount-to-pay decision for better services in the community-managed water supply system.

Assessment of the sustainability of community-managed water supply services in Ghana

The study assessed the sustainability of community-managed water supply services drawing empirical evidence from a small town water supply system in Ghana. The study followed a fully quantitative research approach. Data were collected from 387 respondents who were almost all public standpipe users (98.45%) using a structured survey questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were reported, and MACBETH was the method of analysis. The study revealed that quality drinking water and reliability are the most important criteria in the opinion of survey respondents for small town water supply system. Building on this empirical understanding, the differences in importance that respondents attributed to each of these criteria were measured, and, for example, implementation of policies and public disclosure was their lowest priority. The results revealed that survey respondents believe that all criteria are currently within a range that indicates a sustainable water supply system. The paper recommend among other things that management of community-managed water supply system should be well positioned to ensure continuous water quality testing while designing drinking water quality improvement plans.

The production of informality and everyday politics

Urban informality is a complex phenomenon and recent literature points towards the need to develop a new theoretical framework to analyse and interpret empirical observations. This paper uses Bourdieu’s practice theory to conceptualize informality as a set of practices, analysing two case studies from Jagdamba Camp, Delhi (India), and its surrounding neighbourhoods. The first case centres on practices around a community-managed water supply system and the second on practices around solid waste management. The case studies, based on data collected through qualitative fieldwork in 2015 and 2016, point to multifaceted interactions between formal and informal practices that result in manifestations of in/formal practices in the locality’s everyday politics. The paper argues that informality is not linked to particular people or places in an essentialist way, but dependent on the field in which these actors operate.

Community-Managed Water Supply Systems in Rural Uganda: The Role of Participation and Capacity Development

Over 85% of Uganda’s 34 million people depend on rural water supply systems and the current water and environment sector performance report (2017) reports an 84% functionality of rural water sources such as boreholes and shallow wells with a hand pump. Ensuring the continued operation of water points, and in keeping with participatory theory, the water user’s committees (WUCs) should also be a vehicle for empowering communities while bringing about greater equity of use. However, WUC members do not acquire the knowledge and skills they need by default but require different types of training. This study sought to evaluate community participation and capacity development in WUCs in relation to community-managed water supply systems. A shared dialogue workshop (SDW), as well as 642 randomly selected households across 17 villages in two Parishes in Lwengo district, southern Uganda were considered. Results indicated that 41.7% of surveyed households used an unprotected source while up to 30% had a member in a WUC. Fifty-two percent of households had never made any financial contributions to a WUC, while 34.6% did so on an ad hoc basis. This paper examines the relationship between participation, mobilization, and financial contributions. The chi-square test indicated mobilization has no impact on household financial contributions to a WUC. However, the majority of even those households that were mobilized made a payment only occasionally, and specifically when the source broke down. Additionally, the test result reveals that there is no difference between better off and relatively poor households in their contributions to a WUC, an indication that other factors influence such decisions. Training activities, especially on the operation and maintenance of water points and to undertake minor repairs, were mostly provided by non-governmental organizations (NGOs)/project staff. Abandoned boreholes, lack of rehabilitation activities, and loss of enthusiasm are all indications that the technical, financial, and institutional performance of community-managed water supply systems needs improvement.

Sustainability and long-term impact of community-managed water supply in rural Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia

How can Community Managed Water Supply (CMWS) become more sustainable? Recent studies in several countries indicate that the sustainability of many CMWS is poor. As a result, their long term impact on village lives is limited. This paper presents the findings of research on the sustainability and long-term impact of a group of CMWS created by the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (RWSSP) in Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia. This project adopted a Community-Based Approach to maximize the sustainability and long-term impact of its CMWS. The research assessed the sustainability of these CMWS a decade after their completion. It used six measures to assess sustainability and examined four long-term impacts. The results are compared with studies from other countries. The influence of Community-Based Approach (CBA) on the results is discussed. Recommendations are made for changes in policies and strategies to improve the sustainability and long term impact of future CMWS in Central Asia and elsewhere.

Effectiveness of in-line chlorination in a developing world gravity-flow water supply

An in-line PVC chlorinator can be an appropriate water disinfection technology to inactivate pathogens and improve water quality in community-managed water supply systems. Free chlorine residual was measured at five locations after the insertion of one chlorine tablet into an in-line PVC chlorinator and, in a second experiment, after the insertion of three chlorine tablets. The Ct (concentration × time) method for disinfection was used to compare the measured free chlorine residual with the residual required to inactivate a recommended percentage of common pathogens found in gravity-flow water systems in the developing world. The two operating conditions, each with a contact time of 56.6 minutes, had a free chlorine residual required to disinfect all viruses and bacteria considered in this study but not above the 0.27 mg/L needed to inactivate the protozoa Giardia lamblia, a common pathogen in developing countries that causes diarrhoea. The research suggests that an in-line PVC chlorinator can be a simple, effective technology that utilizes local materials to provide safe drinking water for rural communities; however, water committees need to iteratively test free chlorine residual in the system until sufficient residual is reached.

Uncharted waters: Navigating new configurations for urban service delivery in India

Decentralization reconfigures urban water governance by transferring responsibilities for service delivery to local institutions and expanding the role for non-state actors. Consequently, community-managed water supply projects exemplify a proliferation of participatory arrangements—typically those that promise capacity building in low-income communities to enable them to partner with the state in delivering basic services. Drawing on a cross-case analysis of how three such projects unfolded on the ground in India, I examine the coproduction of water supply—a manifestation of the shift in water governance. The findings delineate its role in (re)shaping local-level state-community relations and underscore implications for urban service delivery.

Evolution of Community-Managed Water Supply Projects From 1994 to the 2010s in Ethiopia

This article discusses the evolution of community-managed projects (CMPs) along with the global community-based management of water supply and sanitation services since the 1960s, particularly the evolution of Ethiopian water resources development in the last century. The study was conducted with intensive reviews of journals, reports, project documents, and discussions with the people involved in CMP implementation, including many Ethiopian government officials. The article presents the various development phases of the water and sanitation sector in Ethiopia together with national and global influences. Currently, in the 2010s, the CMP financing mechanisms and the national development of water supply and sanitation are more organized and integrated, and are in the stage of scaling up. The recently agreed national water, sanitation, and hygiene strategic framework is expected to have significant impacts on the rural water supply and sanitation development in Ethiopia.

Women’s Participation in Community-Level Water Governance in Urban India: The Gap Between Motivation and Ability

Efforts by international development agencies to design gender-sensitive projects have sharpened their focus on women’s participation in community-level water governance. In some cases, such goals have enhanced women’s self-confidence and developed their skills despite having negligible impact on project outcomes. In others, they have simply been reduced to tokenism. This paper analyzes community-managed water supply projects for the urban poor in Madhya Pradesh, India, to provide a better understanding of the gap between women’s motivation to participate and their ability or agency to do so. It highlights how bridging this gap could be pivotal in strengthening women’s role in water governance.

Non-participation of low-income households in community-managed water supply projects in India

Efforts to promote community-managed water supply and extend services to underserved low-income communities in urban areas in the developing world prescribe participation as a key component for success. Scholars and practitioners view participation as an empowering process designed to mobilise communities to become involved in planning, implementing and managing their own water supply systems. However, these well-intentioned efforts have had limited success in motivating households to participate. This paper attributes the decision by low-income households not to participate in community-managed water projects to resource constraints at the household level. We analyse survey data from three cities in central India to assess which households are more likely to participate in community-managed water supply and why. Our findings underscore the importance of contextual influences on participation and suggest that households with relatively fewer economic and social constraints are generally more inclined to p...

The effect of urbanization on community-managed water supply: case study of Buea, Cameroon

The effect of urbanization on community-managed water supply: case study of Buea, Cameroon

Water safety planning: adapting the existing approach to community-managed systems in rural Nepal

Water Safety Plans (WSPs) improve the quality and secure the quantity of drinking water supplies, and hence improve public health outcomes. In developing countries such as Nepal, thousands of residents die each year as a result of poor water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and WSPs show great promise for improving both health and livelihoods. The Nepali Non-Governmental Organisation Nepal Water for Health (NEWAH) has been working in partnership with Engineers Without Borders Australia and WaterAid Nepal to develop a WSP methodology suited to rural, community-managed water supply systems. Three pilot projects were undertaken incorporating community-based hazard management into the standard World Health Organization and Nepali Department of Water Supply and Sewerage WSP approaches. The successes and challenges of these pilots were assessed, and it was determined that community education, behaviour change, and the distribution of simplified WSP documentation to households and managers were essential to implementing successful WSPs within this context. This new WSP methodology is currently being mainstreamed throughout all of NEWAH's WASH projects in rural Nepal, as well as being shared with the wider Nepali WASH sector.

Enlivening development: Water management in post-conflict Baucau city, Timor-Leste

This paper explores how the state and others involved in the ‘development enterprise’ in Timor-Leste are (mis)recognizing the potential of the existing environmental governance and exchange capacities of local customary institutions and practices in relation to water supply and management. Examining the problematic of water supply in a particular place-based instance – more specifically, the intermesh of the customary, state and market sectors – it ponders how customary institutions might be better supported to extend their range of political and economic credibility and contribute to a reconfiguration of dominant community managed water supply models. Drawing out the workings of a ‘diverse economy’ where a customary economy is enmeshed with, and to some extent undermining, a weak capitalist sector, the paper argues that a failure to address issues of resource ownership and control and to engage the strengths and import of local customary institutions will have serious ramifications for the successful implementation of national development objectives in post-conflict Baucau city and elsewhere in Timor-Leste. Instead, it argues for an enlivened development approach wherein locally socialized landscapes are recognized as credible political sites with which ‘development’ can engage and power relations can shift.