Community-based Water Management Research Articles

Performance evaluation of a community-based water management organisation using integrated water quality monitoring

ABSTRACT Community-based water management organisations (CBWMOs) play an important role in providing water services worldwide. However, there is some debate as to their capacity to sustain a safe drinking water supply considering the current socioeconomic and climate scenarios. Here, we present an integrated water quality assessment of the supply system of a CBWMO in Concepción of San Ramon, Costa Rica. Major ions, trace metals, and coliforms were analysed in the households and water sources over a 1-year period. The spring risk assessments and the water quality of the main river in the catchment were also carried out. We found that although the supplied water meets adequate standards, spatial and temporal changes in the water quality of the sources exist. Springwater composition is mainly driven by rock–water interaction processes, but early signs of potential anthropogenic pollution were found. The springs showed concentrations of NO3- above natural levels and microbial contamination in 37 and 18% of the cases, respectively. River water quality showed a distinct composition, which is consistent with the anthropogenic pressures in the catchment. This study provides useful information on how water quality assessments can be used beyond regulatory processes to improve planning by CBWMOs to ensure water security.

Geochemical Insights into Heavy Metal Contamination and Health Hazards in Palar River Basin: A Pathway to Sustainable Solutions

The pollution of groundwater by heavy metals is becoming an increasingly urgent problem due to the rapid growth of industrialization and urbanization. A detailed geochemical investigation of physicochemical properties and heavy metal contamination was conducted on 140 groundwater samples in the Vellore district around the Palar River, Tamil Nadu, India, to assess the metal index risk in groundwater. The water quality is significantly contaminated with Cr, Co, Cu, Cd, and Fe, and moderately contaminated with Mn, Ni, and Zn, according to the groundwater assessment using the heavy metal index, contamination factor, and Igeo index. This contamination is associated with various health problems, including mental illness, stomach and skin cancer, liver failure, and kidney damage. Based on contour maps created with GIS, most of the region is heavily contaminated with heavy metals, rendering the groundwater unfit for human consumption. The Health Risk Assessment Index (HRAI) rose to 9028.6, indicating an extremely high health risk. In addition to identifying the extent of contamination, the study also proposes sustainable solutions to mitigate these risks. These include the adoption of advanced water treatment technologies, the promotion of green chemistry practices in local industries, the establishment of stricter regulatory frameworks, and the implementation of community-based water management strategies. These measures are essential to ensuring safe drinking water and achieving Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG 6). The findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive monitoring and proactive remediation strategies in industrially contaminated regions.

Empowering communities for sustainable water management: Insights from Justdiggit and the Paani Foundation

Community engagement is critical for effective sustainable water management initiatives because it facilitates public participation in decision- making. This study looks at Justdiggit and the Paani Foundation's community participation techniques, which are focused on water management and landscape restoration in water-stressed regions. We conduct a comparative analysis to determine the effectiveness of various initiatives in encouraging sustainable water practices and landscape restoration. Using official data and project evaluations, we assess the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of community-based water management programs. The findings reveal that, Justdiggit and the Paani Foundation actively engage the public through a variety of strategies, including community workshops, local champions, digital platforms, hands- on training, collaborative decision-making, job creation, and milestone celebration. Our findings show strong popular support and favorable effects on water conservation and community development. These findings are useful for practitioners, politicians, and researchers working to address global water concerns. Enhanced community engagement, as demonstrated by Justdiggit and the Paani Foundation, has the potential to achieve more resilient and sustainable water management solutions in the face of growing water issues.

Gendered Participation in Water Governance: Implications for Successful Communitybased Water Management and Women Empowerment

This article sought to analyse the gender dimensions in communally managed water schemes in rural Uganda. Taking two rural villages as empirical referents, the study used multi-methods of data collection and a gender-based analysis to interrogate the challenges to equitable access and decision-making in rural-based water schemes. The analysis reveals that, despite the existing policy and legislative regime, access to water for women is severely constrained, and their level of decision-making in communally managed water schemes is remarkably low. The article holds that women’s participation is critical for the much-needed collective action towards community-based water governance, gender equity, and empowerment. Consequently, the barriers to sustainable water access and effective women’s participation can be addressed through significant investments in systematic water institutional reforms, targeted capacity-building initiatives, and plugging existing policy monitoring and implementation gaps at all levels. There is a need to address the policy reality gap regarding ownership of productive resources for women as a key strand towards addressing the equity challenges at different levels of water governance.

The fragile springs, unnoticed: lessons from water policy in dry islands of Flores Indonesia

The Indonesian government has maintained the SDGs’ priorities by establishing targets and projects. This paper examines the way how programs and targets are designed and implemented by considering the reality of community-based water management (CBWM) on the ground. Using Critical Institutional Analysis Framework (CIAD), this study analyzes the actual CBWM particularly by taking in depth interviews with the representation of community members in 6 villages of dry-land area in the northern part of Manggarai District, East Nusa Tenggara Province. The study also undertakes the spatial analysis of the springs area. The analysis on site will be complemented by a portrait of bigger context in the political economy analysis of district and country. The finding indicates that although most land use and water policies have some formulation to protect water sources, including springs, the CBWM are detached from policy agenda. Without direct support to CBWM, the water policy is weak to challenge land use changes including the mining policies from the past and the current trend for commodity expansion. The study suggests that the water policies have to deal with mining policies if the jurisdiction is willing to indicate the water priority of the area. Moreover, the protection for the springs should not be relying on community-based institutions alone. The policies have to be there to enable the water institutions to anticipate the pressures on the springs.

MAD Water: Integrating Modular, Adaptive, and Decentralized Approaches for Water Security in the Climate Change Era.

Centralized water infrastructure has, over the last century, brought safe and reliable drinking water to much of the world. But climate change, combined with aging and underfunding, is increasingly testing the limits of-and reversing gains made by-these large-scale water systems. To address these growing strains and gaps, we must assess and advance alternatives to centralized water provision and sanitation. The water literature is rife with examples of systems that are neither centralized nor networked, but still meet water needs of local communities in important ways, including: informal and hybrid water systems, decentralized water provision, community-based water management, small drinking water systems, point-of-use treatment, small-scale water vendors, and packaged water. Our work builds on these literatures by proposing a convergence approach that can integrate and explore the benefits and challenges of modular, adaptive, and decentralized ("MAD") water provision and sanitation, often foregrounding important advances in engineering technology. We further provide frameworks to evaluate justice, economic feasibility, governance, human health, and environmental sustainability as key parameters of MAD water system performance.

Local Wisdom Nyadran as the Social Capital in “Warung Air Tirto Mulyo” Community-Based Water Management

Nyadran or Sadranan is an expression of gratitude towards blessings given by the Lord Almighty, in this case is river or in Javanese language called as kali. Therefore, Nyadran Kali is the result of acculturation between religion and local tradition. The local wisdoms are people or community capitals contained local knowledge that worth reckoning as one of the efforts in resolve the environmental problems, one of which is the human needs upon the water availability. Accordingly the purpose of this study is to analyze the “Nyadran” local wisdom as social capital in “Warung Air Tirto Mulyo” (WATM) water management in Pudak Payung Sub-District, District of Banyumanik, Semarang City. The research design used is case study. This study found the local wisdom values explored from the social value, tenacity, accountability, and belief or trust. The reflections of “Nyadran Kali” values bring an organization to have wisdom in think and act to always love God, human, and nature. The values of Nyadran Kali could be a main asset of an organization to continue to exist and shows its identity which is unique compared to others and will eventually become an intangible asset that capable of maintaining its sustainability. Keywords: Nyadran Kali Tradition, Local Wisdom, Social Capital

Coproduced urban water services: When technical and governance hybridisation go hand in hand

This study questions the processes of technical and governance hybridisation in the coproduction of water services in cities of the Global South. The existing literature addresses the compensatory role that water services coproduction plays in urban and peri-urban areas, where access to centralised and reliable water resources is often lacking. However, less research focuses on the evolution of coproduced practices in relation to wider transitions of urban spaces, water resources, centralised infrastructure, and service delivery strategies. Still, the resulting technical and governance configurations stemming from these situations are largely unexplored. This study considers four cities, namely, Hanoi (Vietnam), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Cochabamba (Bolivia), and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia). All our case studies are somewhat characterised by rapid land-use changes, juxtaposition of rural and urban activities, varying urban typologies, and increasing poverty, sociospatial inequality, and exclusionary service provision. We draw on data collected from field surveys and participatory workshops with inhabitants and institutional actors between 2017 and 2020 as part of a recent research project. We explore the evolution of water coproduction from technological and governance perspectives. The cases analysed in the research highlight that the time and social development of water coproduction do not follow a linear path. It is rather characterised by cycles of emergence, maturation, and decline. It may build upon pre-existing forms of community-based water management that were established in rural areas (for irrigation or water harvesting, for instance). The results show that water coproduction may have different evolutions, entailing different hybridisation processes. Water coproduction can be characterised by either complementary or concurrent service configurations, by blurring actor categories, and by different drivers in the hybridisation process. Ultimately, evolution in urban coproduced practices appears as a process of technical and governance hybridisation, rather than as final and fixed hybrid systems.

Assessing the roles of farmer organizations for effective agricultural water management in Sri Lanka

CONTEXTThe ancient Sri Lankan village tank cascade system (VTCS) is a unique agricultural system that irrigates 35% of rice lands in Sri Lanka. Climate change, population growth, and social determinants are increasing pressure on VTCS, and the available water resources are being limited and competing with other water users. Therefore, effective water management on the field and landscape scale needs attention to address these challenges. OBJECTIVESince community-based water management bodies have been recognized as a leading approach for effective field-level water management, this study aimed to assess the behavior of farmer organizations (FOs), understand their capacities for field-level water management, and determine improvements required to achieve more effective field-level water management. METHODSWe surveyed 357 respondents from 21 FOs in the Deduru Oya river basin. FO behavior in five categories was assessed: 1) organizational rules, legitimacy, and culture; 2) organizational hierarchy and decision-making; 3) leadership; 4) communication and coordination; and 5) motivational incentives and organizational stability. Respondents rated their perception of the organizational behavior of the FO they participate in on a Likert scale. In addition, we conducted key informant interviews with 11 field officers of relevant government bodies who work closely with the FOs we studied. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONFOs showed great diversity in their organizational behavior. Overall transparency, participatory decision-making, internal communication, and leadership were identified as key behaviors supporting efficient water management by FOs. Organizational culture, external communication, and organizational stability were all found to have significant improvement needs. FO behaviors in terms of organizational culture have major gaps in several areas, including poor organizational legitimacy awareness, poor financial accountability, unhealthy revenue generation, insufficient environmental consideration, and poor record keeping. Interestingly, FO members from different hierarchical layers disagreed on behavior within their own FOs. Additionally, conflicting responses among FOs and government agency field officers were also observed, highlighting the need to inspect field officers' actions by senior authorities. There is a need to improve FO behaviors in identified weak areas for better irrigation water management. SIGNIFICANCEThe recommendations of this study offer multi-scale solutions, including solid capacity building through knowledge sharing and highlighting the gaps aimed at strengthening FO behaviors that support effective field-level water management. The findings and recommendations are informative in terms of investments required to enable FOs to fulfill their potential as efficient water managers at the community scale. Furthermore, these findings may help in national policy making.

An empirical assessment of the institutional performance of community-based water management in a large-scale irrigation system in southern Mexico

Understanding irrigation performance by focusing on its institutional dimension can help improve water use and smallholder farmers' livelihoods. While many studies have evaluated the institutional performance of small-scale, farmer-managed irrigation systems, virtually no empirical studies have evaluated the performance of community-based water management institutions in large-scale irrigation systems with non-governmental bureaucratic administration. This study aims to fill this gap using a mixed-methods research design combining ethnographic work and a quantitative survey of 81 smallholder farmers' from four community institutions (ejidos) in an irrigation district in Chiapas, southern Mexico. While the management model implemented in the transfer of Mexican irrigation districts to users consisted of a bureaucratic administration entirely in the hands of contract agents, this study reveals the essential role of community institutions in local water management. However, although all four communities use water from the same irrigation district, the results revealed significant differences in the institutional performance of irrigation management. Using the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework developed by Elinor Ostrom, We showed that these differences could be explained by the biophysical attributes involved in irrigation (irrigation technique, access to groundwater resources, location of the water intake) and community characteristics (social capital and group size). The study recommends that water managers involve communities in the creation of farmers' associations, which could increase their social capital and thus the performance of local irrigation. Furthermore, the results suggest that farmers' views on the institutional performance of irrigation management should receive more attention in the large-scale irrigation system with bureaucratic administration. This knowledge can be particularly useful to improve the different levels of organization and thus water governance of irrigation districts in Mexico.

Societal Impact Analysis of Community-managed Potable Water Supply System in Rural India

Lack of accessibility and affordability to safe and affordable drinking water remains a major challenge in fulfilling sustainable development goals. Community-based water management emerged as a policy response to address the issues. However, the impact of producing community-based water supply institutions on the community is hardly noticed in this context. This paper tries to fill the gap through the relational understanding between the provision of safe water and communities’ socioeconomic upliftment, which remains the main reason behind the establishment of the potable water facility in Porapara village located in West Midnapur district of the state of West Bengal, India. The study findings revealed that community participation through the process of empowerment results in good governance of the potable water project and the socioeconomic well-being of the community in Porapara village. This kind of intervention study may help policymakers in evaluating the societal impact to achieve socioeconomic well-being.

Barriers and bridges on water management in rural Mexico: from water-quality monitoring to water management at the community level.

Access to sufficient water of suitable quality represents a challenge for achieving several dimensions of sustainable development. Currently, water access is restricted to three of 10 persons globally. In rural areas of Mexico and other low-income countries, coverage could be even less due to the absence of formal supply; thus, rural communities usually perform water management. Surrounding community-based water management, various socio-ecological interactions emerge that determine access to water. Access to water will depend on the obstacles or capacities that arise within the socio-ecological system in which the community is immersed. This work identifies barriers and bridges to water access in a rural environment through mixed methods. The article draws on three case studies in southeastern Mexico by analyzing 90 questionnaires conducted at the household level and three focus groups in parallel with water quality analysis and its relationship with management practices. The barriers and bridges were classified into six water access challenges: (i) access to water in a sufficient quantity, (ii) access to water of adequate quality, (iii) access to water for household crop irrigation, (iv) hygiene and sanitation facilities, (v) collective organization, and (vi) climate variability. The main findings indicate that households’ water quantity and quality show deficiencies due to the lack of formal infrastructure and represent a health risk. Water fetching has the highest impact on women and children in poor rural areas, and it is a significant barrier to sustainable development. In contrast, the collective organization proved to be an essential bridge for water access in these communities.

Institutional bricolage in community-based water management: some insights from non-representational theory

ABSTRACT Drawing on non-representational theory, using as an example the work of Gilles Deleuze, we offer a complementary perspective on critical institutionalism. We examine four case studies of community-based water management in the Upper West Region of Ghana, which has empowered communities and encouraged democratically accountable approaches, while also underpinning discriminatory practices. We find this can be attributed to institutional bricolage, but we argue that non-representational theory also provides an alternative orientation to our data. It allows the agency of disempowered individuals to be recast as acts of hope.

Water Stress, Peri-Urbanization, and Community-Based Water Systems: A Reflective Commentary on the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City

With a population of over 22 million, Mexico City's metropolitan area is facing enormous water security challenges. Its supply heavily relies on overdraft of groundwater and import from neighboring basins, leading to problems such as subsidence and raising concern over its sustainability. The impacts of the water stress in Mexico City are highly unequal across the metropolitan area and particularly severe in low-income peri-urban neighborhoods. This paper will first review the current water stress in Mexico City, its impacts on vulnerable communities, as well as some existing technical and institutional approaches aiming to tackle these challenges. We will then focus on the community-based water management systems in Mexico City's peri-urban areas, based on the case of Tecámac, one of the 59 municipalities that form the conurbation area. We will discuss the local water politics in the municipality, the historical evolution of the community-based water system, SAPTEMAC, as well as its current agenda. This essay highlights the importance of incorporating the community-based water systems in the development toward a solution to the water crisis in megacities like Mexico City: not only do they serve as provider of potable water to a considerable number of households, but they also represent a collective resistance against the speculation-driven (peri) urbanization and can make substantial contribution to the promotion of a comprehensive water reform in the country.

Effects of community-based water management decisions at catchment scale, an interdisciplinary approach: the case of the Great Ruaha River Catchment, Tanzania

Abstract Water User Associations are community-based institutions that cover segments of rivers and are responsible for water management decisions. These are the result of institutional blueprints designed by the international community, widely adopted around the world. However, the implementation gaps between these generic institutional designs and the working on the ground are vast and require site-specific information to support water management decisions at the local scale. We used a hydrological modelling approach to assess how community-based decisions can maximize their outcomes and improve overall availability of water resources in the Great Ruaha River Catchment in Tanzania, a catchment that is under severe drought pressures and is of the utmost ecological, social, and political relevance at the national scale. We provide information to support decisions on when and where to focus conservation and management strategies by identifying the seasonal and spatial variability of water availability in the catchment. Our methods have the potential to be used in other catchments around the world. This study shows the importance of assessing the hydrological processes affecting the geographies of community-based institutions to identify priority areas of action.

Non-Revenue Water Performance: Insights from State-Led and Community-Based Water Management Regimes in Ghana

Non-Revenue Water Performance: Insights from State-Led and Community-Based Water Management Regimes in Ghana

How does community-managed infrastructure scale up from rural to urban? An example of co-production in community water projects in Northern Pakistan

This paper examines the role of participation, co-production and community management in a random sample of 50 rural and urban water systems under the Water and Sanitation Extension Programme (WASEP) in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. It looks at the role of an NGO (the Aga Khan Agency for Habitat) in co-production, and how this model of community-based water management (CBWM) contributes to the discussion in the literature. Specifically, the paper considers whether the largely rural WASEP model can be successfully scaled up and scaled out to urban centres, drawing on evidence from a survey of over 2,500 rural and urban households. The findings illustrate the importance of participation in the successful delivery of water systems. However, higher levels of rural participation are related to specifically rural features, including the smaller size and more limited diversity of communities. The paper concludes that new methods may be required for the transfer of CBWM to urban centres with much larger, more diverse and growing populations.

Rural water provision at the state-society interface in Latin America

ABSTRACT Across Latin America, improved water access in rural areas has primarily been secured by residents themselves, bolstered by myriad state and nonstate, domestic and international, entities. In recent decades, the state has lent increasing attention to the rural sector. This article examines recent state interventions towards understanding the evolution of the state’s role in rural water provision vis-à-vis community-based water service providers in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Recognizing the tensions inherent in a call for state engagement in rural water provision, we propose roles that directly engage the challenges facing community-based water management organizations, emphasizing state engagement with national and transnational water committee governance networks and state-society accountability mechanisms.

Application of POAC on Community-Based Urban Groundwater Management

Community-based water management is intended to manage natural assets and to meet the water needs of households in the community. The management by the community takes form of informal management that focuses on social interaction, social norms, and relationships between people in the community. Although it is informal, this form of organization needs to pay attention on aspects of formal management covering planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling (POAC). To find out how the application of POAC in community-based water management, the research conducted case study of two locations in Kedungmundu village, Semarang City, Central Java, Indonesia. This research found that the implementation of management in the community-based urban groundwater in both locations faced various kinds of problems: lack of understanding of the community on how to manage their assets properly, no clear purpose of their management, absence of independence oversight, and lack of good communication. The results can be the evaluations for the management in both locations and for developing knowledge and practical insight of POAC application on similar community-based urban groundwater management in different locations for them to become sustainable management.

Assessing community-based water management and governance systems in North-West Cameroon using a Cultural Theory and Systems Approach

Abstract The drive to ensure regular and reliable access to domestic water supplies is a major challenge for governments across sub-Saharan Africa. This study investigated the rural water systems in North-West Cameroon across rural districts using the lenses of Cultural Theory and Systems Thinking Analysis (STA). Different social groups were classified using Cultural Theory to assist in appreciating and presenting solutions to preventing water resources becoming degraded and ensure water supplies are maintained. STA focuses on causal feedback principles and therefore, was used to evaluate relationships between the stakeholders and systems. Thereby allowing the development of a suggested policy intervention mechanism for sustainable community-based Water Management (CBWM) in the region under study. Findings revealed that in Cameroon, the provisioning of domestic water to rural residents faces significant hurdles. This is due, in part, to the centralisation of governance, where the national government determines how water resources are managed throughout the country. This is despite the promulgation of laws that support the decentralisation of decision-making. It was found that CBWM systems prevailed due to the enormous contributions of local inhabitants, extended community networks and the diaspora. However, CBWM serve to reinforce the status and situational power of local elites, government officials and, to a lesser degree, men. Therefore, a concerted effort to implement a more democratic and transparent politico-cultural mechanism to manage water resources could serve both to resolve water management conflicts and develop suitable policy intervention mechanisms for sustainable CBWM.