Access to improved water source and satisfaction with services : evidence from rural Ethiopia

Abebaw, D., Tadesse, F. and Mogues, T., 2011. Access to improved water source and satisfaction with services : evidence from rural Ethiopia. (ESSP II working paper ; 32). Washington, DC, Ethiopia Strategy Support Program II (ESSP II), International Food Policy Research Institute. v, 14 p. : 9 tab. 20 ref.

Available at: <http://www.ifpri.org/sites/default/files/publications/esspwp32.pdf> [Accessed 16 January 2011]

In recent years access to safe and reliable water supplies has received increased government attention in Ethiopia. As a result, the national coverage rate for this service has gradually improved. Yet millions of people in rural areas still do not get drinking water from an improved water source. While expanding improved water source schemes is generally essential, it is equally important to ensure that the schemes have increased users’ satisfaction with water quality and availability for everyday use. Using household survey data and employing univariate and bivariate probit models, this paper attempts to investigate the effect of access to an improved water source on users’ satisfaction with both quality and availability of water. The study findings suggest that access to an improved water source significantly raised household satisfaction with both quality and availability of water. However, the effect of the improved water source on users’ satisfaction was slightly lower for water availability than for water quality. (author abstract)

Arrangements and cost of providing support to rural water service providers

Smits, S. … [et al.] (2011). Arrangements and cost of providing support to rural water service providers. (WASHCost working paper ;  no. 5). The Hague, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre.  42 p. :  1 fig., 16 tab.  37 ref.
Download full paper

This joint WASHCost and Triple-S paper is about the costs of providing direct and indirect support to rural water service provision. It provides an overview of the features such support entails, how those features can be organised, what they cost and how they can be financed. It also provides recommendations to countries for strengthening support. The paper is based on a desk review of existing literature from seven countries and an analysis of primary cost data collected by the WASHCost project in Andhra Pradesh (India), Mozambique and Ghana in 2010 and 2011.

New web resource on rural water supply – www.waterservicesthatlast.org

One out of three rural water supply systems in developing countries doesn’t function at all or performs far below its promised level. IRC’s Triple-S (Sustainable Services at Scale) initiative has put together a web resource to help those involved in financing, planning or implementing rural water supply projects or providing services. The website brings together the latest thinking on creating water services that last, including results from Triple-S work in Ghana and Uganda. It covers key elements such as monitoring, financial planning, institutional models, and capacity building for service providers and local government. Here you’ll find tools, concepts, case studies, videos, cartoons, and more.

Web site: www.waterservicesthatlast.org

Supporting rural water supply: moving towards a service delivery approach

Lockwood, H. and Smits, S. (2011). Supporting rural water supply : moving towards a service delivery approach. London, UK, Practical Action and The Hague, The Netherlands, IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre. xii, 187 p. : 11 boxes, 13 fig., 14 tab. Includes references, glossary and index.
Download full publication and supporting country studies
Order hard copy (price: £13.46)

Collectively, billions of dollars have been invested in the provision of rural water supply systems in developing countries over the past three decades. Although progress is being made and rates of coverage are increasing, users often find that, once installed, water supply systems are poorly maintained and eventually break down, leaving them with an unreliable and disrupted water supply.

Supporting Rural Water Supply takes a critical look and asks why we have been unable to provide a sustainable water service to rural people for so long? What are the critical success factors in the areas where there has been good progress? How can we support the adoption of a service delivery approach to rural water supply – one that moves beyond implementing infrastructure projects to delivering a reliable and indefinite service?

This book brings together findings from 13 country studies which were carried out as part of a global learning initiative – Sustainable Services at Scale, or Triple-S. It offers insights into ways countries and individual organisations can move towards a service delivery approach step by step and is a valuable resource for professionals in government departments, NGOs, development banks, and donor agencies who are interested in improving the design and implementation of rural water supply programmes and the benefits from investments. (publisher’s abstract).

Read the summaries or full reports for Benin, Burkina Faso, Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, India, Mozambique, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, USA, and Uganda.

The results from the Triple-S 13-country study were discussed and reviewed at a joint event organised on 27 September 2011 by the World Bank and USAID. Video, presentations and background documents available at: https://water.worldbank.org/water/node/84057

Operation & Maintenance Network

The O&M Network website is intended for water and sanitation sector professionals and other parties with responsibility for O&M practices in developing countries. Registration (free) is required to access and contribute to the website’s toolbox containing reference tools (manuals, guidelines, checklists) and case studies on the following topics:

• Community involvement
• Design
• Institutional and management aspects
• Monitoring of operation and maintenance
• Operational performance of rural systems
• Operational performance of urban systems
• Technology selection and options
• Training and promotional material
• Water Safety Plans
• Technical Advisory Queries

Other resources on the web site include O&M Network workshop reports and a glossary.

Through its O&M Advisory Service, the network offers technical assistance for specific organizations working in low and middle income countries.

Founded by the World Health Organization (WHO), the O&M Network is coordinated by the National Institute of Public Health of Japan while the International Water Association (IWA) manages the secretariat.

Web site: www.operationandmaintenance.net

WASH technology information packages

Baumann, E., Montangero, A., Sutton, S. and Erpf. K. (2010). WASH technology information packages : for UNICEF WASH programme and supply personnel. Copenhagen, Denmark, UNICEF. 194 p. : fig., photo. Includes references.

Download package (includes a PDF file and related Excel files).

The WASH technology information packages (TIPs) are a practical set of guidelines and selection tools for WASH programme and supply staff.

The following WASH technologies are covered:

1. Hand pumps for drinking water
2. Boreholes and drilling equipment for rural water supply
3. Solar powered pumping
4. Motorized and small piped systems
5. Faecal sludge emptying equipment

The TIPs are linked to Excel spreadsheets giving selection tools and bills of quantity.

Originally written for UNICEF WASH Programme Officers, the TIPs have now been made available on the UNICEF web site. They are free to be reproduced as long as UNICEF is credited as the source.

Community-based development in water and sanitation projects

Hill, D. (2009). Community-based development in water and sanitation projects. Manila, Philippines, Asian Development Bank. ix, 94 p. ISBN 978-971-561-858-8

Download full document [PDF file]

This study is presents a comparative analysis of community-driven development (CDD) projects and non-CDD projects in rural water supply and sanitation. It is based on a sample of nine projects funded by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank in Indonesia, Nepal, and the Philippines.

The study found that CDD:
(i) is a more cost-effective mode of delivery of international donor funding for rural infrastructure projects; (ii) presents a more responsive approach to local community infrastructure demands, generating increased benefits;
(iii) instills a sense of ownership that translates to better O&M and increased sustainability;
(iv) provides a fund disbursement mechanism that promotes transparency and limits leakages; and
(v) results in projects with higher rates of return than ADB sector projects.

Based on the sample projects, five interesting results were generated:
(i) CDD projects do not take significantly more time from appraisal through implementation to closure than non-CDD projects.
(ii) CDD projects do not result in more time or cost overruns than non-CDD projects.
(iii) Projects with more CDD elements tended to be more successful (as per Operations Evaluation Department criteria) than projects exhibiting fewer CDD elements.
(iv) CDD projects in the sample showed a lower per-capita cost for the water supply infrastructure intervention as compared with ADB projects with similar designs and scopes.
(v) CDD projects were more likely to realize a per-capita cost savings (as compared to appraisal-based estimates) than non-CDD projects.

Based on the findings, the study formulates recommendations for the design, implementation and promotion of CDD projects funded by ADB.

Impact of rural water supply and sanitation in Punjab, Pakistan

ADB (2009). Impact of rural water supply and sanitation in Punjab, Pakistan : evaluation study. Manila, The Philippines, Independent Evaluation Department, Asian Development Bank. vii, 127 p.
Download full report [PDF file]

The study was conducted in Punjab Province of Pakistan and covered two projects funded by the Asian Development Bank:

• Punjab Rural Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project (PRWSSP), and
• Punjab Community Water Supply and Sanitation (Sector) Project (PCWSSP).

The study assessed project performance and identified lessons for maximizing the development effectiveness of water supply and sanitation (WSS) interventions. It quantified the impact of WSS assistance on household welfare with a focus on health, education, and employment and evaluated the sustainability of WSS interventions.

The sustainability analysis focused on two key aspects of the WSS projects: (i) technical and physical status and (ii) the capacity of community-based organizations (CBOs) responsible for the operation and maintenance (O&M) of subprojects.

The following evaluation methods were used:

• household surveys (1,301 project households and 1,301 comparison non-project households)
  technical survey of 115 subprojects
• focus group discussions with 115 CBO executives responsible for O&M, and
• knowledge, attitude, and practice survey (KAP) of 1,400 adults and children in the project and non-project communities.

The study rates the overall performance of ADB’s assistance to rural water supply in Pakistan’s Punjab Province as successful but at the lower end of the scale.

Promising management models of rural water supply services

Montangero, A. (ed.) (2009). Promising management models of rural water supply services : outcomes of the 24th AGUASAN Workshop, Gwatt, Switzerland, 13 to 17 October, 2008 : a workshop for sector specialists and decision-makers. (AGUASAN workshop series). Berne, Switzerland, SDC in collaboration with Eawag/Sandec, Helvetas and Skat. v, 46 p.

Download PDF file

“Is community management enough to sustain the Millennium Development Goal efforts?” This question was raised to initiate the debate at the Aguasan Workshop 2008, a 5-day event gathering water specialists and development practitioners from all over the world. Although the community management model is by far the most widespread approach for rural water supply services in low-income countries, it has often failed to deliver the expected level of sustainability. Hence there is a strong need for re-examining the approach as well as for investigating alternative management models.

This report synthesizes the main workshop outcomes. It describes an analytical framework that can be used to assess the potentials and limitations of rural water supply management models, as a first step towards enhancing the sustainability of rural water supply services. It also highlights key ingredients for success in managing rural water supply services.

Main findings

• The existence of a legal framework clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of the various stakeholders is one common element of successful models.
• In countries undergoing decentralization, local authorities should play a central role in the management of water services. However, financial, material and human resources have to be effectively transferred from central to local government in order to enable the communes to fulfil their role.
• The private sector plays an important part in managing water supply services. In general, the weak profitability of infrastructure maintenance and operation activities is mentioned as a factor that limits private sector involvement. The combination of several water systems or facilities, forming packages comprising profitable and unprofitable facilities to be managed by private operators, could be a way to facilitate private sector participation. Reducing fiscal charges, exempting taxes even temporarily, decreasing water tariff subsidies, and contributing to extension costs could enhance the attractiveness for the private sector.
• Capacity building is a crucial issue to tackle in order to improve the management of water services, regardless of the type of management model. Involving NGOs or associations could be a way to provide technical support.
• In most cases, the dependence on external funding for the replacement of long-term assets or system extension is considered as a threat to sustainability.
• The case studies analysed during the workshop show a trend towards more involvement of the private sector. This is considered as a way to professionalize the management of water services

Case studies

• The Burkina Faso case: A sector reform towards delegated management
• Kosovo case: Management delegation to regional water utilities
• The Tanzania case: Private initiatives to provide water services
• The Weinfelden / Switzerland case: A municipality-owned utility in charge of the water supply network

WaterSoft – Rural Water Supply Sector Statistics, Andhra Pradesh, India

This Government of Andhra Pradesh web site provides statistics on the state’s rural water supply. It provides both details of coverage status (full coverage, no coverage, partial coverage) at different administrative levels and also tracks the financial and construction status of individual rural water supply systems. The web site is under development, and does not include for instance a user guide explaining the terminology and abbreviations used.

Go to the WaterSoft website