IWA is well known for its many events and publications, but generally with an urban utility focus. However, the event below is an unusual opportunity to share experiences between urban, peri-urban, small-town and rural water service provides. Thanks to the initiative of Eleanor Allen, CEO of Water for People, the IWA Water and Development Congress invites submissions on the following topics that are relevant to RWSN member experiences – an in particular those who presented at the RWSN Forum:
Raising gender profile in urban/rural (basin) interactions.
Developing leadership – diversity, inclusiveness and vision
Defining the role of regulation in meeting the SDGs
Strengthening the capacity of entrepreneurs to offer water and sanitation services in rural and peri-urban areas
Implementing pro-poor approaches
Defining tariffs, balancing affordability and cost recovery
Initiating and maintaining multi-stakeholder collaboration to achieve improved services
Fostering political & social engagement in water issues
Ensuring financial sustainability to achieve universal access and service goals.
This is a global event, not just for Latin America, and potentially there is a lot to learn on – and share – on tariff regulation for small rural providers, professionalization of community management, diversity of service delivery models in rural areas, including rural utilities, and asset management for small rural providers.
So please do consider it if you are looking to reach out to a different audience from the normal rural WASH sector – see the message below for more details and links: http://www.waterdevelopmentcongress.org/
Dear RWSN Members / Chers membres du RWSN (message en français ci-dessous)
We would like to share this thought-provoking article by RWSN member Ajay Paul which appeared on the Guardian’s Global Development Professionals Network. It highlights the need to disclose failure for greater accountability in the sector and sustainability of services.
If you have some experiences you would like to share, the Guardian is collecting people’s stories of project failure and success, particularly around sustainability. Submissions are encrypted and people don’t have to use their real name. To submit yours, you can scroll to the bottom of the article linked above.
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Chers membres du RWSN,
Nous aimerions partager avec vous cet article écrit par un membre du RWSN, Ajay Paul, qui est apparu en anglais dans la section Global Development Professionals Network du journal The Guardian : En terme d’accès à l’eau on fait toujours la même chose. Et on échoue. Il décrit l’importance de parler des échecs pour faire avancer le secteur et la durabilité des services. Nous l’avons traduit en français et le reproduisons ci-dessous avec permission. L’article original (en anglais) est disponible ici :
Si vous avez des expériences que vous aimeriez partager, le Guardian fait un appel pour demander aux gens de partager leurs histoires d’échec ou de succès de projets, en relation si possible avec la durabilité. Les soumissions sont encryptées et on n’a pas besoin de donner son vrai nom. Pour y contribuer, vous trouverez le formulaire de réponse en bas de la page de l’article dont le lien est ci-dessus.
« En terme d’accès à l’eau on fait toujours la même chose. Et on échoue
Mais derrière cette statistique, la réalité est la suivante: trop de services d’eau et d’assainissement dans les pays en développement ne sont pas fiables, ne répondent pas aux normes et ont besoin de réparations majeures dans les trois à cinq ans qui suivent leur construction.
Ma confession: la façon dont je travaille fait partie du problème.
Je fais toujours la même chose; j’installe une nouvelle pompe ou j’en répare une de cassée, et je forme les gens qui s’en servent. Je leur donne un nom formel– “comité des usagers de l’eau”, ou quelque chose dans le genre– et je m’attends à ce qu’ils gèrent la pompe sans plus d’assistance. Le résultat sans faille est que la pompe arrête de fonctionner, mais je continue à répéter les mêmes actions et à espérer un autre résultat.
Pour être honnête envers moi-même, cette approche a le mérite de fonctionner parfois; peut-être lorsque quelqu’un de dynamique est à la tête du comité. Dans ce cas-là, on met ce projet dans un beau rapport et on en fait la promotion en tant que ‘success story’, ce qui nous aide ensuite à lever plus de fonds.
Mais la plupart du temps, la pompe arrête de fonctionner au bout de quelques années ; à ce moment j’aurai déjà quitté le projet et déménagé dans un autre pays. Une autre ONG ou un autre directeur de projet reprendra la tâche où je l’ai laissée, et le cycle continue.
A chaque fois que nous répétons ce cycle, nous pensons de manière optimiste que notre réponse va fonctionner. Nous attribuons la panne de manière erronée aux politiques du gouvernement, à la corruption des agents locaux, ou à un manque de gestion de la part du comité des usagers de l’eau.
Par conséquence, nous nous mettons en opposition au gouvernement, nous ignorons leurs stratégies et nous ne travaillons pas avec les fonctionnaires locaux. Nous gérons nos projets en parallèle des leurs, et nous ne faisons pas de lien avec eux ou avec les plans de développement locaux. Quand le projet est fini, nous passons la gestion de la pompe au comité des usagers de l’eau et nous nous en allons. Mais comme nous n’avons pas travaillé avec le gouvernement local, il n’y a pas de raison qu’il apporte une assistance à la communauté lorsque la pompe arrête de fonctionner. L’ONG qui l’a installée est perçue comme étant responsable.
En concevant et en gérant des projets comme je le fais, je fais mon travail. J’ai des outils de suivi qui me permettent de voir combien de pompes on a installé et réparé avec les fonds disponibles. Si je reste dans le budget et que je fais ce que dit l’offre proposée au bailleur, j’ai fait ce que j’avais à faire.
Je n’ai pas besoin de faire le suivi de ce qui se passe après que mon projet soit fini, et je ne suis pas responsible si ou lorsque la pompe arrête de fonctionner. Pourquoi est-ce que je dirais au bailleur qu’une pompe ne marche plus ? Cela pourrait mettre en péril de futurs financements. Cela poserait également une question à laquelle personne n’est capable de répondre : qui est responsable de la réparation d’une pompe cassée?
Mon ONG est soutenue par Viva con Agua et nous avons la chance de pouvoir leur parler de manière ouverte de nos inquiétudes. Ensemble, nous avons décidé surmonter la peur de parler des échecs. C’est seulement en comprenant pourquoi les pompes cassent ou fournissent un service inadéquat que nous pourrons identifier et faire face à la vraie cause.
Nous savons que l’atteinte de l’ ODD6 – eau potable et assainissement pour tous d’ici à 2030 – requiert un meilleur suivi et une plus grande transparence des échecs et des succès une fois que les projets sont finis. Nous avons commence à inclure des fonds pour le suivi post-projet dans tous nos nouveaux projets financés par Viva. Nous avons également commencé un blog – Washaholics Anonymous – où vous pouvez partager vos échecs et vos succès en relation avec la durabilité des services. Après tout, la première étape dans pour trouver une solution, c’est d’admettre que vous avez un problème.»
ENG: RWSN is delighted to announce the first of the 2017 series of webinars (on-line seminars) on rural water supply, running every Tuesday from April 18th, 2017 until June 13th, 2017. This series includes 9 weekly sessions on topics, which were presented and debated during the 2016 RWSN Forum in Abidjan, and related to the RWSN themes. For instance, we will find out about local government superheroes and their role in realising the human right to water and sanitation, but also hear about emerging cross-cutting issues such as improving WASH services in protracted crises. Each session will be bilingual, with one webinar in English as well as another language (French or Spanish) as we are trying to cater for a wide and varied audience. The format includes 1-2 presentations, comments from discussants, and a Question & Answer session where all participants are invited to ask questions or make comments. For more details on the first 2017 series, please refer to the table below.
The webinars in English start at 2.30 pm Paris time/ 1.30 pm London time/ 8.30 am Washington DC time. You can check your local time here. To register for one or all of the webinars, and receive an invitation please click on the following link: http://bit.ly/2movPGM
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FR : Le RWSN a le plaisir de vous annoncer une nouvelle série de webinaires en 2017 (les séminaires en ligne) qui auront lieu les mardis, du 18 avril 2017 au 13 juin 2017. Cette série comprend 9 sessions hebdomadaires sur des sujets ayant été présentés et débattus lors du RWSN Forum à Abidjan en 2016, et correspondant aux thèmes RWSN. Par exemple, on apprendra le rôle des superhéros des gouvernements locaux pour la réalisation du droit à l’eau et à l’assainissement, mais on découvrira également des sujets transversaux émergeants tels que l’amélioration des services EAH dans les cas de crises prolongées. Chaque session sera bilingue, avec un webinaire en anglais et dans une autre langue (espagnol ou français) selon le sujet, nous souhaitons en effet toujours toucher le public le plus large dans toute sa diversité ! Les thèmes abordés sont le droit humain à l’eau et à l’assainissement, l’auto-approvisionnement, la durabilité des services et le cadre de référence d’applicabilité des technologies. Chaque session comprend 1 ou 2 présentations, des réactions de la part d’un ou plusieurs intervenants et une partie Questions/Réponses lors de laquelle tous les participant(e)s peuvent poser leurs questions ou réagir aux échanges. Vous trouverez le détail de cette première série de webinaires de 2017 dans le tableau ci-dessous.
Les webinaires en français sont à 11h heure de Paris/ 9h heure de Dakar. Pour vérifier l’horaire du webinaire, vous pouvez cliquer ici. Pour vous inscrire à l’un ou à tous les webinaires de cette série et recevoir une invitation, cliquez ici : http://bit.ly/2movPGM
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ES: Desde el secretariado del RWSN tenemos el gusto de anunciar la nueva serie de webinars (seminarios en linea), la cual se efectuará entre el 28 de abril y el 13 de junio del 2017. Esta serie comprende 9 sesiones (una sesión por semana) respecto a los temas discutidos en el Foro RWSN en Abidjan en 2016, los cuales corresponden con los ejes temáticos del RWSN. Por ejemplo, aprenderemos sobre el rol de los superhéroes de los gobiernos locales para la realización de los derechos al agua y a saneamiento, pero también descubriremos temas transversales como la mejora de los servicios en agua y saneamiento en crisis humanitarias prolongadas. Cada sesión se implementará en dos idiomas, con una sesión en inglés y la otra o en francés o en español según el tema – de esta forma esperamos poder alcanzar a un público amplio y diverso. El formato incluye, para cada sesión, 1-2 presentaciones en línea, un comentario de al menos una persona, y una sesión de Preguntas y Respuestas donde todos los participantes tendrán la oportunidad de hacer preguntas o comentarios. Para mayor información sobre la serie por favor hacer clic en el vínculo abajo.
Los webinars en español empiezan a la 16.30 (hora de Madrid)/ 09.30 (hora de la Ciudad de México). Se pueden verificar los horarios para su localidad aqui. Para inscribirse a uno o a todos los webinarios de esta serie, haga clic aquí: http://bit.ly/2movPGM
18 April Improving WASH services in protracted crises
18 avril Améliorer les services EAH dans les situations de crises prolongées
25 April Professional Water Well Drilling: Guidance for Ensuring Quality
25 avril Le forage de puits d’eau professionnel : des orientations pour une meilleure qualité
02 May Making rights real – human rights guidance for practitioners
2 mai Faire des droits une réalité – conseils pratiques sur les droits de l’homme pour les professionnels
09 May Making water work for women – inspiring experiences
9 mai Faire fonctionner l’eau pour les femmes : des expériences inspirantes (1ère partie)
16 May Tackling corruption in rural WASH
16 mai S’attaquer à la corruption dans l’eau, l’assainissement et l’hygiène en milieu rural
23. May Making water work for women – inspiring experiences II
23 mai Faire fonctionner l’eau pour les femmes : des expériences inspirantes (2ème partie)
30. May Household wells: A lifeline in Nigeria?
30 mai Les puits d’eau résidentiels: une bouée de sauvetage au Nigéria ?
06 Jun Country-led monitoring
06 juin Le suivi au niveau des pays
6 de junio Monitoreo a nivel de países
13 Jun Searching for universal sustainability metrics for rural water services
13 de junio Buscando maneras universales de medir la sostenibilidad para servicios rurales de agua potable
Despite massive investments in rural water supply in Tanzania, the number of people with access to improved water sources has not increased. This begs the question, what could be the reason for this stagnation?
This blog post is written by Lukas Kwezi and Catarina Fonseca
Investments in rural water supply in Tanzania have increased significantly over the past decade. According to a 2015/16 water sector status report by the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, about US$ 500 million has been spent on rural water supply since the start of the Water Sector Development Programme (WSDP) in 2006, with about one-third of total spending coming from government.
This increased spend has largely been due to the drive to accelerate delivery of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and political commitment to meet the Tanzania Development Vision 2025 through various initiatives such as the Big Results Now (BRN).
For every new person served with an improved water source, there are two new persons without access
The Tanzanian population has tripled from 12.3 million in 1967 to 44.9 million in 2012. In 2015, due to reduced mortality rates and persistently high fertility rate, the total population had grown to almost 50 million, with about 70% of this population living in rural areas. Despite massive urbanisation, rural population growth was three times higher than urban population growth during this period.
However, access to drinking water coverage has only increased by one percentage point from 45% in 1990 to 46% in 2015 (see Figure 1). This clearly indicates that the investments made in the sub-sector have only managed to keep pace with population growth rather than expanding access to new population.
Figure 1: WHO/UNICEF JMP, URT (2015 Update)
Population growth offers opportunities for investments and economic growth, but many agree that the increase in population is putting a huge strain on provision of basic services and resources, especially water. Recent data from the World Bank shows that the average volume of renewable freshwater per capita per year in Tanzania has declined by 80% since independence (from 7,862 m3 in 1962 to 1,621 m3 in 2014), putting the country in the water-stressed category. Water resource challenges are going to increase with growing agricultural intensification combined with climate change in the coming years. These facts highlight the importance of formulating water sector strategies that address the needs of the current and future population.
Where did the money go?
Construction of new schemes has been prioritised over building effective systems for operation and maintenance. For example, recent analysis shows that during the period 2012-2015, 75% of the expenditure in the rural water subsector went to the construction of new infrastructures, while only 14% went to recurrent expenditure – mainly salaries and allowances at local government level. While focus on new construction is not necessarily wastage of resources, the bias towards new construction compromised a focus on maintaining old and existing schemes. We all know that ‘Old is Gold’, but old gold must be smelted and polished to maintain its value.
On the other hand, over 80% of schemes constructed were motorised schemes with average per capita costs of US$ 24-90, deviating from the envisioned 48% hand pumps during programme design. Although the costs compare reasonably well regionally, the change in technology, meant that the programme was able to reach only half of the target population. Besides, motorised schemes come with their own risks: they are often costly and complex to operate and maintain.
Sustainability challenge: it’s not the pipes, it’s the institutions and its people
Studies in Sub-Saharan Africa show that for local authorities to provide sustainable water services, they should spend between US$ 1-3 per person per year on direct support costs and US$1.5-7 per person per year on major maintenance. However, evidence shows that in Tanzania, local authorities spend only 6-10% of what they should spend to ensure sustainable services.
Local authorities often lack adequate funds for direct support. This means that they are unable to fulfil their administration, contract management, and operation and maintenance support functions, to ensure sustainability of water services, and prevent future problems. Also, when unexpected major maintenance occurs (e.g. renewal or replacement of a pump), local authorities and communities often do not have the resources.
Anecdotal evidence from different regions in the country shows that it may take between 3-6 months to negotiate and settle the costs of repairs. During this period, even if major repairs cost only US$ 100, people revert to using unimproved water sources. Studies estimate that about one-third of water points in Tanzania become non-functional after two years of operation, forcing people to return to using unprotected, unsafe sources, indicating low levels of sustainability of rural water services. The implication is that a significant number of people that may have already been provided with first time access fall back to using unimproved water sources.
Rough estimates show that 5.3 million people could be provided with improved water sources if the bulk of non-functional water points were made functional. If this trend is not reversed, reaching the bottom 40% is going to be even more difficult.
What needs to change?
The second phase of the Water Sector Development Programme (WSDP) began in July 2016, with the aim to provide access to clean, safe water to 85% of the rural population by 2020/21. The government estimates that about US$ 862 million would be required to finance the plan. This is a very ambitious target but achievable if sector stakeholders can adopt new approaches and ways of working beyond the narrow focus on new construction.
First, we need to shift incentives and accountability (at all levels of government, politicians, donors, private sector, local authorities and communities) from delivering water points to delivery of sustainable services. The government has now embarked on results-based financing approaches to rural water supply. However, the implementation should be accompanied by a change in mind-set of planners, politicians, engineers, donors and communities. They need to realise that in order to deliver quality services and achieve the desired outcomes, it is not enough just to create an infrastructure (school, health facility, water point). Equally, we also need to strengthen and invest in the institutional system that manages and maintains the infrastructure.
Secondly, we need to get better at monitoring results. This encompasses cultivating a culture of accurate and timely reporting; measuring and verification of whether results reported have been achieved or not, and ensuring information generated is used to inform planning, budgeting and decision-making processes. New technologies can really create a ‘data revolution’ that will allow government and citizens to monitor and continuously improve service provision – if it’s part of the governance and formal accountability mechanisms.
Thirdly, we need to broaden the approach and adopt alternative service delivery models; for example by considering self-supply as a complementary water service delivery model in areas which are difficult to reach. This would mean adopting a broader financing framework to rural water supply that goes beyond capital investments for community-managed water supply systems.
Lastly, the current water policy, which assumes that communities are able to cover full costs related to operation and maintenance of water infrastructures, needs to be reviewed, along with clarifying financial responsibilities and accountability by different parties for capital investments, minor maintenance, major maintenance and direct support costs.
Disclaimer: Lukas Kwezi currently works for the UK Department for International Development (DFID) as Water and Sanitation Adviser, based in Dar es Salaam. He writes blog posts in his spare time. Though he may talk about the work he does in the sector, this is neither a corporate nor a political blog and the opinions and ideas expressed here are solely his own, not those of his employers.
Local and international authors are invited to submit abstracts under the following conference themes.
Wastewater reuse / Wastewater for Future
Socio Economic Aspects of Water & Sanitation for Small Communities
Challenges in Reduction of Water Loss & Revenue Increase
New Trends in Wastewater Management
Challenges in Implementation of Wastewater Systems
Sustainable Sanitation Solutions for Small Communities
Future Trends of Water Supply
Business Efficiency in Drinking Water Supply and Wastewater Management
High quality abstracts, with the potential to generate new knowledge, related to completed/on-going studies or based on experience and prepared according to the brochure linked to the news headlines of www.waterboard.lk , would be selected for oral or poster presentations.
All presenters will be given free registration for participation. Further, a limited number of local sponsorships will be offered for foreign presenters.
For more details – Contact: Assistant General Manager (Research & Development), +94112625196, agmrnd@gmail.com
If you are having trouble reading this then download the more readable PDF version: ENGLISH / FRANÇAIS.
Pour les francophones – Si vous souhaitez recevoir le bulletin trimestriel en français, veuillez nous écrire un e-mail à ruralwater @ skat.ch intitulé Bulletin Trimestriel en français.
English
The late Ton Schouten: 1955 – 2016
The sudden loss of Ton Schouten in May 2016 came as a shock to many of us, and sitting here looking at his photo I find myself still not quite believing that he has left; thinking that he might just call, send a message, or that we may bump into each other in the corridor of a sector meeting.
We miss you Ton. I think that you would have gazed with eyes wide, stood with ears pricked at the farewell given to you by your family, friends and colleagues in Delft on the 30 May. We learned so much about other parts of your life; your rich and full life. A life of listening, of caring, of giving, of philosophising and of humour. You touched the hearts and minds of people in so many places, and from multiple walks of life. Thank you Ton. Thank you.
Patrick Moriaty (CEO, IRC) helped us to know more about Ton in his tribute, so allow me to borrow from him: Ton worked with IRC for more than 17 years, and was equally a leading figure in the WASH sector, a steadfast champion of the cause of sustainability and above all of an approach to development that was based on respect and support to national actors and institutions. During his time at IRC, Ton led Triple-S (Sustainable Services at Scale), RiPPLE and SMARTerWASH and supported IRC’s Ghana country team. Ton brought his original passion for film making to IRC, producing the Seventh Video in 2000, a compilation of lessons on community water management from Nepal, Pakistan, Cameroon, Kenya, Colombia and Guatemala. Ton later used clips for another video “What if?”, which illustrated the concepts behind the Triple-S initiative. Other significant works that Ton co-authored include “Doing things differently: stories about local water governance in Egypt, Jordan and Palestine” (2008) and “Community water, community management: from system to service in rural areas” (2003). In recent years Ton became a champion of sector monitoring as a critical building block for national ownership and sustainability. It was with great pride that he organised IRC’s 2013 international symposium on “Monitoring sustainable WASH service delivery” in Addis Ababa. The outputs of the symposium formed the basis for a state-of-the-art book on WASH monitoring, for which he was co-editor: “From infrastructure to services: trends in monitoring sustainable water, sanitation and hygiene services”.
Many RWSN members sent their condolences and wishes, which we passed onto IRC and Ton’s family. Thanks to all of you. There is an online condolence register on www.memori.nl/ton-schouten.
Ton’s departure as our chair has certainly been felt. However he has left his mark, fired us up with ideas, and so as we nominate a new chair in the coming months and move forwards, we will keep on carrying the bright torch that Ton handed us – particilarly of listening to RWSN members – and enabling you, the membership to engage more with one another and keep on improving water supply services in rural areas.
Research and knowledge is critical to improving rural water services worldwide. At RWSN we act as bridge between research, policy and practice. In recent RWSN newsletters, we have collated the latest in academic research. We have moved that list here to make it more accessible (and the newsletter shorter!). If we have missed anything, then please do let us know.
Note that access to many papers is restricted and has to be purchased. Some are open access so that articles are free to download.
Systems such as monitoring systems to see whether services are delivered; financing frameworks that define who pays for what and how; and procurement mechanisms for infrastructure development. Developing those systems – the people, skills, resources – is therefore critical – it will allow us to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, and to end dependency on aid.
A public faucet that serves 1,000 families in el Alto, Bolivia. Photo credit: Stephan Bachenheimer / World Bank
Small towns* typically have not been well served by national or regional water utilities. Decentralization has become increasingly widely adopted, but even if local governments at the small town level have the power to operate a water utility, they often lack the capital and skills to do so. In response, some local governments and public institutions concentrate improvements on upgrading public utilities’ operations or strengthening community based management. In other cases, they choose to bring in the private sector knowledge of how to get clean water and sanitation services to more people more efficiently, affordably or sustainably. There is no one solution to addressing often very complex water and sanitation challenges.
Rural Water Supply Network - blog 