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Considerations before design
There are many non-technical points which should be considered fully by the supporting agency and the community before any scheme proceeds, in order to ensure long term sustainability and maximum benefit of the scheme to the health and quality of life of the community. The involvement, by supporting agencies, of communities in the design, implementation, monitoring, review and evaluation of a project enhances their sense of ownership. In turn, this empowers people to make decisions, relevant to their perceptions and needs, concerning the work which will help to safeguard the long-term sustainability of the project. A commitment by the local community to participate fully in the scheme is now considered by WaterAid to be essential in all the projects which it supports. This means commitment at all stages. The stages can be considered to be:
During the first stage, before any construction begins, consideration must be given to the final ownership; the management of day to day operations, however small; the method of payment for any repairs and maintenance and the possibility of future extensions when neighbours see the benefits of the project. Unless the scheme is to supply a formal institution such as a school or hospital, or a refugee or resettlement camp, the final owners should be the community which it serves. Early formation of a committee
It is essential that the community is involved in decision making at an early stage and that local people determine the type of scheme, as far as it is technically possible, which they feel will serve them best. This is best achieved by the formation of a committee, in which the whole community, whether a small town or just a group of homes around a spring, must be involved. Every effort should be made to make this committee truly representative of all the interests in the community, with men and women being equally represented on it. The committee will make decisions regarding all aspects of the project; these are likely to include such matters as:
Hygiene education
Whether it is a water supply and/or a sanitation scheme that is proposed, the ultimate aim is to improve the health and quality of life of the community. Technical developments or improvements will give maximum benefit only if they are part of a wider hygiene education programme. This may involve the changing of long held attitudes and practices and may well take considerably longer to achieve than the actual construction of the scheme. Hygiene education must be a community activity so that everyone goes forward together without any group being left behind. It is usual for the women to be the ones who are primarily concerned with the health of the family, and education will normally concentrate on them. However, it is often the children who are the easiest to educate regarding the benefits of hygiene education, and then they insist on changes being made within the family unit. The community's contribution to the schemeDecisions will have to be made by the supporting agency, in co-operation with the community's committee, regarding the nature of the community's contribution to the setting up of the scheme. This could, and probably should, include the provision of labour for construction, under the supervision of a suitably qualified person. A financial contribution may be required towards the initial capital cost, or to set up a fund for future maintenance. Costs of operation and maintenance
The cost of operating the project when it is finished must be considered at an early stage. This may be little more than the cost of payment for the occasional services of a caretaker to clean the apron and steps at a protected spring, handpump or borehole. However, it might be considerably more, such as the cost of maintenance, and possible replacement of parts for a handpump, or the operation of a diesel driven pump, including the provision of fuel or, even, the provision and dosing of chemicals for water treatment. The following list of costs were considered in the preparation of a maintenance budget for a gravity flow scheme, supplying 50,000 people in rural Ethiopia.
Two other costs to consider (not applicable in this particular project) are diesel fuel and electricity. Payment for water
It is essential that a community understands that it is necessary to make some payment for the water that is used. The method of payment will vary according to the type of system and the nature of the users. It may be payment to a caretaker for each jerrycan collected, probably the most equitable way. However, this requires honesty and integrity from both the caretaker in handling cash and the user in offering payment. A monthly charge per household is easier to collect, but visitors, nomads or travellers will not contribute. Also, excess water used for irrigation or cattle watering is not covered by this method of charging, and there is no incentive to prevent wastage. All accounts should be managed by some person who is respected within the community and should regularly be made available for public scrutiny. The community must decide what method, or combination of methods, it will use to build up funds for future maintenance. Monitoring and evaluationMonitoring of the project is a continual process: to check whether or not it is progressing in accordance with its aims and objectives; to identify problems as they develop; and to maintain a continual reporting system to all involved. Provision should be made to carry out a final evaluation of the project on completion. This process will examine its performance, to find out whether or not its aims and objectives have been achieved, and what effect and impact it has had on the local people and their environment. Download the full set of technology notes ( References1) Tools for Community Participation 2) Developing and Managing Community Water Supplies 3) Participatory Learning and Action: A Trainers Guide
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