scholarly journals Do rope and washer pumps provide safe water and satisfied users? A case study piloting new rural water supply technology in Rumphi District, Malawi

Water SA ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (3 July) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob C Mkandawire ◽  
Mavuto Tembo ◽  
Muthi Nhlema ◽  
Joel Luhanga ◽  
Rochelle H Holm
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
User Satisfaction ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Safe Water ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Sub Saharan

Innovation is needed to develop rural water supply to support sub-Saharan Africa communities that are hard to reach. The purpose of this study was to critically review rope and washer pumps that have been installed on manually drilled boreholes in 48 communities as part of a pilot project in Rumphi District, Malawi, and which serve as a sustainable source of drinking water from both technical (water quality and functionality) and social (user satisfaction) perspectives. At each water source, an infrastructure checklist was used (n = 48); 10 users were interviewed (n = 472); and, if the pump had water, water quality samples were collected (n = 24). The results show that use of a professional driller does not guarantee a functioning rope and washer pump that produces safe water. Where the pumps were functional, most provided safe drinking water. However, only 8% (4/48) of pumps had good water quality, a flow rate of >20 L/min and a full consensus of positive satisfaction among users. Pumps are not necessarily working better or worse in more remote areas. A process of introducing and creating evaluative guidelines for new (approved) technologies for rural water supply has not been established in Malawi. Sub-Saharan African governments need to be open to innovative solutions while making sure that standards, including those for functionality, water quality, user satisfaction, private operators, and human capacity for local government regulators, are being followed to ensure safe water for rural communities.

Institutional variations in practice of demand responsive approach: evidence from rural water supply in India

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 650-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Satyapriya Rout
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
The State ◽  
Indian Society ◽  
Institution Building ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Village Communities

The paper reports the main findings of a study, designed to develop a better understanding of institutional variations in working with the demand responsive approach (DRA) in rural water supply in the state of Odisha in India. Data for the paper were collected from twelve village communities, where water is being supplied either through their community based institution or through the local government institution of the Gram Panchayat. The findings suggest that the two types of institutions performed differently in implementing the DRA. It depicted that the DRA under the broader rubric of institutional reforms in the water sector has failed to address the question of social inequality, and rather had reinforced and extended the already existing inequity of Indian society to access to safe and secure drinking water in rural areas. The study highlights that participation, cost recovery, full operation and management transfer may be an efficient proposition, but not sustainable in the long run without proper investment in institution building and support from the state, especially in provisioning of basic services like drinking water to rural poor.

scholarly journals Rural water supply in Nigeria: policy gaps and future directions

Water Policy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 597-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Chukwuma Obeta
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Qualitative Approaches ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Sustainable Services

Abstract The alarming state of safe water deprivation among the residents of rural communities in Nigeria is well recognized. Unfortunately, research that shows the policy gaps in the water supply sector of the country and measures to eliminate them in order to improve water supply sustainability in the country is lacking. This paper investigates the landscape of water service provision to rural communities in Nigeria using investigative and qualitative approaches due to the desire to explore the experience and opinions of previous workers/agencies in the region. Primary and secondary data were used in the study. Findings characterized the rural water supply landscape in the region. The community-based service providers are constrained by several policy gaps that negatively impact on the quality and sustainability of rural water supply in the country. Rural water interventions suffer from a high rate of failures due largely to weak institutional framework in the water supply sector. The paper recommends that for rural water supply sustainability to be improved in Nigeria all the stakeholders must work together to prioritize and address the policy gaps constraining service delivery simultaneously in the region. Working on one factor alone may not result in sustainable services.

scholarly journals Critical Factors for the Success of Rural Water Supply Services in Brazil

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2180
Author(s):  
Anna V. M. Machado ◽  
João A. N. dos Santos ◽  
Norbertho da S. Quindeler ◽  
Lucas M. C. Alves
Keyword(s):  
Rural Communities ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Nominal Group Technique ◽  
Nominal Group ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Water Quality Control ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Water Supply Services

The universalization of drinking water in rural communities poses a great challenge to developing countries, where rural areas often receive poor water service coverage and limited attention from authorities. This scenario is the current reality in Brazil. The community management model of rural water services has proven to be a noteworthy approach to ensure the continuity of water supply where private and public entities do not operate. However, its sustainability depends on several aspects. The authors of the current paper performed a thorough review of relevant publications in the rural sanitation field of study using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews (PRISMA) methodology, which enabled the creation of a list of essential factors capable to ensure the sustainability of Rural Water Supply Services (RWSS). Using the Nominal Group Technique with a selection of participants from a national conference held in Brazil in 2015, specialists hierarchized the factors, demonstrating their perception of the most important aspects necessary in RWSS throughout Brazil. Consequently, the authors noticed the necessity of a strong enabling environment, which recognizes small communities and their local services. Water quality control, post-construction support and the existence of a financial scheme were also pointed out as important aspects to ensure RWSS’s sustainability.

Spatial analysis of rural drinking water supply in China

Water Policy ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongxing Li ◽  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Weiwei Li ◽  
Qing Luo ◽  
Kaitai Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Spatial Pattern ◽  
Spatial Autocorrelation ◽  
Drinking Water Supply ◽  
Spatial Autocorrelation Analysis ◽  
Autocorrelation Analysis ◽  
Rural Water Supply ◽  
Rural Water ◽  
Rural Drinking Water Supply

A spatial autocorrelation analysis method was employed to process the spatial change of rural water supply over the past 19 years in the People's Republic of China. Statistical analyses indicate great achievements in rural water supply construction. Two main indices describing rural drinking water supply status, the Rural Popularization Rate of Tap Water and the Rural Popularization Rate of Water Improvement Beneficiaries, were found to be spatially auto-correlated. The Global Moran's I of the latter decreased generally, and local spatial autocorrelation analysis showed that the regional gap of rural water supply infrastructure is declining. The main factors affecting the spatial pattern of rural water supply were analyzed through the mean centre method. Our research shows that the spatial pattern of economic development and government investment has had a decisive role in the formation and evolution of rural water supply.

scholarly journals National rural drinking water monitoring: progress and challenges with India's IMIS database

Water Policy ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1015-1032 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Wescoat ◽  
Sarah Fletcher ◽  
Marianna Novellino
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Data Analysis ◽  
Water Supply ◽  
Integrated Management ◽  
Data Access ◽  
Water Monitoring ◽  
Data Consistency ◽  
Data Sampling ◽  
Rural Water

National drinking water programs seek to address monitoring challenges that include self-reporting, data sampling, data consistency and quality, and sufficient frequency to assess the sustainability of water systems. India stands out for its comprehensive rural water database known as Integrated Management Information System (IMIS), which conducts annual monitoring of drinking water coverage, water quality, and related program components from the habitation level to the district, state, and national levels. The objective of this paper is to evaluate IMIS as a national rural water supply monitoring platform. This is important because IMIS is the official government database for rural water in India, and it is used to allocate resources and track the results of government policies. After putting India's IMIS database in an international context, the paper describes its detailed structure and content. It then illustrates the geographic patterns of water supply and water quality that IMIS can present, as well as data analysis issues that were identified. In particular, the fifth section of the paper identifies limitations on the use of state-level data for explanatory regression analysis. These limitations lead to recommendations for improving data analysis to support national rural water monitoring and evaluation, along with strategic approaches to data quality assurance, data access, and database functionality.

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