Physical factors contributing to rural water supply functionality performance in Uganda

This report communicates the findings generated from one of the project surveys – deconstruction and forensic analysis of 50 individual water points in Uganda. The report presents the new data generated to Uganda’s groundwater resource potential; the nature and condition of hand-pump borehole installations; and the significance of both of these factors to service performance. Based on the evidence collected, the main physical factors affecting functionality performance within Uganda are the poor condition of handpump components, and the complex aquifer resource. The impact of these factors can be mitigated through appropriate material choice for handpump components (non GI), increased investment in borehole siting and testing, and adequate accessibility to repairs and maintenance capacity with breakdowns. These factors should not be considered to be the only driving forces of functionality outcomes in these regions of Uganda, however, and the results of this survey need to be examined alongside the wider project findings. Wider institutional arrangements, resources and dynamics, are likely to play a significant role in the implementation of appropriate borehole construction, siting and design; procurement processes; and the management capacity available for water points at national to local levels

UPGro Hidden Crisis Research Consortium. Survey 1 Country Report, Uganda

Statistics on the functionality of water points from the Hidden Crisis project in Uganda are presented. The survey, undertaken in 2016, was focussed on boreholes equipped with handpumps (HPBs) within the 112 districts of Uganda. A stratified two stage random sampling approach was adopted and 10 districts identified to sample. A tiered definition of functionality was applied, and all which enabled more nuanced definitions to be reported: The results from the survey indicate: • 55% of HPBs were working on the day of the survey (compared to national figure of 86% for rural water supply ) • 34% of HPBs passed the design yield of 10 litres per minute • 23% passed the design yield and also experienced < 1 month downtime within a year. • 18% passed the design yield and reliability criteria and also water quality criteria The results of the survey indicate the utility of carrying out more detailed assessments of functionality to help unpack national statistics. A linked survey of the performance of the water management arrangements at water points showed that for 70% of the sites water management arrangements were judged to be weak

UPGro Hidden Crisis Research Consortium : project approach for defining and assessing rural water supply functionality and levels of performance

This technical brief is aimed at sharing the learning and approaches developed by the UPGro Hidden Crisis Research Project to look at how the functionality and performance levels of boreholes equipped with handpumps (HPBs), can be assessed using a common set of definitions and methods. A tiered approach to defining and measuring functionality is found to be useful to examining functionality for different scales and purposes of monitoring. This report is aimed at national and regional actors involved in the provision and monitoring of rural water supply functionality. The brief sets out the tiered functionality definitions, and accompanying survey methods, which were developed by the project and have been applied in functionality surveys across Ethiopia, Uganda and Malawi [5-7]. The brief provides a summary of: • The tiered approach to defining and measuring the functionality and performance levels of boreholes equipped with handpumps (HPBs). • A series of survey methods which were found to be useful by the Hidden Crisis project to collect sufficient data to assess HPB functionality across the tiered definition approach. • A series of guidelines which could form core criteria for assessing functionality and performance levels of water points . This summary should be read in conjunction with the appendices which provide details of the methods and approaches described