Can 'functionlaity' save the community management model of rural water supply?

As attention increasingly turns to the sustainability of rural water supplies - and not simply overall levels of coverage or access - water point functionality has become a core concern for development practitioners and national governments, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Within the long-enduring Community-Based Management (CBM) model this has resulted in increased scrutiny of the “functionality” of the local water point committee (WPC) or similar community management organisation. This paper reviews the literature written from both practice-focused and critical-academic perspectives and identifies three areas that pose challenges to our understanding of water point functionality as it relates to CBM. These concern the relative neglect of (i) the local institutional and socio-economic landscape, (ii) broader governance processes and power dynamics, and (iii) the socio-technical interface. By examining these three areas, the paper engages with the specific issue of WPC functionality, whilst also considering broader issues relating to the framing of problems in development and the methodological and disciplinary ways that these are addressed. Furthermore, by focusing on community management of rural water points, the paper lays the ground for a more substantial critique of the continuing persistence of the CBM model as a central development strategy

Using smart pumps to help deliver universal access to safe and affordable drinking water

It is estimated that broken water pumps impact 62 million people in sub-Saharan Africa. Over the last 20 years, broken handpumps have represented US$1·2–1·5 billion of lost investment in this region, with 30–40% of rural water systems failing prematurely. While the contributory factors are complex and multi-faceted, the authors consider that improved post-construction monitoring strategies for remote water projects, which rely on smart pumps to monitor operational performance in place of physical site visits, may address some of these problems and help reduce the heavy time and resource demands on stakeholders associated with traditional monitoring strategies. As such, smart pumps could play a significant role in improving project monitoring and might subsequently help deliver universal access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030, which constitutes one of the key targets of United Nations sustainable development goal 6 and is embedded in some national constitutions

Innovative funding methods for rural communities and their water pumps

The recent surge in global cell phone ownership has meant that many rural Africans now travel to local towns in order to recharge their cell phones. These recharging facilities are typically located within shops or informal businesses, and are often powered by a car battery or solar panel. Recent years have seen the emergence of other novel solutions for providing phone-charging infrastructure in remote regions. One such example has been the development of bicycle dynamos that recharge the cyclist’s cell phone whilst they pedal. This paper discusses the merits of a novel solution for recharging cell phones via the mechanical movements of a water hand pump, and the potential for income generation from local residents paying to recharge their cell phones to help fund the upkeep of the water point. Many water pumps installed on the African continent fall in to a state of disrepair because local communities have insufficient funds to keep them well maintained. The paper overviews the development of a ‘proof-of-concept’ prototype system for this purpose, and considers how this solution embodies a ‘commons’ theory of resource allocation and local owner/usership. Moreover, the potential to embed ‘commons thinking’ within one such low cost community-centered venture opens a wider debate about the role of commoning within the water and sanitation sector. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rural Water Policy in Africa and Asia

Universal delivery of improved drinking water services in rural Africa and Asia has been an enduring policy challenge for decades. Whilst drinking water coverage has generally improved, only one in five countries below 95% coverage in 2015 is currently on track to achieve basic drinking water services for all by 2030. We identify and evaluate three periods of rural water policy in Africa and Asia between 1980 and 2030 to (i) identify four pillars of rural water policy design, (ii) consider how they have adapted over time, and (iii) propose priorities for progress. We argue for an increase in investments in designing and testing emerging institutional models for rural water services to evaluate the trade‐offs in performance across institutional, financial and operational dimensions. Stronger empirical evidence will allow policy and planning to balance and negotiate short‐term political goals with long‐term sector sustainability for the benefit of the poor