FundiFix: exploring a new model for maintenance of rural water supplies

A critical building block of sustainable rural water services is financial sustainability, with flows of finance from users, governments and development partners. A model for maintenance service provision (the FundiFix model) is described, based on prepaid user contributions, performance-based contracts and remote monitoring, providing a professional and rapid maintenance service for community water supplies. Results from the initial six months show 30% sign-up and 89% collection efficiency of monthly tariffs, suggesting that rural communities can and will pay for a quality service. Institutional coordination and scaling up the business model in terms of service area and type of infrastructure are future steps

Operational, financial and institutional considerations for rural water services: insights from Kyuso, Kenya

Challenges facing the rural water sector include meeting adequate operational performance levels, attaining financial sustainability and building institutions that are functional and fit-for-purpose. Using a water user survey (n=93), semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders (n=24), mapping and collection of financial records, an audit of water services and infrastructure in Kyuso District, Kenya provides data for comparison between different types of infrastructure, including service level (functionality, downtime, sufficient, safe, accessible and affordable water supply), institutional arrangements and revenues/operation and maintenance costs. Estimated volumes used from improved sources, reduce with rainfall, with implications for public health and financial sustainability. Unit water costs for handpumps are 2-4 times lower than for other systems, while treated pipeline supplies have high user satisfaction

Cultural perceptions of hazard and risk in a dynamic environment

In the Bailong River corridor, Gansu, China, an estimated 1.7 million people are threatened by geohazards including earthquakes, landslides and debris flows, flooding and extreme rainfall. The area is also undergoing rapid economic growth and infrastructure development. This paper reports on recent work exploring the physical and social systems and their interactions, and highlights the need for further multidisciplinary research required to better understand human-landscape interactions in such dynamic environments. Knowledge of geohazard processes (including responses to rainfall, mapping of susceptibility, monitoring and triggering conditions for disaster events) and their interactions with society is advancing, but there is still much further work required to better understand how people living with risk perceive and adapt to their environment. Perceptions of risk are contextual, and influenced by culture and worldview; while society and culture may also be shaped by hazards, for example in the local knowledge and coping mechanisms which reduce risk. There is a need to answer questions such as how perceptions compare with scientifically-derived conclusions about hazard and risk? And can they inform policy that will reduce disaster risk

Beyond water service coverage for slum dwellers: multiple water uses for livelihood enhancement

National Water and Sewerage Corporation and Loughborough University implemented a research project ‘Livelihoods from Enhanced Water Access for the Poor in Slums’ (LEAPS), funded under the DFID’s Water Security for the Poor (REACH) Program. The overall aim of LEAPS was to improve water security for development growth for the urban poor and was implemented in Kampala slums in Uganda. Data was collected through community meetings, observations, focus group discussions, key informant and household interviews. This aided development of a slum-specific MUS framework. Key findings were (i) piped water was predominantly used for productive uses; (ii) access to water services was still perceived a challenge for some residents; (iii) community groups and households interested in MUS activities require start-up funding; and (iv) stakeholder organisations were willing to work with NWSC to implement the MUS framework. The developed framework could be adapted by utilities in other cities to enhance livelihoods for slum-dwellers