Community Management Method (CMM) in Village Water Supply (VWS) Program

This paper reports the main findings of a multi-country research project designed to develop a better understanding of the performance of community-managed rural water supply systems in developing countries. Data were collected from households, village water committees, focus groups of village residents, system operators and key informants in 400 rural communities in Peru, Bolivia and Ghana. Our findings suggest that the demand-driven, community management model, coupled with access to spare parts and some technical expertise, has come a long way toward unraveling the puzzle of how best to design and implement rural water supply programs in developing countries. In all three countries, rural water supply projects were working. Among the households included in our sample in Peru and Bolivia, 95% had operational taps at the time of our field visit. In 90% of the villages in Ghana, all project handpumps were still working. Not only had the rural water systems not broken down, but almost all the households in these communities were obtaining at least some of their water from the systems. However, some households were also still using water from other sources. In Ghana, 38% of households still reported using water from unprotected sources (e.g. springs, river, open wells) for drinking and/or cooking. Another troublesome finding is that rural households in the sample villages are paying very little for the improved water services and, as a result, the finances of many village water committees are in poor shape.

Download Full-text

Participatory Action Research on community management of rural water supply

Community Water, Community Management ◽

10.3362/9781780441061.003 ◽

2003 ◽

pp. 20-24

Author(s):

Ton Schouten ◽

Patrick Moriarty

Keyword(s):

Action Research ◽

Water Supply ◽

Participatory Action Research ◽

Community Management ◽

Participatory Action ◽

Rural Water Supply ◽

Rural Water

Download Full-text

Setting the scene; A brief history of community management of rural water supply

Community Water, Community Management ◽

10.3362/9781780441061.002 ◽

2003 ◽

pp. 11-19

Author(s):

Ton Schouten ◽

Patrick Moriarty

Keyword(s):

Water Supply ◽

Community Management ◽

Rural Water Supply ◽

Rural Water ◽

History Of

Download Full-text

Water sector evolution scenarios: the case of Europe

Water Policy ◽

10.2166/wp.2008.149 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 221-238 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Jeremy Allouche ◽

Matthias Finger ◽

Patrícia Luís-Manso

Keyword(s):

Water Supply ◽

Detailed Analysis ◽

Public Management ◽

European Countries ◽

Community Management ◽

Empirical Knowledge ◽

Drivers Of Change ◽

Public And Private ◽

European Water

The purpose of this article is to identify possible scenarios for the evolution of the European water supply and sanitation sectors (WSS) in the next 15 years, on the basis of empirical knowledge of its dynamics. These are: tendered market, tendered market with strong regulation, administrative regulation, outsourcing, direct public management and community management. In order to do this, the authors examined the main characteristics of the sector that influence the way the sector is likely to evolve, the nature and scope of the WSS markets in Europe, as well as the role of the main actors involved in this sector (whether the European Union's institutions, public and private operators, or national regulators). This detailed analysis resulted in the framing of the main drivers of change affecting the whole sector in Europe, as well as three macro-storylines along two paradigms, a liberalized and a non-liberalized environment, that were at the basis of the identification of the water “scenarios”. The authors have finally tested the plausibility of the scenarios in selected European countries.

Download Full-text