Water in Emergencies

1
Water in Emergencies

• Session 10
• Operation Maintenance and Sustainability in
  Medium Longer Term, Chronic Transitional
  Contexts

2
Who should be responsible for OM of emergency
WASH facilities ?
3
Operation Maintenance (OM)

• Different models
• Large systems or camps?
• Dispersed, medium or long term?
• Be clear
• Who is responsible?
• Who will pay minor, major?
• Time-frame?

4
Options for Management OM

• Government / local authority managed
• INGO, LNGO managed (for camps)
• Community managed
• Community group managed e.g. an existing
  womens group
• Small scale private providers
• Household managed (the easiest for
  sustainability)
• Combinations variations of the above

5
Options for Management OM

• Consider
• Capacity to manage over the medium longer term
• Capacity to raise funds to cover costs mange
  funds effectively
• The level of community coherence more risks for
  community management when limited community
  coherence

6
Operation Maintenance (OM)

• Operation and maintenance may include
• Regular hygiene / cleaning (maintenance)
• Addition of fuel, payment of operators
  (operation)
• Regular servicing of mechanical equipment
  (preventative)
• Repairing broken or worn out structures / parts
  (responsive)
• Particular care - on maintenance of
• Generators, pumps
• Taps and soak pits damage caused by erosion
• Latrines

7
Operation Maintenance vs Water Technology
Examples of common technical OM requirements Examples of common technical OM requirements
Spring box Cleaning spring box Protecting areas of erosion Protecting catchment area
Gravity supply Changing taps, valves Repair pipes masonry Cleaning tapstands Repair clean tanks
Shallow wells bucket windless Clean around well Repair bucket, rope, windlass Small repairs to structure above ground
Handpumps Regular preventative servicing Replacement of common wearing parts O rings, U-seals Greasing bearings Replacing parts (various)
Birkad Cleaning tank Mending cracks / re-plastering Replacing roof sheets
Solar panels and pumps Replacement batteries Cleaning connections Wiring checks Repair of inverter (if AC/DC conversion)
Mechanised boreholes Greasing, adding oil fuel Replacing oil air filters Regular maintenance by trained personnel
Tankering Fuel, oil Vehicle maintenance Road maintenance Tanks structure repair
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Summaries of OM by Technology Type

• Brikké, F Bredero, M (2003) Linking Technology
  Choice with Operation and Maintenance in the
  Context of Community Water Supply and Sanitation,
  A reference document for planners and project
  staff, WHO IRC, Netherlands
• Technology OM sheets include information on
• The technology
• Main OM activities
• Actors their roles
• OM technical requirements activity
  frequency materials spare parts tools
  equipment
• Potential problems

9
What are the contextual changes which happen
during the different phases of emergencies
which will affect OM?
10
Emergency OM can have longer term
implications for sustainability during recovery
and development
11
Need to consider sustainability in vulnerable
contexts because

• Most benefit from funding accountability
  to the beneficiaries
• Agencies work in same areas for number of years -
  even if short funding time frames
• Not considering sustainability can have
  wider longer term negative impacts for effective
  development

12
ExerciseWhat factors affect the sustainability
of water systems
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Factors Which Affect Sustainability

• External
• Government - legislation, policies, support,
  efficiency
• Availability of resources water, spares,
  funding
• Coordination standardisation of approach
• Risks from natural disasters, conflicts
  vulnerability.

• Internal
• Community leadership, capacity, commitment
• Finance availability and management of funds
• Gender divisions, inequity social cohesion
• Technology appropriate, OM
• Environmental sustainability.

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Additional Factors Which Affect Sustainability in
Vulnerable Contexts

• Conflicts
• Areas with marginalised groups and those
  neglected or targeted by governments
• Resource based conflicts
• Communities badly affected by HIV / AIDS
• Natural disasters

15
Definition of Sustainability

• A service is sustainable when
• It functions and is being used.
• It is able to deliver an appropriate level of
  benefits (quality, quantity, convenience,
  comfort, continuity, affordability, efficiency,
  equity, reliability, health).
• It continues over a prolonged period of time
  (which goes beyond the life-cycle of the
  equipment).
• Its management is institutionalized (community
  management, gender perspective, partnership with
  local authorities, involvement of formal /
  informal private sector)
• Its OM, administrative and replacement costs
  are covered at local level (through user fees, or
  alternative financial mechanisms)
• It can be operated and maintained at local level
  with limited but feasible, external support
  (technical assistance, training, monitoring).
• It does not affect the environment negatively.

Brikké, F (2000) Operation and Maintenance of
Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Systems, A
training package for managers and planners, IRC
International Water Sanitation Centre, WHO,
Water Supply Collaborative Council, Operation
Maintenance Network
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Common reasons for failure of community managed
water systems over medium / longer term

• Research has noted - failure of community managed
  water systems is due to
• 80 - social relationship
• management problems
• 20 - technology problems

In development contexts
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Reasons for Failure

• Government or local authority does not have
  capacity (staffing, finance, transport) to
  undertake OM on its own
• Limited access to, disputes over, or misuse of
  money in community
• Breakdown of relationship between committees
  the community
• Main users of water (often women) excluded from
  decision making management of systems
• Lack of a sense of ownership presence of
  alternative sources
• Lack of access to basic spare parts

18
Additional Challenges - Emergency Contexts
19
OM and sustainability in medium - longer term,
chronic transitional contextslooking at
community management
20
Community Management

• Supporting sustainable water supplies / systems
  is not easy
• Simply setting up committees, training a few
  people leaving a box of spares - is usually not
  enough
• But communities can succeed if programmes are
  appropriately designed

21
Engage the whole community in decision making
ensure they know the processes for management,
finance and OM
REDR
Colombia S House / ACF

• Key decisions - made or approved by whole
  community
• Women involved in decision making - as well as
  men
• Regular audit / checking process for the finances
• Engage the village elders - help with conflict
  resolution
• Discuss mechanisms for the poorest community
  members to access water

22
If supporting water committee model for management

• Use existing committees and structures where
  possible
• Involve local authorities and / or organisations
• Agree structure so both women and men can
  participate (1 or 2 committees) and input into
  decisions
• If 1 committee mix of women men and both in
  leadership positions
• Involve committee(s) in all stages of the project
  process

Uganda S House / MSF-OCBA

• Provide on-going back-up support

23
If supporting water committee model for management

• Ensure that the members know
• Their roles responsibilities
• How to manage finances
• Importance of keeping wider community informed -
  particularly on decisions made / finances
• Where to go if there are problems for technical
  assistance / external facilitation / conflict
  resolution
• How to operate and maintain the facilities to
  purchase spares

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Ownership Level of Service
Prioritise simple technologies appropriate to the
capacity of the community
Colombia S House / ACH
Displaced community, Villa Luz, in Colombia
further developed their water system on their own
to include private connections the communities
sense of ownership hence willingness to
maintain was clear
Colombia S House / ACH
25
Training Community Members in OM
Liberia S House / ACF
Dont just train one person on OM train 5, if
two leave, one passes away, two will still
remain Train both women and men in OM Employment
opportunities for women as well as men
REDR
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Easy to Replace Spares
Spare parts supplier Liberia S House / ACF
Ensure spares - readily available at a reasonable
distance communities know their cost and where
to get them
Lao PDR S House / ACF
27
Security Environment
Additional security measures may be required in
urban areas
S House
Deforestation around water sources drying up of
springs Protect areas of water sources with
local by-laws community engagement Care on
location of water points in dryland areas Deep
boreholes in dryland areas high pumping rates
assess aquifer capacity and monitor water levels
Colombia S House / ACH
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Role of intermediate level actors in sustainable
community managed systems

• being in charge does not mean being left
  unsupported
• There is a clear role for a support structure at
  the intermediate levels such as the district,
  municipality or ward to deal with the
  limitations of communities in management, to
  support communities and to act as an outside
  facilitator
• In fact the role of the outsider is probably
  the single most overlooked concept in community
  management
• Schouten, T Moriarty (2003) Community Water,
  Community Management, From System to Service in
  Rural Areas, ITDG Publishing a study of 22
  communities in community management in 6
  countries in Africa, Asia Latin America over a
  4 year period

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Good practice in working towards sustainability
in vulnerable contexts

1. Work with the local communities (women, men
   different groups) through all stages
2. Work with the local authorities through all
   stages for longer term back up support when
   external agencies have gone
3. Work in partnership with local organisations
4. Understand the risks to sustainability to
   design appropriate response

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Good practice in working towards sustainability
in vulnerable contexts

• Integrate water, hygiene promotion, sanitation
• Continue occasional back-up support to
  communities for as long as possible
• Over several project periods
• Allocate a of project funds for back-stopping
  to support confidence building for OM
• Simple systems, appropriate to capacity of
  community, with locally available spares
  skills, standardised handpumps
• Prepare exit strategies from as early in
  programmes as possible

31
Acknowledgement

• Much of the material in this session has been
  based on a recent research of good practice by
  the Action Contre la Faim International Network
  (ACF-IN), 2008
• How to Make WASH Projects Sustainable and
  Successfully Disengage in Vulnerable Contexts A
  practical manual of recommendations good
  practices based on a case study of ACF-IN water,
  sanitation hygiene projects
• http//www.actioncontrelafaim.org/publications/tec
  hnique-et-recherche/ouvrages-et-fascicules-techniq
  ues/