| Abstract | This research analyzes the performance of community-managed rural drinking water supply systems in the mid-hills of Nepal. The focus of this research is community-based management and control of human and physical resources. Equal emphasis is given to understanding community aspects and change. The analysis is based on data collected from rural communitymanaged DWS by studying the result of INGO, NGO and GOs projects which were implemented in twenty-five Village Development Committees (VDCs) in the Kavre and Baglung dish·icts from 1986 to 1997. A three-pronged approach in research methodology was employed during the field survey i.e. institutional survey in 102 VDCs and 179 DWS schemes, water quality tests of 18 DWS schemes and 360 households surveyed in Kavre and Baglung districts of Nepal.
This research assesses the factors affecting DWS performance, community participation and the impact of DWS in the community. Furthermore, it includes assessment of the effectiveness of Water User Committees (WUC), community participation, access and control, water quality, involvement of women, institutional capability to bear the responsibility, willingness to pay water tariffs, and overall perf01mance of rural water supply projects.
Villagers, in general, believe there are affordable and manageable solutions to their schemes with pe1iodic monitoring from government agencies. INGO installed schemes have resulted in good perfo1mance; they are comparatively well installed and less problematic when compared to NGO and GO installed DWS. However, NGO installed schemes are small in size and easy to manage. Rural people are willing to pay water tariffs if the project is managed and operated efficiently and distributes safe water reliably. The majority of schemes have a weak institutional base and Jess coordination among supporting and GO agencies. Contamination of water, dysfunction of taps and inadequate use of DWS facilities is common in GO and NGO installed rural drinking water supply projects. The prime users of DWS, women, are typically not involved in decision-making and management, which inhibits the maximum positive impact of safe water supplies. Awareness raising and capability building is much less in GO and NGO installed projects, which results in a reduced impact on the improvement of health of rural communities.
Existing practices show that agencies provide support to community groups without the preparation of long-term objectives as well as assessments of organizational skills of the project beneficiaries. Furthermore, the government has no specific policies for the monitoring of completed schemes in rural communities. Therefore, the research concludes that local governance should be empowered by supporting agencies to enhance their organizational capability in order to take over all responsibility of management, monitoring, evaluation and coordination of good perfo1mance and sustainability of projects within their territory.
Prepa1ing communities before planning and construction about the awareness of safe water, equity of workload, participation and the importance of good-committee functioning are all important for long-te1m effectiveness of drinking water systems. While the decentralization of control of DWS to communities is desirable, the ongoing support of WUCs by appropriate government bodies is essential.
The prospects for future improvement in community-managed DWS conditions are heavily influenced by the rapid growth of population and migration. The capacity for government intervention is limited, and in the future, most efforts to develop water supplies are expected to be made by individuals and neighborhoods. Therefore, the strengthening WUC as well as local governance is essential. |