Assessment of Rural Water Supply Schemes Sustainability: The Case of Bambasi Woreda of Benishangul Gumuz Region
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Date
2007-06
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Potable water supply coverage in rural areas of Ethiopia in general and in Benishangul Gumuz
Region in particular is very le.v. Although many governmental and non-governmen tal
organizations have been involved in the provision of safe water supply in many parts of the country
as well as the region, the coverage still remains very low. The water supply coverage of Benishangul
Gumuz Region was 35.5% in 2004, of which 62.5% and 29.8% for urban and rural respectively. In
addition to the low coverage, many of the water supply schemes previously constructed were not
func tioning well. When we look the case in Bambasi Woreda, for example, out of the total existing
110 water supply schemes, 45 (or about 41%) were nonfunctional in the year 2005. Thus, this study
investigated the sustainability problem of rural water supply schemes in Benishangul Gumuz
Region, particularly in Bambasi Woreda.
The community preferred Shallow Wells and Protected Springs to Hand Dug Wells for their reliable
water sources. The study has confirmed that Hand dug wells fitted with Afridev pumps as a lifting
device, were the main sources of water in the Woreda. About 39% of the respondents were consulted
over wa ter supply schemes technology selection. Unlike technology selection, majority of the
respondents, 82%, were involved in water supply schemes site selection. Only 32.5% of the
respondents made contributions during wnter supply schemes construction period. Community's
strong willingness to manage water supply schemes was observed in the study area and about 93%
of the schemes were managed by locally esta blished Water Committees. Women are less represented
and assigned for low level of responsibilities in Water Committees than men. Majority of the
community members (81.7%) did not get any kind of training opportu nities in relation to their
water supply schemes. 58% of the Water Committee members trained for once. There was limited
communities share in capital (inves tment) costs of water supply schemes. The money collected from
water tariff did not cover the whole 0 & M expenses. Majority of the respond",ts (94.2%) were
satisfied on existing water supply schemes construction qLwlity, however, observations indicated that
some schemes which were constructed by contractors and government offices had poor quality,
mainly due to poor constmction supervision and lack of commitment among experts to work in rural
areas. Many schemes failed freque ntly and took longer period of maintenance. The study found
existence of unsatisfactory external support from and coordination among different stakeholders in
the provision and management of water supply schemes in the Woreda.
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Keywords
Water Supply