Assessment of Problems to Sustainability of Rural Water Supply Schemes with Particular Attention to Handpumps: The Case of Aleta Wondo Woreda, Sidama Zone, SNNPR.

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Date

2009-07

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Addis Ababa University

Abstract

Safe, adequate and sustainable supply of water is basic needs, and essential components of socioeconomic development of a given society. However, a great section of society still remained without access to safe, adequate and sustainable supplies of water. The problem is severe within rural communities than urban. Some of the major causes of the problem are; limitations in development of new water supply schemes and non sustainability of already developed water schemes are major ones. To tackle the problem of sustainability, development agents are using village level operated and maintained technologies such as hand pumps. However, empirical evidence shows that huge numbers of community managed water supply hand pumps are not operational. As result, numbers of people with safe water supply are decreasing and wasted investment capital is increasing. Having these issues in mind, the researcher assessed factors affecting sustainability of rural water supply hand pumps, in Aleta Wendo Wereda. The research was initiated by conducting scheme inventory to know current status of hand pumps. Then after, probability and non probability sampling techniques were employed to select sample handpumps, respondents for households survey, focus group discussion participants and key interview informants. Specifically, 7 handpumps (5 functional & 2 nonfunctional) were selected by applying proportionate stratified random sampling; 128 households were selected through simple random sampling for households survey; 5 focus group discussions were held with selected water committees, women groups and wereda water office staff members; Key informant il1lerviews were conducted with 9 individuals selectedfrom community, government offices and NGOs. Furlhermore, quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statislics, frequency (Qble& cross tabulation using SPPS version 15 sofnvare. Also, hand pumps inventory data were mapped by using Arc View 3.2a sofnvare and qualitative data were analyzed through narration. The study has revealed that 47.5% of handpumps are not operational during scheme inventory exercise. Furthermore, performance of water commillee were found to be weak since scheme management training were not provided in most cases,. lacks working manuals& by-laws ,and legal recognition as well. Women do not made real participation during hand pumps development; also, number of women in water committees varies benveen 20-40% and their responsibility limited to mere membership of the commillee in most cases; community technicians, toolkits and spare parts supply chain were almost non existent in the study area. Majority of users do nol contribute for O&M regularly; some hand pumps are abandoned because of waleI' quality problem and low yield as result of inappropriate site selection and lack of conslruction supervision; instilutional capacity problems of wereda water office in terms of human, material and jinancial resources were also identified. Hence the study calls for: adequate scheme management trainings along with necessalY working manuals and directives to be provided for WCs; legal status of WCs should be ensured; women's decision making roles should be strengthened; local community technicians should be trained and necessary toolkits to be provided before scheme hand over to community. Simultaneously, to address problem of spare parts, RSP F should be established in wereda cenler; inlegrated feasibility study and construction/drilling supervision should be conducted by appropriate professionals; instilutional capacity of WWRDO should be strengthened in terms of human, material andjinancial resources.

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Keywords

Sustain ability of Rural Water

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