SUSTAINABLE OPERATIONS

OF RURAL WATER SUPPLY &

SANITATION SERVICES - A
SYSTEM APPROACH
Dr. Dinesh Chand, Additional Adviser (PHE)
Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation, Paryauaran
Bhawan, New Delhi-~10003
Email: d.chand@nic.in
Abstract
Generally, water and sanitation schemes
experience their most serious problems with
operation and maintenance as well as with collection
of user charges. Thousands of schemes around the
world demonstrate how the newly built water and
sanitation infrastructures deteriorate and become
dysfunctional after the- scheme's construction &
commissioning within a few years due to lack of
proper operational arrangements and financial
support. Therefore, it is imperative to plan for
operation and maintenance, with a planned transfer
of ownership to local bodies / PRIs. This paper is
intended to provide insight to the programme
managers / planners and implementers who are
concerned with the challenging problem of how to
make operations 'of water and sanitation services
sustainable on long term basis. Further, it has been
concluded that there is need to adopt "system
approach" to achieve it.
R'ey words: System Approach, Gram
Panrhuyats, standardization, operations,
community.
Overview
Government of India (Gal) and States have
expended more than $2billion per annum, providing
adequate and potable water. A major
accomplishment has been in making the provision
of rural water supply and sanitation (RWSS)
infrastructure for 1.5million habitations covering
more than 91 percent rural people in the last few
decades. Sanitation coverage has also improved
through making the provision of household toilets
in about 71 per cent rural households(l). However,
this expenditure does not necessarily translate into
reliable, sustainable and affordable water and
sanitation services. Continuing 'quality and
quantity' problems along with poor operations and
maintenance (O&M) standards and recovery of user
charges are formidable constraints in achieving full
coverage, resulting in 30-40% schemes periodically
slipping back to "partially covered" or "not covered"
status. Tne maIncha(umgeISsWl(CrIrrrg-r.fJT{d'dcl-
and-rebuild approach to a build-and-expand approach
wherein the Gram Panchayats caps) operate and
maintain their facilities and States invest in
expanding systems to meet growing population and
increasing demand for better and sustainable
serVIces.
Challenges and Strategy
Recently, the Ministry of Drinking Water
Supply and Sanitation has prepared its long term
strategic plan (2011-2022) for ensuring drinking
water security to all rural households. The strategic
plan aims to cover 90% of households with piped
water and of which, at least 80% achievement with
household connections during this period. The
strategy emphasizes achieving water security
through decentralized governance with oversight
and regulation, participatory planning and
implementation of improved sources and schemes.
Establishment of Sustainable service delivery
mechanisms is a central feature of the program,
with GPs implementing and managing in-village and
intra-Panchayat schemes while State institutions
or Zilla Panchayats implementing and managing
large multi-village schemes, delivering bulk water
to villages in water stressed areas. The strategy
highlights source sustain ability measures, water
quality safety, monitoring and surveillance,
convergence of different development programs and
professional capacity building at all levels. The main
challenge now would be the effective
implementation and scaling-up of the proposed
decentralized systems.
- On the s~nitation front, the Total Sanitation
Campaign (TSC) and an incentive program- "Nirmal
Gram Puraskar" award for 'open defecation free'
villages has been found effective steps by GO! for
promoting sanitation facilities as well as eradicating
open defecation practices with information and
awareness raising campaigns. However, the full
potential of this campaign has yet to be realized.
Thus, same would continue further in coming years.
The majn challenge jn sanjtabon programme would
be provision of sustainable sanitation units and
development of people's habit to their regular use.
Sustainable Operations
Presently, 91% of rural people covering 1.5
million habitations have provision of RWS
infrastructures! schemes. The operations of these
schemes become crucial as far as sustainable
delivery of services is concerned. Generally,
operations refer to all of the activities needed to
run a water supply and sanitation scheme ensuring
efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability except
Volume2012-13. Number 1. April2012
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Dr. Dinesh Chand
the construction of new facilities(2).
The operations on a scheme have two basic
aspects- "Operation" and "Maintenance" (O&M). On
one hand, operation refers to the direct access to
the system by the users to the activities of operating
staff and the procedures or by-laws for governance
of accessing the system and other conditions.
Operation requires knowledge of the scheme,
managerial capability and finances. On the other
hand "maintenance" is put>ely the technical activities
requiring skills, tools and spare parts and needs to
be planned to keep the system working(3). Thus, it
may be classified as preventive, corrective and
reactive maintenances. The key to ensuring
effectrve maintenance of scheme is to define roles
& responsibilities clearly and maintenance
personnel are equipped adequately with the
appropriate skills and tools to do their job. Thus, it
is essential to have mandate, men and money along
with well developed operation plan to achieve the
proper 0 & M.
Operational activities, which encompass not
only technical issues, but also managerial, social,
financial and institutional issues, must be directed
towards the elimination or minimization of the
major constraints which prevent the achievement
of sustainability4
Operation is a crucial element for
sustainability of a scheqle. A frequent incident of
failure of water supply and of poor sanitation
facilities was experienced in the past by most ofthe
States in the country. It was noticed that most
failures are not technical ones. They may be result
of the poor planning, inadequate recovery of user
chargers or the outreach inadequacies of centralised
agenciesl51.
Further, operation and maintenance has been
neglected in the past and usually introduced only
after completion of the project. This neglect or lack
of proper operation frame work has adversely
affected the credibility ofthe service providers and
investments made as the functioning ofthe services
impacting the well-being of populations, and the
development of further schemes. However, the
importance of O&M has gained considerable
visibility over the past few years and it appears that
policy-makers, scheme designers and field
engineers are now more conscious of the direct
links between improved O&M practices and the
sustainable delivery of water supply & sanitation
services. It further concludes that there is a greater
need to adopt "System Approach" for the schemes
having a comprehensive way,emphasising not only
the planning, designing and construction of schemes
but also pre & post-construction activities including
operational aspects (4).
. OrientationConceptsof Swap
. DemandCreation
. Roleof GPWSCin Project
. Finalizationof Technicaloptions
. Procurement Issues
. Framingof ByeLaws
. QualityAspectsTraining
. FinanceandAccountsTraining
. HandsonTrainingto Pump
Operator/ Technician
. BookKeeping
. Transparency
. WaterConservation
. O&M Plan
. Roleof Women
Fig. 1: System Approach- Comprehensive-Way
Therefore, the ease of operation and
maintenance of a facility should be focal point for
its sustain ability and must be given utmost care in
planning & designing of the scheme as some O&M
issues are location-specific. However, O&M needs
of rural schemes differ fundamentally in the
complexity ofthe technologies involved as compared
to urban schemes. In rural areas, the engineer must
take into account the factors such as the availability
of chemicals for treatment, spare parts, and
equipment, the reliability of power supplies, the
availability oflocal skilled personnel and capacity to
undertake O&M. Thus, the ease of O&M of a facility
primarily depends upon simplicity of the technology
option adopted.
The standardiztltion of equipment, parts,
designs, construction methods etc., has many
benefits. If the scheme design is simpler, the O&M
is better as it requires lower skill levels in the
design process. Choices are made from a limited
range of options. Standardization also reduces the
number of skills required to install and maintain
the piece of equipment, thus increasing the
probability of local craftsmen being able to carry
out the work[51.
Community Managed Scheme Operations and
Capacity Building
- In rural areas, the concept of Village Level
Operation and Maintenance Management (VLOM)
is a philosophy which ha3 been practiced over the
years within the country and many parts of the
world. The VLOM favours technology choices which
can be operated and maintained within the village
by community. The proper community Operations
requires O&M Manual, capacity building, O&M
Plans apart from well designed scheme and having
Volume 2012-13. Number 1. April 2012
27
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=
Dr. Dinesh Chand
sustainable safe water source and adequate revenue
base i.e. affordability and willingness ofthe people
to pay.
In order to ensure the sustain ability of the
improved water and sanitation facilities, it is
necessary to have a community ownership and
management approach, making the end-users
directly responsible for operations of the installed
facilities. Successful 0 & M requires following an
"Owner's O&M Manaal" prepared by the contractor
and engineer at the onset of the planning process
in user friendly manner. Such Manual should spell
out a schedule and procedures for maintenance and
should also include methods to carry out tasks such
as' bookkeeping, paying employees, collecting bills
(facility management), inspection, refurbishments,
replacement of parts etc., giving an integral
framework for operation and maintenance(6).
The members of the community need to be
informed about the system that has been put in place
for a proper operation. When new user-interfaces
or management approaches have been introduced,
such as household or community treatment
systems, toilets or a new system for compo sting of
kitchen waste, which heavily rely on the correct
operation from the user's side, the end-users have
to be properly trained to ensure that they will
operate the systems correctly. In a district/ block!
village levels, comm,.unities and their organisations
(Community-Based Organisations) that will
undertake O&M management oflocal iilfrastructure
will need training on technical matters, accounting
and simple financial management, basic contract
procedures, and monitoring & reporting. The
Organisationsl NGOs participating in the
programme need similar training, but at a more
advanced level, as they are probably going to impart
training to the participating communities(7).
Similarly, local technicians and caretakers need to
be oriented and trained for the proper operation of
the new infrastructure having on-hands training to
ensure their full understanding of the implications
of the new system. Even the private operators or
'",
Sustainabil!ty
'.
Cost sharing
Principles
Decentralising service delivery
DemandResponsiyep.~&~:'
local engineering companies responsible for the
management of the systems, should also have
periodical trainings for O&M activities related to
the system.
Organising O&M does not represent a huge
task, but it does require certain level of intelligent
planning, commitment and monitoring and the
aspects to be organised are as follows:
. What: identification of the activity to be
carried out
When: the frequency of this activity
Who: identification of the human resources
required for the task
With what: requirement of the materials,
spare parts, tools and equipments.
Operation and Maintenance is required to
ensure the functional sustainability of any scheme
including a new schemel infrastructure put into
place. This has the following advantages:-
. it ensures that the project is sustainable in a
long-term
it allows for the correct provision of services
and benefit of end-users
it prevents the systems to collapse creating
environmental and health hazards
it ensures that the community is involved in
O&M
.
.
.
.
.
.
However, the O&M activities cost and is time
concurring and therefore warrant planning for a
provision for financing O&M before the scheme
starts.
Further, rural water supply should not be
treated as a mere service delivery process but as a
step towards household water security. Water
security requires household, community and
pational actions to protect and preserve water
sources, to use water as a scarce resource and to
ensure its equitable supply. It is one of the pre-
conditions for sustain ability of any water supply
scheme. Thus, investment in the capacity building
of the community in planning, development,
implementation, operation and maintenance ofthe
~
"
;"'1'"""""",;",, "',,","
,
Fig. 2 : Sustainability Pyramid and Typical Implementation Time line
Volume2012-13. Number 1. April 2012
28
Dr. Dinesh Chand
water supply project is one ofthe first steps toward
sustaina.ble development(S).
Experiences in World Bank Projects
Over last twenty years, the World Bank has
partnered with Gal for implementing nine RWSS
projects in seven statesviz. first generation projects
in Maharashtra (1991-98), Karnataka RWSS (1993-
2000), Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand RWSS (1996-
2002), Kerala RWSS (2001-08); second generation
projects in Karnataka RWSS (2002- ongoing with
additional financing till 2013), Maharashtra RWSS
(2003-09) and third generation projects in
Uttarakhand RWSS Project (2006-12), Punjab RWSS
project (2007-12) and Andhra Pradesh RWSS (2009-
14). These nine projects have contributed more than
US$ 1.4 billion to benefit about 24 million rural
populations in more than 15,000 villages. In these
three generations of projects, each one building on
the lessons learnt from earlier generation and
continuing to push the frontier of sector practicesl9).
Following were the main interventions and
expenences:
S.No.! Interventions
1.
Implementing
New Institutional
Models at Scale
2. Demonstrating
Inclusive
Community-based,
Partici patory,
Demand-
responsive
Approaches
3.
Building Capacity
of State Depar-
tments, Sector
Institutions, Local
Governments and
Communities
Integrating Gover-
nance and Account-
ability Aspects into
Proj ect Designs
4.
5. Improving Sustain-
abili ty - Financially,
Source-wise, Service
Delivery and Commu-
nity Satisfaction
.
Experiences
These projects have demonstrated a number of models, starting with
community driven approaches in the early 1990s (Karnataka I and UP/
Uttarakhand 1), moving on to PRI centric projects in the early 2000
(Karnataka II, Maharashtra II, Kerala) and finally to Sector-wide
Approaches (SWAPs) in Uttarakhand & Punjab and district-wide SWAP in
Andhra Pradesh in 2007-09. These models, particularly in the second and
third generation projects, introduced important linkages between the GP
Village Water Supply & Sanitation Committee (GP-VWSC) and local
government (Zila Panchayat, GramPanchayat, and Gram Sabha) for long
term technical, financial and political back up support to sustainable scheme
operations. Most projects, especially the SWAPs, showcase how the State
Departments are gradually taking on a facilitating role promoting the
adoption of reforms, building capacity and providing technical guidance,
while service delivery responsibilities are being decentralized to district
and village levels.
These projects have facilitated the development and implementation of
decentralized service delivery responsibilities to the PRIs. At the scheme
level these included community mobilization and awareness generation,
women's empowerment, hygiene and sanitation promotion, community-
based planning, construction, oversight and op-eration, water resources
management, and monitoring and evaluation. The projects have al"O
designed special programs targeting tribal areas and SC/ST population.
.
These projects include specially identified capacity building .and lEC
activities targeting stakeholders at all levels. The projects have identified
local institutions for developing training modules for planning, designing
and implementing the schemes, including technical, managerial aspects,
procurement and financial management of schemes.
Governance and accountability measures have been introduced in the
planning, implementation and O&M phases for independent monitoring,
technical, financial and social audits. Specially designed grievance redressal
measures are included for addressing complaints by the. villagers. In
addition, comprehensive monitoring and evaluation programs have captured
inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes under these projects.
Communities are involved right from the planning stage to ensure schemes
are designed and implemented as per their needs and affordability. The
token community contribution towards capital cost (in cash and/or kind)
promotes ownership ofthe design of scheme, and agreement for affordable
O&M cost which is later recovered through user charges except in the
29
Volume2012-13eNumber leApril2012
Dr. Dinesh Chand
Government ofIndia has also initiated sector
reform in late 90's on the similar lines wherein the
experiences were of mixed type indicating that such
jnterventjons should be tailor made to State, area
and scheme specific as per their institutional
arrangements and ~revailing conditions as well as
economic status. However, this has not ended up
in evolving of suitable sustainable frame works of a
sector reform initiated and scaling up the same.
Conclusion
In nutshell, it may be concluded that the
following interventions need to be considered with
"System Approach" depending upon the prevailing
conditions for successful and sustainable operations
of water supply & sanitation services:
0 Decentralizing service delivery
responsibilities, placing GPs and communities
in the central role supported by higher levels
ofPanchayati Raj Institutions (PRls), the State
government and the local private sector
partners for facilitating, planning, monitoring
and providing a range of O&M back-up
services.
Implementing sustainable local bodies.
managed models for intra-GP RWSS schemes
and using State-PRI partnership models for
multi-GP schemes, whilst defining roles and
responsibilities at all levels. However, the
state line department may playa role of
facilitator and technical support agency.
J\:Jovingthe RWSS sector to recover O&M cost,
preferably, in full and an increasing
.
0
.
contribution towards capital costs over time
through active participation of PRls.
Scaling up the reform Programme, towards
uniform sector financing, institutional and
implementation policies, across the State.
Integrating water supply and sanitation using
effective water & sanitation education and
promotion programme tools (i.e. IEC) for
achieving drinking water security and 'open
defecation free' clean villages.
Addressing issues of declining groundwater
and its quaEty through community capacity
building and management of scarce resources,
adopting appropriate recharge techniques as
well as regulatory mechanism.
Establishing Monitoring & Evaluation systems
with independent reviews and social audits.
.
.
.
References
1. The Strategic Plan (2011-2022) for ensuring
drinking water security to all rural households.
Ministry of Drinking Water Supply and
Sanitation (2011).
Castro, Vet. al. (Editor) (2009): Sustainable
Community Management of Urban Water and
Sanitation Schemes (A Training Manual).
Nairobi: Water and Sanitation Program-Africa,
WorId Bank.
Carter, R. C. (2009): Operation and
Maintenance of Rural Water Supplies. In:
Perspectives N 2. St. Gallen: Rural Water
Supply Network (RWSN).
BRIKKE, F. (2000): Operation and
2.
3.
Volume2012-1SeNurnberleApri12012
4.
30
case of high cost schemes which need to be subsidized. The projects focus
on integrating approaches for scheme and source sustainability, water
supply and sanitation, for maximizing sustainable water supply services
with health and hygiene benefits to the communities.
6.
Designing
and
One of the most challenging issues in the sector today is how to scale up
Implementing reforms demonstrated under earlier projects and to replace the multiplicity
..
Sector-wide Prog- of parallel programs. The latest World-Bank assisted RWSS project are
rams (SWAPs) to supporting State and District RWSS SWAPs, moving away from a project
Scale-up RefoWls driven mode to a more programmatic approach for implementing uniform
policies and institutions across the sector. The Uttarakhand and Punjab
RWSS projects are supporting uniform policies and institutional
arrangements across the state and sector, while the Andhra Pradesh RWSS
project is supporting uniform policies and institutions across six districts.
7.
Enabling Achieve-
Similarly sanitation and environmental sanitation programs, following
ment of ' Open Defe-
Community Led Total Sanitation principles, are integrated to improve
cation Free' Clean
household and village sanitation. Specially designed IEC and capacity
Villages through building programs are implemented for raising health and hygiene
Effective Sanitation awareness at the household and village levels. Safe sanitation technologies
Programs are promoted through sector institutions and support organizations.
Dr. Dinesh Chand
5.
Maintenance of rural water supply and
sanitation systems. A training package for
managers and planners. Malta: IRC & WHO.
DFID (Editor) (1998): Guidance Manual on
Water Supply and Sanitation Programmes.
London: Water, Engineering and
Development Centre (WEDC) for DFID.
Barr~to Dillon et. al. (Editor)
(2008): Introduction to the NETSSAF
Participatory Planning Approach, a tutorial
and guideline for su!tainable sanitation
planning. Ouagadougou: NETSSAF.
Eawag (Editor) (2005): Household-Centred
Environmental Sanitation, Implementing the
6.
7.
8.
Bellagio Principles in Urban Environmental
Sanitation - Provisional Guideline for Decision
Makers. Geneva, Switzerland. Swiss Federal
Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology.
Excerpted from the outline ofthe presentation
"Community-Based Management of the Water
Environment" to the World Bank, by
Gourisankar Ghosh, Chief, Water Sanitation
and Environment Cluster, UNICEF.
December 1996.
Review Report on World Bank assisted
Projects in India, World Bank, December,
2011.
9.
IlllII)1{ll')IJll
SI)tJNI)IPI~
INI)tJSrl'IIII~S
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Volume2012-13. Number 1. April 2012
31