WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Water in Emergencies

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

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Who should be responsible

for O&M of
emergency WASH facilities ?

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Operation & Maintenance (O&M)

• Different models
• Large systems or camps?
• Dispersed, medium or long term?
• Be clear:
– Who is responsible?
– Who will pay – minor, major?
– Time-frame?
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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Options for Management & O&M

• Government / local authority managed

• INGO, LNGO managed (for camps)
• Community managed
• Community group managed – e.g. an existing women’s
group
• Small scale private providers
• Household managed (the easiest for sustainability)
• Combinations & variations of the above

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Options for Management & O&M

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

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Operation & Maintenance (O&M)

• 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

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Operation & Maintenance

vs Water Technology
Examples of common technical O&M requirements
Spring box Cleaning spring box Protecting catchment area
Protecting areas of erosion
Gravity supply Changing taps, valves Cleaning tapstands
Repair pipes & masonry Repair & clean tanks

Shallow wells & bucket & Clean around well Small repairs to structure above ground
windless Repair bucket, rope, windlass

Handpumps Regular preventative servicing Greasing bearings

Replacement of common wearing parts – Replacing parts (various)
O rings, U-seals

Birkad Cleaning tank Replacing roof sheets

Mending cracks / re-plastering

Solar panels and pumps Replacement batteries Wiring checks

Cleaning connections Repair of inverter (if AC/DC conversion)

Mechanised boreholes Greasing, adding oil & fuel Regular maintenance by trained personnel
Replacing oil & air filters

Tankering Fuel, oil Road maintenance

Vehicle maintenance Tanks structure repair

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Summaries of O&M 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 O&M sheets include information on:

– The technology
– Main O&M activities
– Actors & their roles
– O&M technical requirements – activity & frequency;
materials & spare parts; tools & equipment
– Potential problems

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

What are the

contextual changes
which happen
during the different phases
of emergencies
which will affect
O&M?

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Emergency O&M
can have
longer term implications
for sustainability
during recovery
and development

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Exercise:
What factors affect the sustainability of
water systems

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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, O&M
•Environmental sustainability.
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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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)
• It’s O&M, 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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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Reasons for Failure

• Government or local authority does not have
capacity (staffing, finance, transport) to undertake
O&M 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
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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Additional Challenges
- Emergency Contexts

Loss of
community coherence

Equipment may be
Less money available
looted or damaged
to pay for fuel or repairs
Additional
challenges

Trained people may

have been displaced,
Spares less available
have died or have
been killed (conflict)

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

O&M and sustainability

in medium - longer term,
chronic & transitional contexts

looking at
community management

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W
Engage the whole community in decision making & ensure they
know the processes for management, finance and O&M

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
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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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 Uganda

positions S House / MSF-OCBA

• Involve committee(s) in all

stages of the project process • Provide on-going back-up
support
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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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
Colombia ownership & hence willingness to maintain
was clear
S House / ACH

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Training Community Members in O&M

Liberia
S House / ACF

Don’t just train one person on O&M –

train 5, if two leave, one passes away,
two will still remain
Train both women and men in O&M
Employment opportunities for women REDR

as well as men
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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Easy to Replace Spares

Spare parts
supplier
Liberia
S House / ACF

Ensure spares - readily

available at a reasonable
distance
Lao PDR & communities’ know their cost
S House / ACF
and where to get them
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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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
Colombia
S House / ACH
Deep boreholes in dryland areas & high pumping rates
– assess aquifer capacity and monitor water levels
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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

Good practice in working towards

sustainability in vulnerable contexts

5. Integrate water, hygiene promotion, sanitation

6. 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 O&M
7. Simple systems, appropriate to capacity of community, with
locally available spares & skills, standardised handpumps
8. Prepare exit strategies from as early in programmes as
possible

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WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W

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/technique-et-
recherche/ouvrages-et-fascicules-techniques/

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