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Rural water asset management practices in Ghana: the gaps and needs
Abstract
This study evaluates primary and secondary data from two districts to assess the status of asset management practices, and to examine requirements for improved asset management. Asset inventory data shows that asset management practices in the districts are currently poor, leading to high rates of non-functionality and low service levels. The existing "fix on failure" approach to water systems' repair has become a normal practice. However, many repairs which relied on "fix on failure' were found to have delayed, often due to the length of time it takes to mobilise financial resources from 'post-paid' water users. This paper contends that without improved asset maintenance, it is likely that rural water systems in Ghana will continue to provide unsustainable services. Findings demonstrate that improving the current asset management practices is dependent on human and financial resources, access to timely water service monitoring data at district and community levels, and planning and budgeting regime which reflects life cycle cost of water systems.
... Rural water governance and community management frequently encounter institutional challenges that hinder the provision of safe and reliable water services (Ramos et al., 2020). A broader reading of the literature (e.g., Bakker et al., 2008;Ssozi-Mugarura et al., 2017;Kumasi et al., 2019) shows that institutional barriers encompass four main aspects: engagement and participation, technical capacity, financing, and fragmentation within and between public and private sector agencies. These institutional barriers arise from issues related to policy formulation, regulatory frameworks, and governance structures, ultimately affecting the efficiency of water supply systems (Ssozi-Mugarura et al., 2017). ...
... Fragmentation and inadequate coordination among government agencies, NGOs, and community-based organizations can hinder community water management (Mekonnen et al., 2019). Insufficient technical capacity and skills among water service providers and local governance institutions undermine effective community water management (Nhamo et al., 2021), resulting in poor asset management, inability to implement sustainable practices, and limited innovation capacity (Kumasi et al., 2019). ...
... Monitor and evaluate activities of the WSMT and ensure adherence to best managerial practices • Audit financial records of the WSMT to ensure transparency and accountabilityKumasi et al. (2019) • CWSA• Promote the sustainability of safe drinking water supply and related sanitation services in rural communities and small towns • Enable the Assemblies to encourage the active involvement of communities, especially women, in the design, planning, construction, and community management of water and sanitation projectSchiffer et al. (2008) ...
Framed within policy support for bottom-up community water management in development practice in the global south, this paper explores the institutional barriers that impede effective community management of water infrastructure in water-stressed rural communities in the Upper Manya District and Yilo Krobo Municipality in the Eastern region of Ghana. The study adopted a qualitative research approach, using data collection methods such as in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with local government and community water management committees and participant observation across four communities. The findings revealed that irregular and inadequate monitoring, poor financial auditing and transparency, inadequate technical support, and limited community engagement were the institutional barriers confronting sustainable rural water management. The study argues that in community water management, hybrid models are more likely to work better than models that focus entirely on either top-down or bottom-up approaches since the former can strengthen technical capacity, financial accountability, and the experimentation of infrastructure co-design initiatives. The paper concludes that by addressing institutional lapses in Africa's infrastructural management regimes, rural populations can become part of, rather than left behind, in the global quest to ensure water availability and sustainable water management for all.
... Fonseca and Pories (2017) argue that water investments concentrate on construction of infrastructure (capital expenditure) with insufficient attention on systems needed to make the infrastructure function properly such as regulations, policies, monitoring, institutions and the people that provide water services at regional and district levels. This unbridled lack of noncapital expenditure and support for service authorities and service providers result in high rates of non-functionality, poor-services and stagnation in coverage, especially for developing countries in sub-Sharan Africa (Adank et al., 2013;Burr et al., 2013;Kumasi et al., 2019). ...
... Asset management planning also provides insight into the future CapManEx, how much money is required in order to maintain and preserve assets while maintaining desired levels of service (Burr et al., 2013;Kumasi et al., 2019). Based on the remaining useful life and the current replacement cost of each component, the overall replacement costs for the assets in a district was projected to 2025. ...
... Payment for water included users practising pay-as-you fetch and post-payment such as breakdown payment, monthly and annual contribution. Kumasi et al. (2019) posited that revenue collection by communities in Ghana was lower than was planned for. In line with this, Kumasi & Agbemor (2018) observed that though water users admitted water tariffs were realistic, about 87% from three northern districts were unwilling to pay for water. ...
Attainment of the government of Ghana’s ambitious target of providing safe and reliable basic water services to all persons in Ghana by 2025 requires urgent need to unravel localized barriers to achieve universal access and sustain it. Using the Life Cycle Cost Approach, this paper provides a framework in policy planning and estimates the quantum of funds that needs to be injected into construction, operation and maintenance of water facilities in order to achieve full water coverage in a district. Using participatory approaches data were collected from Bongo, East Gonja, and Wa districts of Ghana. Data collection was facilitated by Community Water and Sanitation Agency employing the Resources, Infrastructure, Demand and Access Strategic Planning Tool. Results show that the total cost of achieving full coverage is estimated at US 15,828,421, and US$ 10,111,616 for Bongo, East Gonja and Wa East, respectively, in the implementation of water coverage and sustainability activities spanning 2017-2025. We suggest that, sustainable water services for all requires more than capital inflows. Strong leadership commitment, bolstered institutions, improved monitoring and evaluation as well as adequate human resources are critical to ensuring that capital investments translate into effective service delivery.
... The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) oversees water and sanitation development in Ghana's rural areas, where, as of 2018, 43.94% of the population resides with a 72% rural water coverage, despite a decrease in surface water use from 15% to 11% [28,29]. Challenges such as poor maintenance, faulty hardware, and inadequate service compromise water service quality, often leading to reliance on distant communities for water, adversely affecting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation efforts [5,18,30,31]. Rural water facilities frequently depend on costly repairs funded by international donors or government agencies [32,33]. The focus on construction over sustainable management and maintenance, driven by immediate income rather than long-term serviceability, results in high maintenance costs and neglects the system's aging [34]. ...
... The unreliable availability of improved water sources drives rural residents toward potentially unsafe natural water, highlighting a trust issue in water service providers [37,38]. Notably, in Akatsi and East Gonja districts, 30 to 40% of handpumps are non-functional for over 18 days annually, causing overcrowding and delays in water access, significantly impacting residents' ability to secure at least 20 L of water per person per day [30,39]. This scenario underscores the flawed emphasis on building water systems over maintaining them, suggesting a need for a shift toward sustainable water service provision focused on lifecycle costs and reliable access [40]. ...
Access to reliable water supply is critical for sustainable development and public health, yet many peri-urban and rural communities in the developing world face challenges such as poor maintenance, faulty infrastructure, and inadequate governance of water services, hindering the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In Emina-Boadi, a small town in Kumasi, Ghana, residents increasingly rely on boreholes due to substandard service from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL). This shift highlights concerns about water reliability, quality, and affordability, impacting public health and hindering progress toward SDG 6. This case study assesses water service levels using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as quantity, quality, affordability, accessibility, and reliability, focusing on sources like boreholes, hand pumps, piped water, hand-dug wells, rainwater, and surface waters. The study aims to delineate the roles of different water providers, understand community dynamics, and evaluate contributions to rural development and SDG 6 through stakeholder interviews and questionnaires. By leveraging the WASHCost framework, which aims to improve planning methods and the provision of water and sanitation services by addressing the lack of cost information in rural and peri-urban areas, and the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) framework, which monitors progress toward global targets related to water, sanitation, and hygiene, the study categorizes indicators and draws connections among them. The findings reveal a significant preference for borehole services, with 87% usage and an 83% reliability rate compared to 13% for GWCL. Daily water consumption averages 60.75 L per person, with on-premises access improving water collection efficiency to 7 min. Dissatisfaction with GWCL services highlights the need for improved delivery aligned with community needs and SDG targets. Adopting sustainable management practices, enhancing infrastructure, and improving governance are crucial for ensuring safe and affordable water access for all residents of Emina-Boadi and similar communities.
... The Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) oversees water and sanitation development in Ghana's rural areas, where, as of 2018, 43.94% of the population resides with a 72% rural water coverage, despite a decrease in surface water use from 15% to 11% (23,24). Challenges such as poor maintenance, faulty hardware, and inadequate service compromise water service quality, often leading to reliance on distant communities for water, adversely affecting Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) implementation efforts (5,16,25). Rural water facilities frequently depend on costly repairs funded by international donors or government agencies (26). The focus on construction over sustainable management and maintenance, driven by immediate income rather than long-term serviceability, results in high maintenance costs and neglects the system's aging (27). ...
... The unreliable availability of improved water sources drives rural residents towards potentially unsafe natural water, highlighting a trust issue in water service providers (28,29). Notably, in Akatsi and East Gonja districts, 30 to 40% of handpumps are nonfunctional for over 18 days annually, causing overcrowding and delays in water access, significantly impacting residents' ability to secure at least 20 liters of water per person per day (25,30). This scenario underscores the flawed emphasis on building water systems over maintaining them, suggesting a need for a shift towards sustainable water service provision focused on lifecycle costs and reliable access (31). ...
Access to reliable water supply is critical for sustainable development and public health, yet many peri-urban and rural communities in the developing world face challenges such as poor maintenance, faulty infrastructure, and inadequate governance of water services, hindering the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). In Emina-Boadi, a small town in Kumasi, Ghana, residents increasingly rely on boreholes due to substandard service from the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL). This shift highlights concerns about water reliability, quality, and affordability, impacting public health and hindering progress toward SDG 6. This case study assesses water service levels using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as quantity, quality, affordability, accessibility, and reliability, focusing on sources like boreholes, hand pumps, piped water, hand-dug wells, rainwater, and surface waters. The study aims to delineate the roles of different water providers, understand community dynamics, and evaluate contributions to rural development and SDG 6 through stakeholder interviews and questionnaires. Leveraging the WASHCost framework, which aims to improve planning methods and provision of water and sanitation services by addressing the lack of cost information in rural and peri-urban areas, and the Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) framework, which monitors progress toward global targets related to water, sanitation, and hygiene, the study categorizes indicators and draws connections among them. Findings reveal a significant preference for borehole services, with 87% usage and an 83% reliability rate compared to 13% for GWCL. Daily water consumption averages 60.75 liters per person, with on-premises access improving water collection efficiency to 7 minutes. Dissatisfaction with GWCL services highlights the need for improved delivery aligned with community needs and SDG targets. Adopting sustainable management practices, enhancing infrastructure, and improving governance are crucial for ensuring safe and affordable water access for all residents of Emina-Boadi and similar communities.
... Furthermore, revenue generated through monthly contribution was only adhered to during periods of harvest when communities could sell farm produce to settle their levies. Kumasi et al. (2018) posits that revenue collection by communities was lower than was expected or planned for. Communities who practiced 'pay-as-you fetch', the tariffs charged were between 1 cent and 2 cents per 20 litre bucket, and were considered affordable by community members. ...
... Communities who practiced 'pay-as-you fetch', the tariffs charged were between 1 cent and 2 cents per 20 litre bucket, and were considered affordable by community members. However, the reality is that many WSMT-SC are not implementing pay-as-you fetch tariffs from the findings Kumasi et al. (2018), Kumasi (2018), Adank et al. (2013) especially in the northern part of Ghana. ...
The article discusses the level of user satisfaction with actual handpump service levels and performance of service providers. In this paper, we outline some contradiction between actual service levels, performance of service providers and perception of water users. The findings suggest that users appeared satisfied with quantity and reliability of water facilities. In contrast, they were not satisfied with the time it takes them to access water, especially when the quantity of water diminishes. The sad irony is that tariffs are perceived affordable yet users are unwilling to pay for water. Their responses paint a picture of a payment system that is geared at reactive maintenance over preventative maintenance regime. It is worth noting here that this phenomenon raises questions on the sustainability of water systems when sound financial management is key to sustaining services. Service providers were perceived to perform better than they actually did. Perhaps this was due to lack of information and ignorance on the roles of service providers. In this regard it is imperative that CWSA, implementing partners, the district assemblies and WSMTs take steps to address the technical, social, financial and institutional factors during the planning, implementation and post-construction support which invariably affect sustainability.
... Water utility managers must balance these asset goals while operating in a context of limited financial resources and capacity (personnel and technology) as well as inaccurate or non-existent data. These limitations make it difficult to assess asset risks, inform decisions on resource allocations, or identify gaps within the infrastructure systems (Burr et al., 2013;Boulenouar, 2014;Kumasi et al., 2019). These challenges are further exacerbated by the rising demand for drinking water from a growing population (UNDP, 2018). ...
Integrated asset management (IAM) has been promoted by international agencies and academics as a promising approach for water utilities in developing countries. These IAM frameworks present logical and linear approaches to managing a utility's infrastructure. In this article, we contrast these frameworks with the everyday practice of asset management in seven small towns in rural Uganda. In rural areas of Uganda, utility managers operating and managing assets need to maneuver between political demands, demands from the Head Office, inadequate resources, and limited capacity. As a result, the practice of asset management necessarily deviates considerably from the logical steps identified in many IAM frameworks. Without diminishing the relevance of the more conceptual IAM frameworks, the article suggests that for IAM to become more impactful for practitioners in rural areas and small towns in developing countries, these contextual factors need to be taken into account.
HIGHLIGHTS
Practices of asset management in resource-constrained contexts are more complex than infrastructure asset management frameworks often suggest.;
The prioritization of extending service coverage to achieve SDGs may come at the cost of sustainably managing infrastructure assets.;
Asset stripping, in which existing assets are stripped to repair infrastructure failures, is a common practice in resource-constrained contexts.;
... The MMDAs have legal ownership of rural and small town water delivery infrastructure, which they retain in trust for the benefiting communities (CWSA 2014c; Kumasi et al. 2019) (Fig. 3). COM is a technique that empowers communities to campaign for water and sanitation services through true partnerships (Fielmua 2011). ...
Community ownership and management (COM) is, without a doubt, a viable alternative for rural water management. However, the extent to which communities control their water supply infrastructure in terms of engaging in crucial decisions and the performance of all stakeholders along the service delivery chain—from national to community levels—continues to be a challenge. The goal of this research is to add to the conversation on COM by clarifying the paradigm and its implications for the long-term viability of rural water services. It is also expected to spark debate in the rural water sector and, in turn, influence a revision of the National Community Water and Sanitation Programme to reflect current needs. The study looked at how the COM model of rural water provision was implemented. Using focus groups and surveys, the study used a non-probability purposive sample technique to identify stakeholders at the regional, district, and community levels. The paper discovers and suggests that COM has been the least responsive to rural water service sustainability. In actuality, at all stages of the delivery chain, there is a flagrant disregard for clearly stated functions in sector manuals. Regional and district players face logistical challenges, while community service providers struggle with governance, technical operations, and financial management. For effective and efficient management of water systems, more needs to be done by key stakeholders, including greater capacity support and oversight of service providers' activities, as well as engagement with partners.
... Kleemeier's (2010) review of private sector involvement in the rural water sector show that the community management paradigm is being challenged. In recent years, this interest has strengthened further (Kumasi, Agbemor, & Burr, 2019;Lockwood, 2019;McNicholl et al., 2019;Obeta, 2019), with evidence that an enterprise approach can bring higher performance, whether delivered by civil society (Chindarkar, Chen, & Wichelns, 2018) or private ownership (Cronk & Bartram, 2017). ...
The presence of the mobile phone network in rural areas where there is little other infrastructure has opened up the prospect of automatically monitoring rural water systems, something previously possible only in person and perhaps only on foot. The technology to monitor these systems continues to develop: basic systems are now leaving research and being implemented in operational WASH programs; machine learning is making pump failure prediction possible. With the move from the previous infrastructure‐focused community management paradigm, to a service‐delivery approach to rural water, remote monitoring has salience with its potential to inform professional maintenance services. This is not without cost. To justify its use in rural water service delivery remote monitoring must generate benefits for service providers: (1) it must be integrated into management systems, and help redesign them; (2) it must contribute to increases in performance that produce real improvement in outcomes for water users; (3) it must open up new transparent sources of funding previously unavailable to the rural water sector. If remote monitoring can do these three things it has a role to play in achieving SDG 6.1; if not it will join the list of development techno‐fixes that failed to make an impact despite the best of intentions.
This article is categorized under:
• Human Water > Human Water
Abstract
An automatically monitored handpump in Kenya being repaired by a professional mechanic.
... For rural areas (Rural and Small Town Water Supply Schemes), the District Assemblies manage supplies through various schemes depending on population size, i.e. Small Communities Point Sources (between 75 and 1200), Small Community Piped Systems (1201 to 2000) and Small Towns Piped Systems (up to 50,000) (Kumasi et al. 2018). The Community Water and Sanitation Agency is mandated to facilitate the provision of safe drinking water and related sanitation services to rural communities and small towns. ...
Vertical integration, which creates strategic linkages between national and sub-national levels, is being promoted as important for climate change adaptation. Decentralisation, which transfers authority and responsibility to lower levels of organisation, serves a similar purpose and has been in place for a number of decades. Based on four case studies in semi-arid regions in Africa and India, this paper argues that vertical integration for climate change adaptation should reflect on lessons from decentralisation related to governing natural resources, particularly in the water sector. The paper focuses on participation and flexibility, two central components of climate change adaptation, and considers how decentralisation has enhanced or undermined these. The findings suggest that vertical integration for adaptation will be strengthened if a number of lessons are considered, namely (i) actively seek equitable representation from marginal and diverse local groups drawing on both formal and informal participation structures, (ii) assess and address capacity deficits that undermine flexibility and adaptive responses, especially within lower levels of government, and (iii) use hybrid modes of governance that include government, intermediaries and diverse local actors through both formal and informal institutions to improve bottom-up engagement.
Developing a sustainable water infrastructure entails the planning and management of water systems to ensure the availability, access, quality, and affordability of water resources in the face of social, environmental, and economic challenges. Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is currently in an era where it must make significant changes to improve the sustainability of its water infrastructure. This paper reviews the factors affecting water infrastructure sustainability and the interventions taken globally to address these challenges. In parallel, it reflects on the relevance of these interventions to the context of Sub-Saharan Africa through the lens of the STEEP (societal, technological, economic, environmental, political) framework. The paper goes on to recommend an extended analysis that captures additional critical dimensions when applying the concept of sustainability. Furthermore, this paper sheds light on the practice of sustainable development and fosters a deeper understanding of the issues, thereby forming the basis for further research and the development of sustainable and resilient solutions for water infrastructure and water asset management more generally.
Despite decades of initiatives to create sustainable cities and regions, there is still a lot to do around the world to ensure that citizens, businesses, and others have a plentiful supply of drinking water and safe and healthy sanitation systems. The global development of the SDGs and their universal applicability also bring a perspective to both developed and developing countries, by ensuring that everyone has reliable services that are planned and sustained, supporting other sustainable development goals. In this chapter, we set out the scale of the financing needs necessary to deliver water and sanitation goals, outline the drivers for these needs and identify potential innovations that may help to deliver the services needed whilst minimizing costs.
This study sought to scrutinize how the size of budget and expenditure for water has changed over the period between 2009 and 2014 in Akatsi South and Sunyani West districts. It also examined how the breakdown of these budgets and expenditures may have changed over time, in terms of a breakdown by life-cycle costs, and particularly whether there has been any increase in expenditure on recurrent costs, specifically capital maintenance expenditure and expenditure on direct support. Quantitative data collected, observed that although there has been a shift in focus from new investments to expenditure direct support and capital maintenance; it is not consistent over the years and relies exclusively on donor funds. There was also marginal improvement in budgetary allocations for water delivery in the districts. The expenditure, however, seems to bear little relationship with either overall district expenditure, or with the water budget. The overall expenses on water are highly erratic from 1 year to another, with sudden increases and drops. It is acknowledged that this study will enable central and local government to have a comprehensive picture of investments from local governments and other stakeholders showing total budgets, expenditure but also disaggregation per cost component. Without such data it is difficult for either local or central government to make informed decisions on where, when and how to invest resources and have significant negotiations with actual and potential donors.
This article is intended to promote an important concept in ensuring that water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services can be sustained, and do not collapse when there is a problem with infrastructure.
The article discusses the level of user satisfaction with actual handpump service levels and performance of service providers. In this paper, we outline some contradiction between actual service levels, performance of service providers and perception of water users. The findings suggest that users appeared satisfied with quantity and reliability of water facilities. In contrast, they were not satisfied with the time it takes them to access water, especially when the quantity of water diminishes. The sad irony is that tariffs are perceived affordable yet users are unwilling to pay for water. Their responses paint a picture of a payment system that is geared at reactive maintenance over preventative maintenance regime. It is worth noting here that this phenomenon raises questions on the sustainability of water systems when sound financial management is key to sustaining services. Service providers were perceived to perform better than they actually did. Perhaps this was due to lack of information and ignorance on the roles of service providers. In this regard it is imperative that CWSA, implementing partners, the district assemblies and WSMTs take steps to address the technical, social, financial and institutional factors during the planning, implementation and post-construction support which invariably affect sustainability.
The provision of support from national, regional and local government to water service providers in Ghana is not adequately budgeted for.
The current operational budget of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), the governmental agency responsible for rural
water in Ghana, is not enough to fulfill its roles and responsibilities as specified in the national norms and guidelines. The benchmark
obtained by a CWSA led committee on the provision of support of US 0.33 per capita per year observed by the WASHCost project (Nyarko et.al, 2011). Increasing expenditure on support is essential to improve sustainable WASH services and reduce current rates of non-functionality of handpumps in Ghana of around 30%.
Rural water coverage in Ghana is on the increase, yet there are real concerns about the
level of service received and sustainability of water supply systems. One of the reasons is
the lack of systematic maintenance because of inadequate funding and unreliable cash
flow for Capital Maintenance Expenditure. This paper highlights the current gaps and
needs of water management models in three districts using focus group discussion and
key informant interviews to collect qualitative and quantitative data. The study revealed
that the mechanism inherent in the National Community Water and Sanitation Strategy
for addressing Capital Maintenance Expenditure works for systems that have been
implementing it. Limited capacity and weak management characterize water systems
with inadequate mechanism to address Capital Maintenance. Results showed limited
awareness and application of water sector guidelines for the management of the piped
systems by the management models and the districts. This paper contributes to the
literature on funding mechanisms for small town systems sustainable water delivery in
Ghana. The study concludes that to effectively address sustainable water delivery in
small town systems, governance, operations and financial management regimes in line
with the water sector guidelines are critical to bring about the necessary change in the
management models. This calls for stronger supervisory and oversight responsibilities
from Community Water and Sanitation Agency and the District Assemblies.
This document presents the framework for monitoring rural and small town water in Ghana It documents the processes involved in the development, testing and refinement of indicators. These indicators are based on the norms, standards and guidelines set by the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) and were developed by its Monitoring and Evaluation Working group, with support of IRC/Triple-S staff, and in consultation with officials from different other levels. They were tested in two rounds of monitoring. In addition, the framework for monitoring defines the different uses to which these indicators can be put and the procedure through which data are collected, processed and analysed. Also actual costs of monitoring were collected and these currently stand at 6,936 per district Based on these field experiences, we consider that the current framework for monitoring will be feasible for annual data collection.
The report focuses on decentralised water service provision under a Community Ownership and Management (COM) structure. In small communities day to day management is overseen by Water and Sanitation Management Teams (WMSTs) for small communities and small towns services are overseen either directly, or under delegated management, by Water and Sanitation Management Teams for small towns. Specific field data collection, focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted in two districts: Akatsi district, in Volta region and East Gonja in the Northern Region. In addition a series of interviews were conducted with CWSA members at regional and head office level, as well as review of relevant literature, project documents and policy guidelines that help inform the scope for asset management practices within the Ghana context. A key data source for understanding the current service delivery in Ghana was the detailed baseline assessments undertaken by the Triple-S across three rural districts.
The report is structured as follows. Firstly it outlines the concept background of asset management techniques and how these can improve service delivery. Secondly the review of COM model in Ghana detailing the key roles and responsibilities of key actors at different stages of an assets life. Thirdly outlined what opportunities and challenges exist in implementing asset management in Ghana.
As attention increasingly turns to the sustainability of rural water supplies - and not simply overall levels of coverage or access - water point functionality has become a core concern for development practitioners and national governments, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. Within the long-enduring Community-Based Management (CBM) model this has resulted in increased scrutiny of the “functionality” of the local water point committee (WPC) or similar community management organisation. This paper reviews the literature written from both practice-focused and critical-academic perspectives and identifies three areas that pose challenges to our understanding of water point functionality as it relates to CBM. These concern the relative neglect of (i) the local institutional and socio-economic landscape, (ii) broader governance processes and power dynamics, and (iii) the socio-technical interface. By examining these three areas, the paper engages with the specific issue of WPC functionality, whilst also considering broader issues relating to the framing of problems in development and the methodological and disciplinary ways that these are addressed. Furthermore, by focusing on community management of rural water points, the paper lays the ground for a more substantial critique of the continuing persistence of the CBM model as a central development strategy.
Involving communities in the operation and maintenance (O&M) of water facilities is expected to be a cost-effective means of ensuring sustainable provision of water to rural communities in Ghana. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of the community-based management strategy for the O&M of water facilities in the Sekyere East District of Ghana and to identify the best practices for replication. The data for the study were gathered from the District Water and Sanitation Team (DWST), Water and Sanitation (WATSAN) Committees and Water Boards (WBs) through direct interviews and focus group discussions. Analyses of the data revealed that the spirit of voluntarism that was expected to drive the local managers to be effective was fading away. Furthermore, the local managers were unable to mobilise adequate revenue to defray the cost of O&M partly due to households’ reluctance to pay coupled with the general lack of accountability on the part of the managers. The authors concluded that for the local managers to be effective, they need to be effectively motivated so that they could in turn be accountable to the community members.
This paper presents a case study demonstrating life cycle cost (LCC) analysis as a major and critical activity of engineering asset management decisions and control. The objective is to develop a maintenance policy to control the economics of replacement and repair practice of refractory lining of an electric arc furnace (EAF). The replacement and repair policies involve the optimum life policy, the repair versus replacement policies, the repair limit method and the comparison of lining material types from different suppliers. The developed models provide a method for defining the most important factors involved in decision making with respect to operational and managerial levels. The approach also involves deciding the remaining age value as the repair limit criteria while avoid lining failure due to unavoidable deterioration caused by variation in operation conditions. The decision criteria are established as: (a) what type of lining material is better to use? (b) When to replace lining in a cyclic manner? (c) At what sequence is hot repair required and (d) whether to replace or use cold repair between replacements. Finally, the model output values for the decision criteria are presented in tables and graphs to guide decision making in operation and maintenance.
Adequate human resources (HR) capacity in the water and sanitation sector plays a pivotal role in improving and sustaining access to potable water and improved sanitation. This study highlights the HR capacity and gaps in Ghana's water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector. It is based on data collected from five public sector organisations, six non-governmental organisations (NGOs), 14 private sector institutions and 12 training institutions. The results indicate that the proportion of technical HR was high (75%) in water service delivery, while technical personnel in the sanitation sub-sector was low (2%), leading to low sanitation coverage and ineffective sanitation service delivery. The female proportion ranged from 16 to 44% (average of 22%). There was a shortage of technical personnel in the public WASH sector due to unattractive working conditions, attrition and lack of qualified graduates to fill vacant positions. Average annual graduates' supply from non-technical programmes to the WASH sector is five times more than that from technical programmes. There was a lack of commitment to implement policies on developing adequate HR capacity in the WASH sector due to weak institutional arrangement. There is the need to develop policies on HR career progression and capacity building programmes as well as gender-sensitive recruitment policies for the WASH sector.
Behind headline successes in providing first-time access to water lie a number of pressing challenges to the dominant approach to rural water supply in developing countries, namely community management following a demand-responsive approach. These challenges manifest themselves in poor performance of service providers, high rates of hardware failure, and very low levels of service.
The papers in this special issue argue that tackling these challenges requires a shift in emphasis in rural water supply in developing countries: away from a de-facto focus on the provision of hardware for first-time access towards the proper use of installed hardware as the basis for universal access to rural water services. The outline of the main actions required to achieve this shift are becoming clearer. Chief amongst these are the professionalisation of community management and/or provision of direct support to community service providers; adoption of a wider range of service delivery models than community management alone; and addressing the sustainable financing of all costs with a particular focus on financing capital maintenance (asset management) and direct support costs. This introductory paper provides an overview of these issues and a guide to the other articles, which demonstrate these points.
This paper presents a case study demonstrating life cycle cost (LCC) analysis as a major and critical activity of engineering asset management decisions and control. The objective is to develop a maintenance policy to
control the economics of replacement and repair practice of refractory lining of an electric arc furnace (EAF).
The replacement & repair policies involve the optimum life policy, the repair versus replacement policies, the
repair limit method and the comparison of lining material types from different suppliers. The developed
models provide a method for defining the most important factors involved in decision making with respect to
operational and managerial levels. The approach also involves deciding the remaining age value as the repair limit criteria while avoid lining failure due to unavoidable deterioration caused by variation in operation
conditions. The decision criteria are established as: a) what type of lining material is better to use? b) When to replace lining in a cyclic manner? c) At what sequence is hot repair required and d) whether to replace or use cold repair between replacements. Finally, the model output values for the decision criteria are presented in tables and graphs to guide decision making in operation and maintenance.
The sustainable delivery of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in rural and small towns in Ghana is threatened by high levels of system malfunction and breakdown. To contribute to the understanding of factors affecting long term sustainable service delivery, this study examined the planning process for delivering sustainable WASH services particularly with respect to the existing and potential uses of cost information in WASH decision making. The study reveals that the use of cost information in district water and sanitation planning is limited to the cost of providing and operating new facilities together with some limited cost information on replacement and capital maintenance. The planning process does not systematically address the full range of costs required once construction has taken place to ensure the smooth and indefinite provision of services. Even though some plans may give an indication of the likely cost of operating the WASH facilities, this is not often translated into the allocation of adequate financial resources to take care of all operational costs. Planning and budgeting for capital maintenance is often on an ad hoc basis. This results in significant proportions of non-functional WASH facilities. This paper discusses possible use of cost information to strengthen and improve the planning process and hence service delivery.
This working paper introduces water service levels and explains how these can be used as integral components of an analytical tool for applied research or benchmarking. It is best read together with Working Paper 3: Assessing sanitation service levels (Potter et al., 2011). Both are working papers aimed at providing a framework for data analysis of life-cycle costs. The second edition of this working paper reflects the experiences of applying this methodology in Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique and India (Andhra Pradesh).
Ladders for assessing and costing water service delivery | Request PDF. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228470692_Ladders_for_assessing_and_costing_water_service_delivery [accessed Oct 17 2018].
Water and Wastewater companies operating all around the world have faced rising asset management and replacement costs, often to levels that are financially unsustainable.
Management of investment needs, while meeting regulatory and other goals, has required:
These papers developed from LESAM 2007 for inclusion in Strategic Asset Management of Water Supply and Wastewater Infrastructures are focused on the techniques, technologies and management approaches aiming at optimising the investment in infrastructure while achieving demanded customer service standards, and they provide an opportunity to gain access to the latest discussion and developments at the leading-edge in this field. This book will be essential reading for utility operators and managers, regulators and consultants.
ISBN: 9781843391869 (Print)
ISBN: 9781780401720 (eBook)
The status of rural water supply services in Ghana, A synthesis of findings from 3 districts. Triple-S working paper
- T Chimbar
- E Effahappiah
Chimbar, T. and EffahAppiah,
E. (2013). The status of rural water supply services in Ghana, A synthesis of findings from 3 districts.
Triple-S working paper. 2013 Accra, Ghana: IRC Ghana.
Capital Maintenance of Small Towns Piped Water Schemes in Ghana. Accra: IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre
- J Asante
Asante, J. (2013). Capital Maintenance of Small Towns Piped Water Schemes in Ghana. Accra: IRC
International Water and Sanitation Centre.
Infrastructure asset management: key building block for sustaining rural water services
- J Boulenouar
Boulenouar, J. (2014). Infrastructure asset management: key building block for sustaining rural water
services. Briefing paper, 37th WEDC International Conference, Loughborough University, Hanoi,
Vietnam, 2014
Institutional framework and challenges in small towns’ water supply in Ghana
- Braimah C.A.
Braimah, C. A. and Kheni, N. A. (2013). Institutional Framework and challenges in Small Towns' Water
Supply in Ghana, International Journal of Development and Sustainability, Vol. 2, No. 4, pp 2311-2323,
2013.
2017 CWSA District Monitoring and Evaluation System
CWSA (2017). 2017 CWSA District Monitoring and Evaluation System, Ghana.
Framework for assessing and monitoring rural and small town water supply services in Ghana
CWSA (2014a). Framework for assessing and monitoring rural and small town water supply services in
Ghana. Accra, Ghana: Community Water and Sanitation Agency
https://www.ircwash.org/resources/framework-assessing-and-monitoring-rural-and-small-town-watersupply-services-ghana [Accessed 20 January, 2018].
District Operational Manual
CWSA (2014b). District Operational Manual. http://www.cwsa.gov.gh/downloads/DOM.pdf [Accessed
20 January, 2018].
District monitoring and evaluation system: operations guide and user manual version 7.0.1, Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing
CWSA (2009). District monitoring and evaluation system: operations guide and user manual version
7.0.1, Ministry of Water Resources Works and Housing, CWSA, Accra, Ghana.
Ideal direct support costs for WASH services
- B Dwumfour-Asare
- K B Nyarko
- E Nkrumah
- E Appiah-Effah
- P Moriarty
Dwumfour-Asare, B. and Nyarko, K.B., Nkrumah, E., Appiah-Effah, E., and Moriarty, P. (2012). Ideal
direct support costs for WASH services. WASHCost Ghana Briefing Note 12. Accra: IRC Ghana/ Kumasi:
KNUST. Available from http://www. ircwash.org/resources/life-cycle-costs-approach-wash-services-lastlife-cycle-costs-ghana-ideal-direct-support> Accessed [30 January 2015].
No Title. New Civil Engineer
- B Emery
Emery, B. (2005). No Title. New Civil Engineer. Retrieved from http://www.nce.co.uk/billofrights/531721.article [Accessed 29 January, 2018].
Financing Capital maintenance of Rural Water Supply Systems: Current Practices and Future Options, Working Paper 9
- C Fonseca
- S Smits
- K Nyarko
- A Naafs
- R Franceys
Fonseca, C., Smits, S., Nyarko, K., Naafs, A. and Franceys, R. (2013). Financing Capital maintenance of
Rural Water Supply Systems: Current Practices and Future Options, Working Paper 9, 2013.
Government of Ghana (2013) "Composite budget for 2013 budget guidelines for metropolitan,
municipal and district assemblies" Ministry of finance.
PAS 55 Part 1: Specification for the optimized management of physical assets
Institute of Asset management (2008). "PAS 55 Part 1: Specification for the optimized management of
physical assets", British Standards Institution, London 7)
Innovative Financing for Capital Maintenance Expenditure in Small Towns Water Systems in Three Districts in Ghana.IRC-CWSA publication
- T C Kumasi
- B Kubabom
- E Abbey
- W Nunoo
- O Konadu
- V Ayi-Bonte
Kumasi, T.C., Kubabom, B., Abbey, E., Nunoo, W., Konadu, O., Ayi-Bonte, V., Adomako-Adjei, T. and
Nyarko, K. B. (2017). Innovative financing for capital maintenance expenditure in small towns water
systems in three districts in Ghana. IRC-CWSA publication, November 2017
https://www.ircwash.org/sites/default/files/innovative_financing_report_27.11.17.pdf[Accessed 20
Cost of delivering water services in rural areas and small towns in Ghana
- K B Nyarko
- B Dwumfour-Asare
- E Appiah-Effah
Nyarko, K. B., Dwumfour-Asare, B., Appiah-Effah, E. and Moriarty, P. (2010). Cost of delivering water
services in rural areas and small towns in Ghana. IRC Symposium 2010: Pumps, Pipes and Promises
https://www.ircwash.org/sites/default/files /Nyarko-2010-Cost.pdf [Accessed 29 January, 2018].
District Assemblies Model bye-law-establishment and Operations of Water and Sanitation Development Boards.Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Environment
- Mlgrde
MLGRDE (2008). District Assemblies Model bye-law-establishment and Operations of Water and
Sanitation Development Boards, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Environment
O&M audit a practical tool for sustainability
- S Soley
Soley, S. and Thogersen, J. (2002). "O&M audit, a practical tool for sustainability" 28th WEDC
conference: Sustainable Environmental Sanitation and Water Services Kolkata India
Sustainability Assessment of Rural Water Service Delivery Models: Findings of a Multi Country Review, Water Global Practice
- World Bank
World Bank (2017). Sustainability Assessment of Rural Water Service Delivery Models: Findings of a
Multi Country Review, Water Global Practice, August 2017
https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/27988/W17055.pdf?sequence=4&isAll
owed=y
Leading Edge Conference on Strategic Asset Management of Water Supply and Wastewater Infrastructures Lisbon Portugal
- F L Schulting
Project Implementation Manual
- Cwsa
CWSA (2014c). Project Implementation Manual http://www.cwsa.gov.gh/downloads/PIM1.pdf
[Accessed 29 January, 2018].
Small Town Sector Guidelines (Operation and Maintenance Guidelines
- Cwsa
CWSA (2010b). Community Water and Sanitation Agency. Small Town Sector Guidelines (Operation and
Maintenance Guidelines) November, 2010
CWSA Framework for Assessing and Monitoring Rural and Small Town Water Supply Services in Ghana.Accra Ghana:Community Water and Sanitation Agency
- Cwsa
Financing capital maintenance of rural water supply systems: current practices and future options
- C Fonseca
- S Smits
- K Nyarko
- A Naafs
Sustainability assessment of rural water service delivery models: findings of a multi country review
- World Bank