Reflecting SDG 6.1 in Rural Water Supply Tariffs: Considering ‘Affordability’ Versus ‘Operations and Maintenance Costs’ in Malawi

Abstract

Local tariffs in the form of household contributions are the primary financial mechanism to fund the maintenance of rural water supplies in Malawi. An investigation was conducted into the tariffs set by rural service providers to sustain drilled boreholes equipped with Afridev handpumps. A binary logistic regression analysis identified significant explanatory variables for the most common identified considerations when setting tariffs, ‘affordability’ and ‘operations and maintenance (O&M) costs’. The results demonstrate tariffs collected less frequently and usage above the design limit of the Afridev (300 users) had lower odds of considering affordability and higher odds of considering O&M costs, than those collected per month and within the design limit. The results further suggest a recognition by service providers of an increased maintenance challenge. High usage, acquiring spare parts, and the collection of tariffs when repairs are required indicate an increased likelihood of considering O&M costs, conversely to considering affordability. The balance of affordability and sustainable maintenance is a perpetual challenge under decentralised service delivery. Investment into ongoing support and supply chains is required for the financial and operational requirements of water supply, to ensure payments for services does not prevent access to clean water at the local level and to achieve the 2030 agenda.

Barriers to handpump serviceability in Malawi: life-cycle costing for sustainable service delivery

“…This is unlikely to be planned for in the rural context over the short life-cycles, 15,16 as focus remains on the short term goals of providing new water facilities. 3 Furthermore, the general lack of external support and training post-construction results in an ineffective system for ensuring quality maintenance and savings for O&M. 11,12,14,24,27,33 The challenges of CBM reinforce the need for a holistic service delivery approach and not for one-time investments, commonly adopted by NGOs and donors. 3,4,24 The common theme across research is that the CBM approach and focus on coverage leaves little understanding or capacity to accommodate service delivery in the long term.…”

The Cost of a Sustainable Water Supply at Network Kiosks in Peri-Urban Blantyre, Malawi

“…Alternatively, WUAs are also required to operate kiosks in rural settings fed, for example, from boreholes or gravity-fed (piped) supply systems. A separate body of research outside the scope of this paper is relevant in rural settings [2,24].…”

Promoting sustainable industrial water use: Scotland's “Hydro Nation” at home and abroad

“…Malawi staff have collected water infrastructure data at surface water, groundwater, gravity-fed rural and peri-urban water points, and targeted waste and sanitation infrastructure. CJF is near completion of the first National Dataset for Rural Water Supplies in Malawi which will include information about which sanitation facilities and solid waste sites are co-located with water supply points, posing a potential risk of contamination (Addison et al, 2020;Kalin et al, 2019;Kelly et al, 2019;Rivett et al, 2019;Truslove et al, 2020).…”