Sustainability of water facilities under community based management in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Community Based Management (CBM) has been envisaged as a panacea to sustainability challenges faced in the Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector globally. In spite of this approach having success stories, studies have shown that failures are also being recorded. This study investigated the sustainability of rural water supply facilities under the CBM approach in Chipinge District of Zimbabwe. The specific objectives were to assess the technical, financial and institutional factors influencing sustainability. A cross sectional study design was used. Data was collected using Focus Group Discussions, Key Informant Interviews, household questionnaires and an observation checklist. Quantitative data was analysed using SPSS and Microsoft Excel while qualitative data was analysed using the thematic approach. Results showed that the technical factors which are influencing sustainability are age of the water facility, frequency of carrying out preventive maintenance and existence of external support. Regression analysis showed a positive linear correlation between age and breakdown frequency (R2 = 0.46) and the odds of obtaining a breakdown decreased as the frequency of preventive maintenance increased. User communities were contributing inadequate O&M funds resulting in long downtimes. Non-functionality of WPCs negatively influenced sustainability. The study recommends training of user communities on CBM and technical skills.

Longitudinal borehole functionality in 15 rural Ghanaian towns from three groundwater quality clusters

“…We note that we intentionally excluded some important predictors that were significant in other studies: namely, the availability of and distance to BH mechanics and spare parts and presence of a water committee [ 13 , 20 ]. Distance to BH mechanics and spare parts was excluded because all towns were located relatively close (< 25 km) to district capitals that had these resources, exhibiting no variability in the dataset.…”

“…Although inherently a dynamic concept, a relatively small number of studies have attempted to capture BH functionality over time, primarily through retrospective key informant interviews [ 8 , 9 , 11 – 13 ]. Qualitative information on historical functionality was used in conjunction with a single observed functionality measure.…”

Longitudinal borehole functionality in 15 rural Ghanaian towns from three groundwater quality clusters

“…We note that we intentionally excluded some important predictors that were signi cant in other studies: namely, presence of a water committee and the availability of and distance to BH mechanics and spare parts [12,17]. Presence of a water committee was excluded because it was highly correlated with proactive payment mechanism.…”

“…Although inherently a dynamic concept, a relatively small number of studies have attempted to capture BH functionality over time, primarily through retrospective key informant interviews [7][8][10][11][12]. Qualitative information on historical functionality was used in conjunction with a single observed functionality measure.…”

Is the virus-laden standing water change the transmission intensity of SARS-CoV-2 after precipitation? A framework for empirical studies

“…In detail, drainage ability enhancement and combined sewer system upgrade are both feasible measures. For drainage ability, most drainage systems in urban areas, especially those aged drainage systems in the central area of metropolises, do not have enough capacity to handle the heavy surface runoff ( Kativhu et al, 2022 ). Taking China as an example, the latest vision of The Outdoor Drainage Design Criterion (GB50014-2021) requires the recurrence period of torrential rain in the urban drainage pipes is 5–10 years for the crucial regions in big cities (i.e., cities with more than 1 million people).…”