COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION AS A WATER SUPPLY MANAGEMENT TOOL

Introduction:

Water has always been vital to the health, safety, and socio-economic development of man. Its availability, accessibility and quality make a tremendous difference in life. The multi­sectoral nature of the operation and maintenance of water facilities requires a collaborative approach that involves key stakeholders in identifying constraints and in developing framework for action. Thus, given the complexities that often surround the delivery of water supply to communities, the involvement of users or communities in the planning and management of services is urgently needed. Community participation has of recent assumed an increasingly key role in water management especially operation and maintenance of water facilities. It has been argued that professionals in the water sector are also realizing that the operation and maintenance is not just a technical issue. It also encompasses social, gender, economic, institutional, political, managerial and environmental aspects.

The United Nations (1981) defined community participation as the process of creating opportunities to enable all members of a community to keenly contribute to and manipulate the development process and to share equitably in the fruits of development. This definition of the United Nation stems from the definition of good governance which states that, “All men and women should have a voice in decision-making, either directly or through legitimate intermediate institutions that represent their interests”. According to Stretton (1978), community participation is of great importance due to the following reasons:

• Real needs and priorities are identified, values in conflict are weighed and forgotten factors are identified. Community participation in water facility management give an opportunity to solicit the real needs and priorities of the community because what technocrats sometimes impose on a community as their real need and priorities are not compatible with what the community consider.

• Greater self-determination in resolving problems and meeting needs is allowed, practical implications of a policy are grasped and a sense of involvement and commitment to the project is encouraged. Here, people consider community problems as their own and that effort to resolve it means an improvement in their general well-being and thus they feel involved in issues concerning their welfare.

Emerging Issues in Sustainable Water Provision:

The provision of rural water over the past decades has failed in areas of operation and management. This has led to the unsustainable water projects in most areas particularly the broken down of boreholes and hand dug wells in most communities in Ghana. This situation emanated because the provision of such facilities was carried out at the regional and district levels without the involvement of the local people. The rural communities therefore viewed the provided facilities as an asset for the government and thus showed less concern about their operation and management (Koestler, 2009).

Per the researcher’s observation, community participation in the form of some token of financial commitment, taking part in decision making, and regular monitoring and maintenance of projects after completion has been widely acclaimed as an effective way of supporting the efforts of government and NGOs. This is so because the huge financial commitment from government and NGOs as well as the technical support would not be in vain when the people feel part of the course. This would ensure sustainability of the project through and longitivity. If this is done, the battle of ensuring water for all will be a promising one. 

 

Participation of beneficiaries in project planning, execution and management is very important in ensuring projects’ sustainability. This is because more often than not, the operational responsibility of completed projects is left in the hands of people who either are less efficient or cannot manage or sustain the projects (Karl, 2000). This eventually leads to less inspiration to maintain the minimum level of performance since they are not involved much and hence do not see the project as their own. Experience has shown that, where local participation is incorporated projects lasts longer, since beneficiaries see the projects as their own and hence take very good care of them.

Various factors may contribute to the difficulty in developing sustainable water supply systems.  For instance, rural communities are likely to be less capable of achieving economies of scale in water supply and treatment (State of Ceará, 2009). At the same time, households and businesses in rural areas may have more limited capacity than wealthier urbanites to raise the capital needed for water infrastructure, or they may lack the technical expertise needed to operate and maintain water systems. 

  

In rural areas that are arid or subject to hydrologic  variability, reliable water supply systems may require more energy intensive infrastructure (e.g. to access and deliver distant surface or groundwater sources or  to allow for multi-season or multi-year storage), which can add  to the financial and technical difficulties facing these communities. With the help of foreign donors, many attempts have been made to provide safe drinking water supplies to communities throughout the developing world. Unfortunately, many of these have failed. For example, it has been estimated  that the  hand pump, which provides nearly half of the protected water supplies for Africa’s rural population, has an estimated functionality rate of approximately 66% (RSWN 2010). 

                

A closer look at the issue revealed that communities where such systems had been installed lacked a sense of ownership for the infrastructure and its service. As a result, when they broke down the community did not see the problem as being theirs.  The key issues that emerged from the failure of these centralized systems have dominated the water and sanitation sector for the past three decades. 

Evolving  from  above, it can be concluded that capacity building is an essential component to  the  sustainability framework, but it is not a stand-alone community characteristic; rather it draws upon the others to create an atmosphere conducive to continuous learning and improvement. Understanding  the  value  of  safe  water,  and  reiterating  this fact, is important for individuals to continue reaping  the benefits  of the program  (deWilde et al. 2008). Therefore, sustainability cannot be expected unless the program incorporates community training sessions and the community members are both receptive and willing to train others.

The Way Forward:

Sustainable water provision over the past decades has failed in areas of operation and maintenance. This has led to abandoned water projects in most areas particularly the broken down of boreholes and hand dug wells in most communities in Ghana. This situation usually emanates because the provision of such facilities was carried out at the regional and district levels without the involvement of the local people. Hence, communities therefore viewed the provided facilities as being for the government and thus show less concern about their operation and maintenance.

Recently, community participation in the form of some token of financial commitment, taking part in decision making, and regular monitoring and maintenance of projects after completion has been widely acclaimed as an effective way of supporting the efforts of government and NGO. This is so because the huge financial commitment from government and NGOs as well as the technical support would not be in vain when the people feel part of the course. This would, one way or the other, ensure sustainability of water facilities. 

The issue of safe water cannot be over emphasized so far as the development of a country is concerned. A potable water supply reduced exposure to waterborne pathogens, and its sustainability relies in large part on the behavioural, social, and institutional factors of the recipient community. These are summarized as follows:

• Involving the local people is very crucial in project sustainability. Experiences from some districts in Ghana have shown that community-managed projects performed better than the state-managed systems. Thus, to enhance sustainability the community or beneficiaries should be involved in all aspects of project planning, implementation, as well as its operation and maintenance. Facilities are well maintained through community ownership and the demand-responsive approach to service delivery rather supply-oriented approach.

• Sustainability of projects is also affected by insufficient skilled manpower. That is, institutions which manage potable water facilities at the local level should be provided with adequate training to ensure a successful management, operation and maintenance of facilities;

• Cost recovery systems must be properly ensured to raise adequate funds towards operation and maintenance of facilities; and

• The provision of potable water alone is not adequate to guarantee the health of people. There is therefore the need to ensure proper sanitation and hygienic conditions at water points.