1. Trends in rural water
sector development: Harold
addressing the Lockwood
challenges of Aguaconsult
sustainability and
scale
South Asia Regional Conference on RWSS
Kathmandu, 10 -12 October 2012

2. Expectations and reality
2

3. Progress - but mind the ‘sustainability gap’
+/- 60 – 70% functionality
3

4. World Bank data Africa
Percentage of rural water systems requiring rehabilitation
Uganda 10% Cote d'Ivoire 33%
Chad 13% Zambia 35%
Benin 14% Mozambique 40%
Burkina Faso 23% Namibia 40%
Ethiopia 25% Sudan 40%
Lesotho 25% Madagascar 50%
Rwanda 30% DRC 60%
Senegal 30% Malawi 75%
World Bank 2007. Africa Infrastructure Country Diagnostic Water Supply and Sanitation Survey Database.
4

5. India: ‘slippage’ and declining service
levels
>30%
Information presented at IRC Slippage roundtable Briefing, Delhi, June 2009
5

6. Triple-S study of rural water sectors
• 13 countries - range of sector reform, aid
dependency and decentralisation
• Analysis of trends – common opportunities
and barriers
to service
delivery
6

7. Summary of sector development
• Low coverage levels ~ 30 – 40%
• Focus on construction phase - ‘infrastructure
Group 1 challenge ‘
Ethiopia
countries • Reliance on voluntary CBM Mozambique
• Move towards scaled up programming
• Coverage ~ 50 - 70% and expanding Honduras,
Group 2 • Tension between coverage and ‘slippage’ Colombia,
Ghana, Burkina
• Trend to systemic sector capacity building
countries • Limited budgets and increasing demand for Faso and
higher service levels Uganda
• Coverage of 75 – 85% + India
Group 3 • Investment in building sector capacities
• Addressing service quality challenges,
(Gujurat),
Thailand, USA,
countries sustainability and long-term capital replacement Sri Lanka,
• Reaching last 10 – 15% remains a challenge South Africa
7

8. Findings: political economy matters
Decentralisation and sector reform:
• Range of experiences, but in many cases
decentralisation has been partial and local
government capacity remains weak
• Rural sector reform has lagged behind urban and
not fully supported politically
• Many well defined policies, but lack of supporting
legislation and application – ‘policy to practice gap’
• Aid dependency has led to fragmented approaches
and donors can undermine national reform efforts

9. Many challenges remain, but improving
• Transfer of authority to local level, but
with limited fiscal
decentralisation; human resource
capacity remains low
• Functions decentralised, but resistance
and confusion over responsibilities:
CWSA Ghana, PHEDs in some states in India, SANAA
Honduras; MoIWD, Malawi
• But ....... other more positive examples of structured
support to local government under decentralisation:
Uganda, South Africa
• SWAps (including rural sub-sector) are becoming more
commonplace: Uganda, S. Africa, Benin + more on the way
9

10. Findings: management models
• Community management still dominates
• Higher coverage trends towards greater diversity of
management models

11. Findings: CBM is dominant but evolving
Increasing trend from volunteerism towards
professionalised management:
• Out-sourcing of specific functions
(Honduras, Sri Lanka)
• Applying good business practices
(Programa de cultura empresarial
Colombia)
• Full out-sourcing of O&M and
administration for more complex
systems (Ghana, South Africa)

12. Findings: alternative models emerging
• Self supply increasingly recognised and supported -
Ethiopia, Thailand, Uganda - and is a reality to
improve sub-standard services almost everywhere
• Public Private Partnerships, especially for piped
schemes and rural growth centres
• Public authorities letting contracts for operation and
maintenance to private firms – Ghana, Burkina Faso,
Uganda
• Implications for regulation of rural water services –
remains limited in most contexts

13. Findings: external support is important
for sustaining service delivery
Support for service providers – community management
committees, private operators, associations:
• Monitoring and oversight
•Technical advice
•Administrative and organisational
support
•Conflict resolution
•(re-) Training
•Information and resources

14. Findings: examples of direct support
Institutional Examples of direct support models
arrangements
Direct support Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, India
by local government and Uganda
Honduras: national utility SANAA programme of circuit riders,
Central government
called Operation and Maintenance Technicians (TOMs),
or parastatal
Chile: regional private utilities are contracted by the Central
agencies
Ministry to provide direct support to rural service providers
Association of Brazil: Sistema Integrado de Saneamento Rural (SISAR) combines
Community -based association of community-based service providers with support
Service providers from a state-level utility
Local government South Africa: municipalities can contract a Support Services
subcontracting a Agency (SSA), which can be a private company or NGO .
specialised agency or Uganda: individual entrepreneurs, particularly hand pump
individuals mechanics or area-based mechanics, provide support.
El Salvador: Asociación Salvadoreña de Servicios de Agua (ASSA)
NGOs
offers direct support to 170 rural communities.

15. Findings: focus on CapEx, but lack of
systematic financing for other costs
Public sector
financing or
external aid
transfers
Cost categories are less-
well specified and Assumed to
consistently under- be
funded community
responsibility
(tariffs)

16. Findings: full cost recovery from
tariffs in rural sector is unrealistic
• Assumptions of full cost
recovery under CBM
•
appear (wildly) optimistic
• In reality rural water
tariffs often barely cover
operational expenditure
costs – need for
subsidies?

17. Findings: even in USA subsidies are
necessary
Average percentage of capital maintenance funded by
source
System Type Funding Source Very Small Medium Large Very Overall
Small Large Average
for All Size
501- 3301- 10001-
Categories
25-500 3300 10000 100000 >100,
000
Current Revenue 45 53 50 56 65 51
DWSRF & Other 11 19 14 12 6 15
Publicly Owned
Systems
Government Loans
Government Grants or 30 15 16 6 2 17
Principal Forgiveness
Private Sector 9 11 17 25 27 14
Borrowing
Other 6 3 2 0 1 3
Source: Pearson, 2007 in Gasteyer, 2011

18. Findings: costs and financing for
direct support varies
• Little (comparable) data – lack of disaggregated costs
Key messages:
• Support systems provide different functions/types of
services – supply and demand based approaches
• Costs of direct support are significant –
• Costs vary with service level,of all long-term
accounting for ~ 20 - 25% technology and
topography expenditure
recurrent
Case • In (lower)Institutional income countries ~ % of total costs of
middle Estimated cost US$2 –
modality US$/capita/year service
3 person/year company to be sufficient order
S.A. Alfred Nzo Private
appears 5.24 65%
of magnitude company 9.94
S.A. Chris Hani Private 53%
• < Brazil Association
SISAR, BBAUS$1 person/year appears too low33% be
3.63 to
Ghana effective District LG 0.67 3 – 19%
Mali Private company 0.34 n/a
Mozambique District 0.0012 n/a

19. Findings: cost benchmarks (WASHCost)
Cost range
Cost Primary formal water source in area US$ (2011)
component of intervention [min – max]
Key message:
• Over Borehole and handpump
Total capital20 year life-span, per person recurrent - 61]
[20
expenditure
costs represent schemes (< 500the capital
Small 2 to 3 times people) or
(total per
expenditure cost of bore holes with handpumps131]
medium schemes (between 500- [30 -
person)
5000 people)
• Over 20 year life-span, per person recurrent
Total recurrent Borehole and handpump
costs represent 2 times the capital expenditure - 6]
[3
expenditure piped systems (all size schemes)
cost of
(total
All piped schemes [3 - 15]
per person per
year)

20. Summary: as sectors evolve, effort, cost and
institutional requirements also change
Danger zone: as
Danger zone: as
100
basic infrastructure
basic infrastructure
is provided,
is provided, Recurrent expenditure
coverage risks
coverage risks and support effort
stagnating at
stagnating at dominates
around 60 – 80%
around 60 – 80%
Capital expenditure
dominates
Capital maintenance
expenditure dominates
0
25% 50% 75% 100%
Source: Moriarty, 2011
Coverage rates

21. Costa Rica ~2000: a cautionary tale
Instituto Costarricense de
Acueductos y
Alcantarillados
Dirección de Acueductos
Rurales

22. Recap and implications for
funders OpEx +
Group 1 countries: support
increasing coverage and
CapEx
laying the groundwork CapManEx
25% 50% 75% 100%
Group 2 countries: OpEx +
transition to service support
delivery approaches CapEx
CapManEx
25% 50% 75% 100%
Group 3 countries: OpEx +
support
consolidating service
CapEx
delivery CapManEx
25% 50% 75% 100%

23. Group 1 countries: focus on increasing
coverage and lay groundwork sustainability
Capital investment for new hardware and:
• Strengthen CBM – legalisation to clarify OpEx +
support
roles and mandates CapEx
CapManEx
• Improve and invest in structures for 25% 50% 75% 100%
post-construction support
• Align DP programmatic support,
particularly around implementation
approaches – avoid fragmentation
• Improve monitoring systems to focus
on services, not just coverage

24. Group 2 countries: support sectors in
transition to service delivery
Invest in scaled-up solutions as first order
coverage is achieved for the majority:
OpEx +
•Support sector reform and institution- support
building – clarifying policy and practice CapEx
CapManEx
•Move toward sector-wide support 25% 50% 75% 100%
•Structured support to decentralisation:
improved fiscal transfers and capacity
•Diversification in service delivery models
•Rationalise monitoring frameworks – one
national system
•Improve life-cycle cost data and financial
planning

25. Group 3 countries: consolidate service
delivery focus in ‘mature’ sectors
Invest in sector capacity and address systemic
weaknesses by improving:
OpEx +
• Asset management planning support
• Capacity support to local government CapEx
CapManEx
• Financial mechanisms for capital 25% 50% 75% 100%
maintenance expenditures
• Life-cycle cost analysis and more
investment in direct and indirect support
• Regulation – monitoring of services and
service providers
• Strategies to reach the last 10-15%

26. Thank you.
For further information see:
http://www.waterservicesthatlast.org/
http://www.washcost.info/
Or contact me on:
h.lockwood@aguaconsult.co.uk