This document discusses community management of rural water supply systems and the need for a paradigm shift from solely relying on community management to a model of "community management plus" external support. It outlines the common system of establishing infrastructure and handing it over to local water user committees for management. However, field realities often show lip service is paid to community participation principles and technology failures exceed local repair capacity. A new approach is needed where external support enhances committee performance, recognizes threats, and plans for more sustainable professionalized service delivery models in the future.