Establishment of Community Based Safe Drinking Water Centers in Rural Villages of Tanzania

Access to safe and readily available water for drinking and domestic use is fundamental for a healthy and productive life. The project aims to establish a sustainable model for enhancing access to safe drinking water through a community based water management system. The proposed project seeks to improve access to safe water in rural Tanzania through the establishment of community based safe drinking water centers. The project is based on the principles of Participatory Development, and will involve the communities right from the initial stages so as to develop a strong foundation and to inculcate ownership of the project.

Project Summary:

Access to safe and readily available water for drinking and domestic use is fundamental for a healthy and productive life. The project aims to establish a sustainable model for enhancing access to safe drinking water in Kahama Rural District, Shinayana Region, through a community based water management system. The proposed project seeks to improve access to safe water in rural Tanzania through the establishment of community based safe drinking water centers. The project will be implemented in Kahama Rural District, Shinayana Region, Tanzania over a period of 2.5 years. The project is based on the principles of Participatory Development, and will involve the communities’ right from the initial stages so as to develop a strong foundation and to inculcate ownership of the project.

Section 1. Project Background:

Access to clean water and basic sanitation are human rights, recognized by the United Nations. Inaccessibility to safe and affordable water, along with lack of  sanitation and hygiene facilities have detrimental impact on the health, dignity and prosperity of billions of people. Access to safe and readily available water for drinking and domestic use is fundamental for a healthy and productive life. Despite all the efforts made by International, National and Local organizations to improve access to clean water to all human beings, there is still a lot that needs to be done to ensure 100% access to clean water. Data from a 2019, WHO Report available at (https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/drinking-water) , presents the following figures with respect to clean water availability and access:

• • 785 million people lack basic drinking-water service
  • 435 million people use water from unprotected wells and springs
  • 144 million people collect untreated surface water from lakes, ponds, rivers and streams.
  • Globally, at least 2 billion people use a drinking water source contaminated with faeces.
  • Contaminated water transmits diseases such diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, typhoid, and polio.
  • 485 000 diarrhoeal deaths occur each year.
  • 206 million people with limited services, or an improved water source requiring more than 30 minutes to collect water.
  • In the least developed countries, 22% of health care facilities have no water service, 21% no sanitation service, and 22% no waste management service.

The data above presents a gloomy picture and emphasizes on the need to develop systems and adopt technologies to reach out to the remotest of areas to make clean water available to each and every human. Along with access to clean water, another water risk is its availability. Without action, global water demand could outstrip supply by up to 40 percent by 2030. Rapid population growth and economic development, particularly in emerging markets, will increase the need for food and energy and accelerate industrialization and urbanization, driving a corresponding increase in the need for water. At the same time, many scientists warn that temperatures may rise around the world, which could increase water scarcity. The climate may also become less predictable, which could increase volatility in the water supply, compounding the challenge. To increase water security, countries must glean insights from information, understand trade-offs among policy choices, and establish institutional mechanisms to support execution. Given the potential impact of shortfalls, ensuring access to water is rapidly becoming a challenge that could define our times.

Safe Water Availability Status in Tanzania: Tanzania has more than 37% water resources than Uganda and almost three times more renewable water than Kenya, but despite the availability of water resources in abundance, communities in both rural and urban Tanzania face severe water shortage.  The rural communities in Tanzania face water security risks in terms of both the availability and water quality, which further impacts the health and the socio-economic development of the people and the region. Though there have been investments made towards the improvement of water access and technological interventions to improve water quality, the situation has not improved much, which could be attributed to poor management systems and lack of willingness to adapt to new processes both by the local administration and the communities.

Another factor that affects water shortage in Tanzania, is the population explosion that has occurred between 1967 to 2012 (the population has tripled from 12.3 million to 44.9 million). 70% of the increase has happened in rural areas, thereby adding pressure to the local water bodies in the rural region. Furthermore, reports suggest that access to drinking water coverage increased by only 1% between 1990 to 2015. Data from The World Bank also reiterates that population growth has led to water stress in the country and the average volume of renewable fresh water per capita per year in Tanzania has declined by 80% since 1962.

The figure below represents the service coverage of water sources in Rural Tanzania from 1990 to 2015.

These facts highlight the importance of formulating water sector strategies that address the needs of the current and future population. The proposed project seeks to improve access to safe water in rural Tanzania through the establishment of community based safe drinking water centers. The project will be implemented in Kahama Rural District, Shinayana Region, Tanzania over a period of 2 and a half years.

Section 2. Project Delivery & Activities

Project Goal: The project aims to establish a sustainable model for enhancing access to safe drinking water in Kahama Rural District, Shinayana Region, through a community based water management system.

Project Objectives:

• • To develop community based safe drinking water plans for the identified project wards in Kahama Rural District, Shinayana Region.
  • To strengthen the local institutions and to build the capacity of community groups to enhance clean water access in the identified project site.
  • To establish community owned safe drinking water centers and improve local infrastructure to enhance clean water supply in project wards.

Project Approach: The project is based on the principles of Participatory Development, and will involve the communities right from the initial stages so as to develop a strong foundation and to inculcate ownership of the project. The following stages of participatory development projects will be utilized during project implementation.

• • Research: During this phase, we shall involve relevant stakeholders to get all the information related to water issues. We will be conducting meetings and interviews of local community members, water associations, local government authorities and other CSOs working in the sector.
  • Design: To secure ownership and commitment of the communities, we shall develop safe water plans with the local communities. The suggested interventions for safe water supply will be more effective and will be readily adopted by the community only when the plan takes into consideration the ideas and suggestions of the local community.
  • Implementation: To ensure sustainability of the project and increase the commitment, relevance and ownership, the project will be implemented in collaboration with the local community.
  • Evaluation: The local communities will be involved for evaluation of the project as well, and based on the feedback received, necessary changes will be made. The indicators for evaluation of the project will be identified right in the beginning of the project and necessary data will be collected throughout the project duration.

Project Activities

• • Feasibility and Need Assessment: The first and foremost step will be to conduct an in depth feasibility and need assessment of the area. The assessment will be designed to provide information related to the following four aspects:
    • Water Resource Availability: Our teams shall conduct a questionnaire survey to understand the current status of water resources in the project wards. Details from this survey shall help in developing a suitable strategy to improve the status of water resources in the area. This survey will provide the following information:
      • Water availability in different seasons
      • Status of water bodies over the last 10 years
      • Available water sources in the vicinity
      • Status of bore wells, springs, ground water
      • Water Supply Systems and Management Structure
  • Community Problems and Needs assessment: Along with details of water bodies and resources, we shall also collect information related to the community attitude and water practices that are followed in the project ward. Our team will conduct both primary and secondary research to get proper understanding of water use patterns and the problems that the community faces with respect to safe drinking water. This step will help us in getting answers related to the following questions:
    • Number of families that use a particular water source.
    • Distance of water source from their homes
    • How is water collected?
    • Who is responsible for collecting water?
    • What vessels are used to collect water?
    • How is water quality tested?
    • Is water treated before consumption?
    • How much time is used in water collection?

These answers will help us in developing the most suitable strategies for improving access to safe drinking water.

• • Water Quality Testing: Our teams will be collecting water samples from various sources to assess the quality of water. Parameters that will be tested include temperature, pH, turbidity, salinity, nitrates and phosphates along with the presence of microorganisms and toxic chemicals (pesticides/herbicides etc.)in the water.
  • Assessment of Institutions involved in water distribution and management: We shall also collect information pertaining to the distribution and management of water. This will be done to get an understanding of the supply chain and service delivery mechanisms.
  • Assessment of Capacity of local communities: Considering the project will utilize the local communities in project implementation, it will be important for us to understand the attitude and the capacities of the local communities.
  • Development of Community Safe Water Plan: All the data collected in the above steps will be used to develop Community Safe Water Plans. The community safe water plan will be very specific to meet the requirements of each ward and will be developed after consulting with all relevant stakeholders. We shall conduct Focus Group Discussions to develop site specific safe water plans. The safe water plans will suggest measures/interventions to improve water availability, access and the quality of water. Following aspects will be covered in the community safe water plan:
    • Interventions to improve water availability- Maintenance of bore wells, recharge of underground aquifers, infrastructure development, installation of rainwater harvesting structures, build Wells etc.
    • Interventions to improve water quality- Treatment of water at the source, treatment of water at distribution site, treatment of water at household level, solar disinfection, or flocculants, to make drinking water safe.
    • Interventions to improve water distribution and management: Training of local authorities, capacity building of local communities, improvement in infrastructure, involvement of private players, collection of water fees etc.
  • Strengthening local institutions: One of the most important steps of the project will be to mobilize the communities and make them aware about the importance of drinking uncontaminated water. Towards achieving this objective, the following activities will be undertaken:
    • Stakeholder awareness generation: Awareness generation is a key activity towards achieving project success. Community members will adopt safe drinking water practices only after they understand the implications of consuming contaminated water. Through the use of  Audio- Visual material our community coordinators shall sensitise local communities on the importance of consuming uncontaminated water and ways to treat water to make it suitable for consumption.  Short movies on safe drinking water shall also be shown in schools and community meetings to inculcate the habit of drinking clean and safe water.
    • Formation of a Community Level Water Use/Management Group: A local institution in the form of a Community Level Water Use/Management Group will be institutionalised in all the wards. The institution will have representatives of all the stakeholder groups. The main purpose and objective of this Community Level Water Use/Management Group will be to ensure that all the households in the ward have access to safe drinking water and all the households practice clean drinking practices. This will be achieved through the following:
      • Community meetings: Through a series of community meetings we will be institutionalizing an institution/or strengthen existing local institutions.
      • Selection of office bearers: Our team will help in selection of office bearers to carry out the activities of the water management group smoothly. We shall ensure that women representatives are amongst the office bearers.
      • Finalizing roles of office bearers: Roles and responsibilities of the office bearers and all the members will be discussed and finalized in meetings.
  • Capacity building of Community members: The selected members of the local water institution will be trained on various aspects of water treatment and supply. Training will be given on the following aspects:
    • Water quality testing
    • Treatment methods for improving water quality at households
    • Use of low cost solutions for improving water quality
    • Recharge of underground aquifers
    • Creating awareness amongst the communities on water conservation
    • Installation of domestic Rainwater Harvesting Structure
    • Monitoring and evaluation of the water supply system
    • Operating solar powered rural water supply system
  • Infrastructure Development to ensure safe and clean water: Depending on the water availability and the level of contamination, development of infrastructure will be done to improve water quality in the project site, in collaboration with the local government authorities. Some of the infrastructural measures that will be suggested to the local authorities to enhance water quality and availability include:
    • Modification and extension of the facilities for reverse osmosis water treatment system, including pre-filtering and raw water gravity feeder tanks.
    • Modification of existing boreholes and linking them with an accurate pumping system.
    • Drilling of new shallow boreholes.
    • Installation of a telemetric monitoring system to ensure remote follow up of the entire potable water production and distribution.
    • Selection of water treatment and water supply operators
    • Installation of domestic Rainwater Harvesting Structures.
  • Establishment of Community Owned Safe Water Centers: With the support from the locals we will also help in setting up a safe drinking water center. This center will be operated and managed by the Community Level Water Use/Management Group. The center will be equipped with the following:
    • Bore Well
    • Water tank
    • Rainwater harvesting structure/tank
    • Solar powered water purifier
    • Water Testing laboratory
    • Water ATM for water supply

This center shall cater to the following needs of the community:

• • Testing water quality of household water being used.
  • Providing safe and drinking water to the community.
  • Helping community members in installing home based treatment equipment.
  • Organizing quarterly community level training and awareness sessions on the use of drinking water and maintaining sanitation and hygiene systems.

All the services offered at the center, shall be availed by the community members against a fixed service fee. The fees for each of the services will be suggested by the community members themselves and the purpose of the fees, wil be to help in the maintenance of the center.

Section 3.Sustainability and Monitoring

Sustainability: The project will be implemented in collaboration with the local authorities to ensure long term impact. Furthermore, as the project is built on a participatory approach and the community members have been involved in  each and every stage of implementation, they will be in a very comfortable position to sustain the project after we exit from the project site. The formation of the Community Level Water Use/Management Group will ensure that the communities continue to consume clean water for cooking and drinking purposes. Our teams will continue to support the Community Level Water Use/Management Group in managing the water center and also will provide them with technical guidance and training as and when required.

Monitoring: The project will be monitored by the senior project staff throughout the implementation. The project manager will be supervising the field team during the data collection and analysis. The Community Level Water Use/Management Group will monitor the project against pre-decided indicators and as per the quarterly deliverables. The Progress reporting will be done on the Management Information System (MIS). The completion report will be prepared at the end of the Project and sent to the Donor agency and also to the local government.

Section 4. Budget along with the duration