Institutional, technical and financial sustainability of rural piped drinking water supply on a freshwater island: Case study of Likoma Island, Malawi

Abstract

The operation and maintenance of rural water supply for communities in low-income countries are challenged because of both technical, social, and environmental factors and legal and institutional frameworks (Brikké & Bredero, 2003). The financial and economic dimensions, principal stakeholders and their roles cut across these factors. One key contextual constraint in rural water supply is geography, for both mainland and island communities. Managing water supplies can range from the involvement of grassroots volunteer communities to full professionalization of service delivery (Hutchings et al., 2015). Existing research on drinking water for remote island communities has focused on small island developing states, predominantly in the South Pacific Ocean region, where communal stored