Sustainability of Demand Responsive Approaches to Rural Water Supply: The Case of Kerala

Andrés, Luis Alberto; Deb, Saubhik; Gambrill, Martin P.; Giannone, Elisa; Joseph, George; Kannath, Pramod; Kumar, Manish; Many, Rajesh; Muwonge, Abdu

doi:10.1596/1813-9450-8025

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 5 publications

(5 reference statements)

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“…An important factor limiting access to safe water is the poor sustained functionality of water supply interventions [5,6]. Interventions that require financial contributions from users have been shown to increase water source lifespan [7]. However, in some rural settings, these approaches are not always enough to make a community water supply sustainable [8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-cost domestic rainwater harvesting in rural southeast Madagascar: A process and outcome evaluation

Kelly,

Tsilahatsy,

Carnot

et al. 2023

PLOS Water

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In settings where communities rely on unimproved water sources, household rainwater harvesting (HRWH) may improve the quality and quantity of water available. This research presents results from a two-year controlled before-and-after study that evaluated the impact of low-cost HRWH on household water collection habits, hygiene practices and prevalence of childhood diarrhoea in rural Madagascar. The study assessed system functionality, water quality and the acceptability of requesting household financial investment (16–20 USD). Surveys were administered to enrolled intervention households (n = 138) and control households (n = 276) at baseline and endline. Water quality tests at endline compared microbial contamination in a sub-sample of HRWH systems (n = 22) and public water sources (n = 8). Difference-in-difference analyses were used to compare changes in outcomes between study arms at baseline and endline. At endline 111 (75%) of systems were functional with an average age of 1.25 years. Microbial contamination was 39.3 TTC/100ml in community water sources compared with 23.3 TTC/100ml in the HRWH systems (coef: -16.0, 95CI: -37.3 to 5.2, p = 0.133). 85 (57%) of households completed their repayment plans while remaining households owed on average 3.7 USD. There was weak evidence to suggest that intervention households collected more water per capita day than controls (adj coefficient: 3.45; 95CI: -2.51 to 9.41, p = 0.257). Intervention households had 11% higher absolute risk of owning a handwashing station compared against controls (95CI: 0.00 to 0.23; p = 0.06). There was no evidence of differences in ownership of soap or prevalence of childhood diarrhoea between study arms. Overall, operation and maintenance of the systems remained high, users demonstrated willingness to pay, and there was weak evidence that water provision at the household increased domestic consumption. However, the systems did not provide contaminant-free water. We conclude that HRWH using low-cost, locally available materials can increase household access to water in areas reliant on limited communal water sources.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Low-cost domestic rainwater harvesting in rural southeast Madagascar: A process and outcome evaluation

Kelly,

Tsilahatsy,

Carnot

et al. 2023

PLOS Water

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Interventions promoting uptake of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) technologies in low‐ and middle‐income countries: An evidence and gap map of effectiveness studies

Chirgwin

Cairncross

Zehra

et al. 2021

Campbell Systematic Reviews

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Background Lack of access to and use of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) cause 1.6 million deaths every year, of which 1.2 million are due to gastrointestinal illnesses like diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections like pneumonia. Poor WASH access and use also diminish nutrition and educational attainment, and cause danger and stress for vulnerable populations, especially for women and girls. The hardest hit regions are sub‐Saharan Africa and South Asia. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 calls for the end of open defecation, and universal access to safely managed water and sanitation facilities, and basic hand hygiene, by 2030. WASH access and use also underpin progress in other areas such as SDG1 poverty targets, SDG3 health and SDG4 education targets. Meeting the SDG equity agenda to “leave none behind” will require WASH providers prioritise the hardest to reach including those living remotely and people who are disadvantaged. Objectives Decision makers need access to high‐quality evidence on what works in WASH promotion in different contexts, and for different groups of people, to reach the most disadvantaged populations and thereby achieve universal targets. The WASH evidence map is envisioned as a tool for commissioners and researchers to identify existing studies to fill synthesis gaps, as well as helping to prioritise new studies where there are gaps in knowledge. It also supports policymakers and practitioners to navigate the evidence base, including presenting critically appraised findings from existing systematic reviews. Methods This evidence map presents impact evaluations and systematic reviews from the WASH sector, organised according to the types of intervention mechanisms, WASH technologies promoted, and outcomes measured. It is based on a framework of intervention mechanisms (e.g., behaviour change triggering or microloans) and outcomes along the causal pathway, specifically behavioural outcomes (e.g., handwashing and food hygiene practices), ill‐health outcomes (e.g., diarrhoeal morbidity and mortality), nutrition and socioeconomic outcomes (e.g., school absenteeism and household income). The map also provides filters to examine the evidence for a particular WASH technology (e.g., latrines), place of use (e.g., home, school or health facility), location (e.g., global region, country, rural and urban) and group (e.g., people living with disability). Systematic searches for published and unpublished literature and trial registries were conducted of studies in low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs). Searches were conducted in March 2018, and searches for completed trials were done in May 2020. Coding of information for the map was done by two authors working independently. Impact evaluations were critically appraised according to methods of conduct and reporting. Systematic reviews were critically appraised using a new approach to assess theory‐based, mixed‐methods evidence synthesis. Results There has been an enormous growth in impact evaluations and systematic reviews of WASH ...

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Financing and design innovation in rural domestic rainwater harvesting in Madagascar

Chaplin¹,

Legge

2019

Waterlines

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Rural water supply interventions in low-resource settings oftensuffer from poor functionality. The use of technologies and financing approaches, that are out of step with the communities that they target, are primary drivers of this breakdown in supply. This paper describes a pilot study from south-east Madagascar that provides rural households with access to a water source at the home through the sale of rainwater harvesting systems. Results from the pilot show that households were prepared to pay a significant contribution towards establishing a household water supply despite being located in a low-resource, water-abundant region. Over a payback period of six months, zero households defaulted on loans that covered 57 per cent of the costs for materials and transport. Water quality tests demonstrated that the systems were capable of providing water with low levels of microbial contamination (median CFU/100 ml = 7). High levels of adherence to operation and maintenance schedules suggest that people were capable and motivated to maintain and use their systems.

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Sustainability of Demand Responsive Approaches to Rural Water Supply: The Case of Kerala

Cited by 3 publications

References 5 publications

Low-cost domestic rainwater harvesting in rural southeast Madagascar: A process and outcome evaluation

Low-cost domestic rainwater harvesting in rural southeast Madagascar: A process and outcome evaluation

Interventions promoting uptake of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) technologies in low‐ and middle‐income countries: An evidence and gap map of effectiveness studies

Financing and design innovation in rural domestic rainwater harvesting in Madagascar

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