Considering Water; Issues for the Community mobilizer
by
Phil Bartle, PhD

Training Handout

What issues should be considered when choosing water as a priority?

 This handout lists the various issues that need to be resolved if
 the community chooses a water supply facility as its priority. All
 of them are discussed in various locations throughout this water
 module. They are directed towards the mobilizer, and your work with
 the community.

 Water alone will not decrease disease, nor reduce poverty;
 A campaign of water-borne disease understanding must be included
   with water supply;
 A change in behaviour is needed to keep water pure from tap to
   mouth;
 Sanitation must be included if water is to promote health;
 People must understand why they are doing, as well as how to do it;
 A water supply is an investment not a consumer good;
 Providing water is not free;
 Myths that water should be free need to be debunked;
 Giving a community free water promotes dependency and perpetuates
   poverty;
 Communities that contribute to their water supply will more likely
   maintain it;
 Politicians must be understood by the mobilizer;
 Politicians can help empower a community but are predisposed to
   promote dependency;
 Water committees should be transparent in their decisions and
   finances;
 Communities must organize any awareness raising campaigns;
 Communities need to learn how to manage their water supplies;
 Communities must decide the appropriate sources of water;
 Communities must decide the appropriate technology for providing
   water;
 No single technology is best for every condition;
 Communities are advised to have a mix of technologies;
 Communities should calculate per capita costs of supplying water;
 Communities must decide how to recover costs;
 Communities must decide if fees or rates should be used;
 Communities must distinguish between capital costs and operating
   costs; and
 Communities must manage their own water supply facilities.

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Updated: 2003 April 13