Sustainability of Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Services under Community Management Approach: The case of six villages in Tanzania

Abstract: Abstract Community management of the rural water supply and sanitation services is considered as one of the options for achieving sustainability of the water services. International communities and donors are steering this concept. National water policy in Tanzania puts more emphasis on community participation and management of water and sanitation (WATSAN) schemes. This study on the sustainability of the rural water supply and sanitation services focused on community management and participation as one strategy, which could contribute to the sustainability of WATSAN provision. A study was conducted in six water schemes in six villages in Tanzania, four of the villages had water schemes in operation and two schemes were under construction. Data was collected from water users, water management committees and water providers. A structured questionnaire was administered to 92 water users in four water schemes in operation, focus group discussion was conducted to water management committees in six water schemes and three water providers responded to the questionnaire. Given changes and increasing diversity in the management of rural WATSAN schemes (village water committees, board of directors and public private partnership), it is apparent that community management of rural water schemes without support is not an ideal solution for achieving sustainability. It was also affirmed that to achieve a real community participation in the project is difficult. Village government leaders and water management committees were mainly involved during the planning phase and local communities during implementation. Interference by the politicians, village government leaders and inability of the water schemes to recover costs were the main problems facing water schemes. The consequence was poor performance and failure of some schemes to deliver the services. Generally, the findings lead to a subjective inference that community management of rural water schemes alone is not an ideal solution for attaining sustainability. Community management of rural WATSAN schemes is a good idea if implemented where there is demand-driven community involvement right from the beginning of the projects. Nevertheless, with the right capacity building and continuous support, community management of the rural WATSAN schemes can deliver reliable and sustainable water and sanitation services.