Sustaining the benefits of rural water supply investments: Experience from Cochabamba and Chuquisaca, Bolivia

Many rural water supply interventions in developing countries have been marked by a poor record of sustainability. Considerable progress has been made over the past several decades on the development of lower-cost technologies that are easier for communities in developing countries to maintain and also on improving project design and implementation to enhance sustainability of outcomes. Less attention has been given to the necessary and sufficient supports for water system maintenance in the postconstruction period. This study explores the contribution of various types of postconstruction support (PCS) to the sustainability of rural water supply systems in Bolivia. Using regression and matched pair statistical analyses, the effects of PCS on water system performance and user satisfaction with service are modeled. Communities that received management-oriented PCS visits from external agencies, and those whose system operators attended training workshops, had better performing systems than communities that received no such support. Engineering-oriented PCS visits to communities had no measurable impact on system functioning or user satisfaction.