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>View discussions about this entry Country: India
Organization: Administrative Staff College of India
Field of Work - Water
Year the initative began (yyyy) - 1993
Positioning in the Mosaic of solutions
What is your signature innovation, your new idea, in one sentence? - 24/7 piped water, with demand management, is not only safer but more sustainable and more affordable than intermittent piped supply or "free" public fountains.
Describe your innovation. What makes your idea unique and different than others doing work in the field? - This program is innovative because it promotes adoption of a fundamental policy still virtually ignored throughout India and most of South Asia. The innovation is also unique because, while many proposals help people cope with symptoms of bad water supply, this innovation promotes a policy change that addresses root causes of faulty water systems and will lead to safe, sustainable and affordable water in urban areas throughout India and most of the developing world. It recognizes that current policies of high water subsidies reward the rich, penalize the poor, and inevitably lead to poor maintenance and massive waste of scarce water resources. Furthermore, through more efficient use of existing resources it dramatically improves service to the poor at no additional cost to the government. Funds currently wasted in subsidizing the rich can be used to provide connections for the poor and even the rich will benefit because they will no longer need to provide in-home storage, pumps, and treatment.
Delivery Model: How do you implement your innovation and apply it to the challenge/problem you are addressing? - Through raising awareness among key stakeholders regarding the technical, economic, social and public health advantages of implementing continuously pressurized (24/7) water supply.
A key step in raising awareness will be to implement a demonstration project in a poor community in Hyderabad near our college where we will conduct controlled studies of the environmental, health. and economic impacts of 24/7 water. This step is still critical because too many still look on 24/7 water as a needless luxury, unsuited to the needs of India. How do you plan to expand your innovation? - This policy innovation is now being expanded by encouraging and publicizing pilot projects that demonstrate the advantages of continuously pressurized (24/7) water. Controlled studies will soon be conducted comparing the health and welfare of families living in these pilot areas to similar families living in adjacent areas receiving water through typical intermittent (2 hour per day) supply systems. Activities of this type are critical because the myth that 24/7 won't work in India is so entrenched that a major public demonstration is required in order to build trust among key stakeholders.
Study tours will then be conducted through these pilot communities enabling stakeholders from throughout the country to understand the relevant benefits and costs of different water supply systems. Do you have any existing partnerships, and if so, how do you create them? - What type of partnerships to do need? Yes, the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) is a partner with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Indian Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) in encouraging and providing technical assistance for 24/7 water. MoUD also provides finance for improvements for urban water supply, provided the municipality makes major improvements in cost recovery and other critical reforems. In addition, ASCI is also developing a partnership with the School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh to conduct a controlled study of the potential health and welfare benefits associated with 24/7 water supply. We have also initiated a dialog with Duke University and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation and both organizations appear interested.
Provide one sentence describing your impact/intended impact. - The most significant impact will be to dramatically increase access (particularly by the urban poor) to safe, sustainable, and affordable water.
How many people have you served or plan to serve? - We have provided training on the benefits of 24/7 water to over a 600 local government officials, as well as representatives of NGOs and private industry. Many of these trainees have gone on to promote the implementation of 24/7 water with their own local water boards and municipal councils and several have already implemented pilot projects.
Please list any other measures of the impact of your innovation? - The immediate impact will be easier access, particularly for the urban poor, to obtain safe and affordable drinking water. This in turn will lead to significant reductions in water borne disease. Over time the reduction in morbidity and mortality, as well as reduced time required for fetching water, will lead to increased school attendance (particularly by young girls) and greater productivity. Reduction in chronic childhood diarrhea can even lead to increased IQ levels due to better absorption of vital nutrients.
Exactly who are the beneficiaries of your innovation? - The urban poor are the primary beneficiaries, although upper income groups also benefit from reduced coping costs. The poor benefit by having direct household connections, not only giving them access to safe water but also reducing the time required for obtaining that water by two hours/day or more. The upper income citizens will benefit by no longer having to provide in home storage or pumps & treatment systems or the electricity to run them. Check out: "Hidden Costs" http://www.IndiaWaterPortal.org/blog/index.php/2008/02/09/on-the-hidden-cost-of-free-water/
How is your initiative financed (or how do you expect your initiative will be financed)? - Initially the capital costs will be financed through government grants and loans while the operation and maintenance costs will be financed through cost recovery using volumetric tariffs on the consumers. In most cases, the poor will also receive some subsidies to defray the costs of installing household connections and water meters. Over time the policy will also seek to promote recovery of capital costs from the consumers for water supply although there will still be opportunity for some cross subsidies to provide protection for the poorest citizens.
Provide information on your finances and organization: - Current Annual budget (2007 fiscal year)?
Annual budget for the past 1-2 years (2006 and 2005)? Annual revenue generated? What are your current sources and/or streams of revenue? Do you currently have sources of earned income (examples?); If not, why? My personal expenses are covered by a stipend from the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI). ASCI, in turn is a fee supported institution, charging for its training programs and technical assistance as well as receiving some contracts from the Indian Ministry of Urban Development, some state and local governments, and donor organizations like UNDP and the World Bank Institute. Support from ASCI is strictly designed as catalytic support with the major share of funding ultimately coming from the beneficiaries themselves. What is the potential demand for your innovation? - How do you estimate this demand?
Number of staff (full-time, part-time, volunteers): As demonstrated by success in China, Southeast Asia and parts of Africa, continuously pressurized (24/7) water can be safe, sustainable and affordable even in low income countries where there is a scarcity of water. With this in mind, virtually every citizen in every city in India is a potential customer. Currently less than 1% of the Indian urban population receives 24/7 water supply, so 280 million people would be potential beneficiaries. What are the main barriers to financial sustainability? - Politicians commonly use subsidized water as political patronage and fail to direct subsidies to those most in need. The price for water is therefore kept artificially low, in the name of protecting the poor, even though most of the poor are not even connected to the water lines. This current policy of artificially low prices encourages waste, bankrupts the water utilities and penalizes the very people it was intended to support.
What is the origin of this innovation? Tell us your story. - While on leave from USEPA, visiting Hanoi in 1993, I watched thousands of people waiting for their daily hour of water to carry it from the streets up into their homes. I then calculated the time involved and assessed the quality of this water and soon recognized the tremendous waste of resources involved. Over the next few months I contacted donors and water utilities throughout Asia and concluded, along with many of their experts, that continuously pressurized (24/7) water was not only safer but actually cheaper (when all costs were included) than the typical poorly maintained intermittent supply systems. During the following years while employed as the Asian Urban Environmental Advisor for USAID I then found that the the primary barrier to change was not Technical or Financial feasibility but Social and Political Feasibility.
From 1993 to 2003 major progress was made in China, throughout Southeast Asia and even parts of Africa in introducing 24/7 water but India and Pakistan remained extremely resistent to this policy change. When I returned to India in 2004 I found only one city in India (Trivandrum) with 24/7 supply and that one was not financially sustainable. Although USAID still did not fully recognize the importance of this critical policy change, friends at the Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) did recognize its importance and we began closely collaborating to promote 24/7 water throughout India. In 2006 my wife and I moved to Hyderabad and joined ASCI. Please provide a personal bio. Note this may be used in Changemakers marketing material - Retired U.S. Foreign Service Officer and former U.S. EPA Policy Analyst with 17 years experience working in developing countries on sustainable solutions to urban environmental problems.
Contact Information:
David Foster
Urban Environmental Advisor Administrative Staff College of India (Education, Research, and Extension) dafoster@aol.com Centre for Energy, Environment, Urban Governance and Infrastructure Administrative Staff College of India (ASCI) Bella Vista, Raj Bhavan Road Hyderabad, 500 082 India India Tel: (91) 09963922242 Website: www.asci.org.in Discussions about this entry |
"24/7 Water for All - Safe, Sustainable & Affordable"
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The proposal only deals with water supply in urban and semi-urban areas;however the majority of people live in rural areas;piped water supply is a pipe-dream for rural areas for a long time to come;the crucial issue in water supply in all areas is its purity at point of use;using narrow-mouthed vessels,POU treatment ,washing hands with soap will go a long way in improving health for ALL now and here as per WHO guide-lines for safe water.
RKRAO is right. Neither piped water supply (nor mass transit) are appropriate for very low denisty rural situations. The most rapidly growing segment of the poor, however, are already living in areas where piped water supply is actually far more cost effective and more affordable than having people carry water in containers. The only reason that having women carry water appears less expensive than building and operating a pipeline is that the analyst often fails to put any value on the woman's time.
Furthermore, once this pipeline is installed, it is usually less expensive and more effective to treat this water at the community level and protect it during distribution through provision of continuously pressurized (24/7) service than to expect the consumer to purchase and operate in-home storage, pumping and treatment systems. While POU (Point of Use) systems can be a reasonable accomodation in some situations, in many circumstances they simply become an excuse for water utilities to transfer expenses to the consumer that can be handled far more efficiently at the community level. In all circumstances I encourage you to carefully weigh the benefits and costs (including the cost of in-home treatment and the cost of a woman's time) and see what system works best for your community.
It is far more important to keep water safe, sustainable, and affordable for all than to keep the price "Cheap" for all.
Dr. Denis Byamukama
Faculty of Science
Makerere University
P. O. Box 7062
Kampala, Uganda
Tel: +256 782 519315
Current Status: Staff
Dear David,
Thanks for your innovation. After reading your postage on the barriers, and also your discussion with Brian, i realise that politicising water prices and the tendency to keep water "affordable" is widely spread. I totally agree with you that in the end it is not sustainable since the service providers just cannot cope. In Uganda, where we have small scale service providers managing water in a number of urban areas, the water tariff has been static despite increasing prices of water production inputs including an ever increasing power/energy tariff. These private water operators are struggling and a few of them have already gone under!
We are at a stage where we would like to engage the politicians/policy makers to let them know the magnitude of the problem and the likely consequences of their interference into tariff setting and general utility management.
From your experience, what do you think is the best way to engage the politicians and other policy makers?
May be a last one, what are the prices of water in towns where there is no 24/7 compared to where this innovation is being implemented?
Regards
Hi Denis, thanks for your comments and questions. While the current system, characterized by high subsidies and limited access, is pervasive throughout South Asia, it is by no means unique to this region. Politicians throughout the world often prefer to compete based on the size of subsidy rather than the quality of service.
India, however, has recently made a major step forward by announcing that future grants must be based on improvements in service and that the National Government will no longer bail out profligate cities that provide unsustainable subsidies for the rich while the poor are not even connected to the water lines. Henceforth, grant recipient cities will have to recover the sum of operating and maintenance costs from the sum of all beneficiaries. Cross subsidies for the benefit of the poor will still be encouraged but general subsidies used to buy votes from the entire population will no longer be feasible.
It is critical that politicians and the general public alike understand that the real COST of water includes not just the PRICE reflected in the monthly water tariff but all of the in-home costs of transport, storage, pumping and treatment. Thus in some cities with safe, reliable 24/7 service, the PRICE may be a little higher but the COST is always lower than in intermittent supply systems even where the PRICE is heavily subsidized. Furthermore, as we have all seen, when the price is set too low, there is little incentive for conservation and never enough money to repair the leaks, much less to extend water lines into poor neighborhoods.
One of the most effective means of engaging the politicians is by working with NGOs to help raise awareness among the general public.
It is not the "price" of water but the availability, affordability, and quality of water that is most important.
Hello David,
The strategic importance of water cannot be denied. The impacts on health and productivity are so important. The ability to transform peoples' thinking with respect to the importance of water and its safe delivery are critical...than you for all you are doing in this difficult battle.
I was recently involved in a virtual forum about the use of gray water for irrigation...the forum was focused on Pakistan. One of the participants was from India and the points he made during the forum very much echoed those which you share with us.
Thank you,
Brian
Thanks Brian,
It is far more important to keep water available and affordable for all than to keep the price "Cheap" for all.
"Getting the Prices Right" is a critical step in promoting conservation and re-cycling of gray water for irrigation and other safe and efficient purposes. Unfortunately, when people think that water is "cheap" they are far less interested in conservation regardless of the number of public service campaigns.
David
Hi David,
Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question.
From my perspective I believe that the ideas about the importance of water must be understood by policy makers as well as by the common person.
If anyone thinks or believes that water is "cheap," to use your words, then there is no importance to anything about water...I trust that this is a big part of the reason that so little is done about water in general.
If we can create a new belief system focused on the importance of water then the "cost" for cleaning it is important only if the "benefits" do not meet the costs of improvement...perhaps this is a dream on my part but I trust you and others will agree it is a worthy dream.
Thanks,
Brian
Greetings from Nicaragua.
PFP often offers demonstrations on the locally produced PoU ceramic water filters in urban centers and universities around the world including the US. My opening line at these events is usually a question:
“How many of you drink water from your faucet or tap at home?”
At a training workshop in California, 60 US water professionals gathered in 2005 and their answer to my question was for me astounding: Only 20% of those present, drank water directly from their home faucet in the US. Most all of them filtered or treated it in some way or another to remove whatever problem it had, some only drink bottled water.
My point here is that there will probably never be a perfect potable water system and even improved systems like in the US still do not meet the standards of its citizens. The case is even worst in the developing world.
A 32 year old environmental Engineer from Nepal told me that he does not remember a time when he did not drink water from ceramic water filter while growing up.
I think that no matter what system is used for the world, PoU systems (including UV) have been and will continue to be a very good low cost way of assuring potable water for a family and if widely implemented could help countries meet the UNDMG.
Next time you offer a talk on water, please ask : “How many of you drink water from your faucet or tap at home?” . And let me know the results.
Peace
Ron Rivera
Ceramic Water Filter Program
pottersforpeace@yahoo.com
Member of The International Network to Promote Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage of the World Health Organization http://www.who.int/household_water/en/
"Washing one's hands of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless means to side with the powerful,
Thanks Ron,
Properly maintained POU (Point of Use) technologies have real value and can provide an important contribution while water supply systems are being upgraded. POU systems, however, are not an efficient substitute for continuously pressurized 24/7 supply with household connections. Household POU systems can not compensate when raw sewage is SUCKED into the family’s drinking water supply by a faulty water system. Nor can POU systems compensate for the need for in-home storage and pumping required when municipal water supplies are erratic and with inadequate pressure.
Regards,
David
George Washington University
Faculty
I congratulate you on your proposal. Sometimes we forget the basics and search for "new" and "innovative" ideas instead. Your "innovation" is exactly what is needed. There is far too much politicization of water. No innovation will do unless we accept the facts that: 1) there is no such thing as free water; someone has to pay, 2) depoliticization of tariffs is critical; all innovations will fail without this, 3) management is the key.
Your proposal deserves support.
Thanks Inder,
Many fail to recognize that adoption of good policies, such as cost recovery, demand management, universal service, and 24/7 service is also innovative. Even though these policies are standard practice throughout the developed world, China, and Southeast Asia, they are still virtually unknown in India and Pakistan.
Unfortunately, in South Asia in general and India in particular so many myths have grown up causing people to believe that these policies are virtually impossible "in Poor countries", "in Monsoon countries", in rapidly Urbanizing countries", etc. Under such circumstances we believe that the reintroduction and application of these policies represents a major innovation.
David
VINCENT MARK ABEDI
AMPA RESOURCES FOUNDATION, NGO IN WATER ,SANITATION,GENDER,HEALTH,ETC
AKUAPEM SOUTH DISTRICT IN EASTERN REGION –GHANA,P.O.BOX 298,NSAWAM-GHANA
(E-MAIL:abedimv@yahoo.com,amparesource@yahoo.com)
ABTSRACT
The concept of safe water and sanitation is defined by three principles: the health-related quality must be suitable ,the supply /source must be accessible and the water must constantly be available in quantities sufficient for intended use .If any one (or more) of these three element s is missing from a water services improvement programme ,providing safe water is not successfully achieved . At study in a deep rural in South Africa showed that providing small communities ,using untreated river water as their only water source, with good quality water through a piped distribution system and accessible at communal taps did not fall within our parameters of safe water. The parameters for measuring the three principles were: absence of Escherichia coil in drinking water samples: leakages in many primary ,service and main pipes leakages on stop corks ,pipes are still not buried and some are in stagnant wastewaters and culverts which needs attitudinal and behavioural changed by all people; accessibility by improving tap distances to within 200m from each households; availability by assessing whether households have at least 25 L per person per day will be achieved in WATER FOR AFRICAN CITIES . We should try that E. coils levels reduced significantly , other than that households will still consume water with E .coil numbers at non-complaint levels. Access (distance) needs to be improved from an average of 750 m from households to river source to an average of 120m to new on –tap source points. This did not result in significant increase in household quantities, which on average on remained around 18 L per person per d ay.
Thanks Vincent for your good comments.
Ironically in most Indian cities the water is treated to a fairly high standard prior to distribution but then recontaminated during distribution. The problem is that thanks to intermittent supply, high leakage rates, and the common use of illegal private suction pumps connected directly to the water mains; contaminated water, including raw sewage, is sucked directly into the household's drinking water supply. Generally it is not the failure to treat water in India but the failure to protect it after treatment that causes the biggest problems.
I would be very interested to learn if this pattern of intermittent supply (anything less than 24 hours per day) is as pervasive in South Africa as it is in India.
Regards,
David
There are already many important findings from the 24/7 Pilot Projects conducted in India including:
1) It is not sufficient to demonstrate technical and financial feasibility. There must be constant public awareness so that people fully understand the health benefits and the necessity of demand management.
2) Providing 24/7 water without first repairing the pipes and actively involving the community is a waste of time and resources.
3) There is a tremendous willingness to pay on the part of the poor, especially if they no longer have to walk long distances carrying water.
4) It is far more important to subsidize the fee for connecting to the water main than it is to subsidize the price of water. Connection costs are the biggest barrier for the poor and do nothing to promote conservation.
5) When 24/7 water is initially provided, the consumption increases excessively but when people learn to read their own meters and restrain their own use, then consumption returns to normal within a few months.
6) Everyone benefits from 24/7 water in the long run but the benefits to the poor are the most immediate because they lack in-home storage and treatment facilities.
7) 24/7 Water must be managed 24/7 AND the Community must be involved in leak detection and conservation efforts.
8) Cost Recovery actually promotes equity for without it the rich will always have their water and the poor will have none.
9) POU (Point of Use) in-home water treatment systems are no substitute for continuously pressurized 24/7 Water. POU can not compensate when raw sewage is SUCKED into the family's drinking water by a faulty water supply system.
10) It is not the "price" of water that is important but the availability, affordability and quality.
Hello David, It seems like this is a great advocacy effort. Can you give some more description of the pilot projects that you have set up? How are they doing? What has their impact been? How are you using existing resources and structures to implement your idea?
Thank you. Dana Frasz Changemakers
Thanks Dana,
First let me emphasize that while we have long encouraged pilot projects through our training and technical assistance, we have not financed any of them. Thus far within India there are at least 4 pilots worth visiting (including 1 that failed), 3 more in process and 3 more cities that have recently requested our technical and policy assistance in developing 24/7 programs. Many major cities are also now thinking of using funds under the JNNURM program to move toward 24/7 water in the future.
We are also currently planning a fully functioning Pilot Project here in Hyderabad that will provide a controlled study of the Health, Environmental, Social and Economic impacts of 24/7 water supply, with particular emphasis on benefits to the urban poor. This study will be the first of its kind, comparing two communities (both including rich and poor citizens), similar in all respects except that one will receive all of their water during a two hour period and the other will have continuously pressurized water throughout the day. In both cases the quantity of water per capita will be approximately the same except in one case quantity will be regulated by hours supplied per day and in the other, quantity will be regulated through demand management; meters, tariffs and a campaign to conserve water.
In support of this proposed study we are currently in dialog with Duke University, U. of Pittsburgh, and the Dell Foundation as well as the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Ministry of Urban Development in India. What we primarily seek from Ashoka and its advisors is recognition that 24/7 Water is a serious policy reform with major potential health, environmental, and economic benefits, particularly for the urban poor.
And, if you are wondering about that 1 project that failed, we believe it failed not on technical or financial grounds but because of insufficient attention to public awareness, something we hope to remedy in our study.
Best regards,
David
To understand the real cost of "Free" water provided to the poor check out the "Hidden Cost of Water" at the Water Portal. http://www.IndiaWaterPortal.org/blog/
Artificially low prices for water in India discourage conservation and make it impossible to maintain existing systems much less extend them into poor neighborhoods. While the rich receive highly subsidized (but often poor quality) water service, the poor are forced to walk long distances or buy water from private vendors at 10 times the prices charged to their wealthier neighbors.
Policy Makers and well meaning donors all too commonly fail to recognize that even the poor experience an "Opportunity Cost" when they must spend several hours each day gathering water for their families. While water can often be obtained for "Free" from public tankers, stand posts and fountains; and no money changes hands, there is still a very high cost to the poor. Time spent in carrying water can not be spent in school or carrying for a sick family member or in making handicrafts for sale in the market.
Please take a look at "Hidden Cost of Water" at the WaterPortal listed above and make your own estimate of the real cost of that water.
Indian cities don't have badly managed water supply systems because they are poor. They more frequently are poor because they have badly managed water systems.
As intermittent water supply systems (providing 1 to 4 hours per day) are so pervasive in India it is commonly thought that they must be cheaper to operate or require less water. In fact, once all the costs are included, these are typically the most expensive water supply systems in the world. The "hidden costs" include the Opportunity Cost of people's time, the coping costs (including household storage, pumps, electricity and treatment), and the chronic contamination of drinking water during distribution, resulting from raw sewage being sucked into the water lines.