This little publication was sent to me by Trisha Freeman of NGWA. It is from the Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) out of Swittzerland.
If you want to provide feedback, please email Kerstin Danert ([email protected]), the author.
Enjoy!
"She who knows others is wise. She who knows herself is enlightened." -- Unknown
"Myths of the Rural Water Supply Sector" - I think this is right on and I have little to add. They nailed perceptions I formed in my own limited experience.
Myth # 6 has so much truth to it (as do the others). So many NGOs and independents do such good work and do it well, but there is a lot of unprofessional work. I am NOT a fan of Lifewater training Americans or Canadians to take an LS 100 to go to Tanzania or El Salvador to make themselves feel good by spending their vacation drilling little wells. This undermines the capacity building in that place, reinforces "water is free, given to us by wazungu do-gooders", often leaves a bad product, and who is there to fix the pump when the crew goes back to Minnesota?
I might add (based on my observations in central Tanzania) to Myth # 7 - There is a quick fix... the observation that "quick, cheap, artisan well construction just doesn't work everywhere." Sometimes it is 100 m to water through pyroclastic piles over granite, and you just need a full-grown drilling rig run by a skilled professional. If that is the case, you may as well budget to make the most of the effort, and go beyond a hand pump installation for domestic potable use. Go ahead and put in the tank, distribution system, and place for cattle to water, and size the system to deal with the 100% population growth that will occur now that water is secure.
Posted by: Stuart | Wednesday, 02 June 2010 at 07:37 AM
Seven Myths of the Rural Water Supply Sector ... it strikes me, though I an not a water expert, the "myths" the author noted might be also applied to many, if not all, municipal water supply sectors.
My experience, at least as it relates to Arizona, is that if enough $$$ is thrown at a problem and especially if private-corporate-interest$ are permitted to be involved (usually on all sides, design, engineering, construction, regulatory) ... problem solved.
The Arizona reality is quite different though one will not normally find such a statement in our major newspapers, TV or radio outlets ... and discussion on the topic of water increasingly is being formatted and structured by those with an agenda to deny full disclosure and transparency to john q public ... why is that...?
An undisputed ingredient for all "life" and we choose to remain patently ignorant about it ... why...?
Posted by: PAUL F MILLER | Sunday, 23 May 2010 at 11:37 AM