User:Mschiffler/sandbox3

Ireland: Water and Sanitation
Data
Water coverage (broad definition)	58%
Sanitation coverage (broad definition)	54%
Continuity of supply (%)	Mostly intermittent
Average urban water use (l/c/d)	n/a
Average urban domestic water and sewer bill for 20m3	n/a
Share of household metering	Low
Non-revenue water	50%
Share of collected wastewater treated	n/a
Annual investment in WSS	n/a
Share of self-financing by utilities	Low to zero
Share of tax-financing	Low
Share of external financing	High
Institutions
Decentralization to municipalities	Yes (municipality-owned regional utilities)
National water and sanitation company	None
Water and sanitation regulator	Yes (NWASCO)
Responsibility for policy setting	Minister for Local Government and Housing
Sector law	Yes
Number of service providers	10 Commercial Utilities (urban areas)

Access

In 2004 only 58% of the population of Zambia had access to an improved source of water supply and 55% had access to adequate sanitation. Concerning water supply, there is a stark contrast between urban areas (90% access) and rural areas (40% access). For sanitation, access rates are similar for urban (59%) and rural (52%) areas. In urban areas, only 41% have access to water connections in their house or yeard and 49% rely on water kiosks and standpipes. Concerning sanitation, only 29% are connected to sewers while 30% are served by septic tanks or improved houeshold-level latrines. While these figures are low, they are actually higher than the average access in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Lack of access to water and sanitation has significant negative social impacts, in particular on girls and women who are often in charge of collecting water for their villages and homes – sometimes walking extremely long distances to do so. After that girls are too tired to come back home and concentrate on education.

Water resources

Unlike many other countries in the region Zambia has more than adequate water resources. The main problem is not availability of water resources, but inadequate access to improved sources of water supply.

The annual rainfall averages between 1400 mm in the north and gradually declines to 700 mm in the south. The country is rich in rivers, such as the transboundary Zambezi and lakes Tanganyika, Mweru and Kariba. It is estimated that only 1.5% of the annual renewable water resources are being used at present. There are significant regional differences across the country with regard to place and time when water is available. Also groundwater availability is unevenly distributed. During the dry season water resources may be scarce, especially in the southern part of the country.

Responsibility for water supply and sanitation

Policy

The Ministry of Local Government and Housing is in charge of sector policies. Within the Ministry the Department of Infrastructure and Support Services (DISS) is responsible for water supply and sanitation infrastructure planning and resource mobilization. DISS has established a specific Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Unit (RWSSU) in 2003 and shortly thereafter also a unit for peri-urban water supply and sanitation.

Regulation

Economic regulation of water supply and sanitation services is the task of the National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO). It oversees tariff adjustments, minimum service levels, financial projection and investment planning and corporate governance. NWASCO has made “significant progress in benchmarking, reporting and engaging users” despite being “underfunded and understaffed”. However, its effectiveness remains limited, among others because “the mechanisms for enforcing regulatory rules remain unclear”. (IPC) NWASCO's lean structure is augmented by Water Watch Groups and Part Time Inspectors who monitor the quality of service on the ground.

According to GTZ, NWASCO is so successful that it “can serve as a role model for other countries in the region”. (GTZ p. 22)

NWASCO reports to the Ministry of Energy and Water Development, not to the Ministry of Local Government and Housing that is in charge of sector policy. (GTZ p. 23)

Service provision

By law service provision is a responsibility of local authorities. However, most of them have formed regional commercial utilities to which they delegate service provision. In 2006, ten commercial utilities, each covering several municipalities and owned by the local authorities, provided water services to 86% of the urban population with access to improved water supply. (WB) An 11th utility is expected to start operating in 2009 in Luapula. Often the utilities were established without further capital leaving them hampered in terms of operational sustainability. The capacity of the utilities differs considerably. For example, the regulator ranked the Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) 9th of the 10 utilities in terms of performance in 2005. (WB)

There are also 6 private schemes that are run by commercial entities that supply water and sanitation services to their employees as a fringe benefit. These are owned and run by companies whose core business is not water supply.

Service provision in the Copperbelt of Zambia has changed hands many times before finally being entrusted to three commercial utilities in the area in 2008. After the collapse of ZCCM the responsibility of water supply and sanitation service provision to these areas was entrusted in the Asset Holding Company-Mining Municipal services-AHC-MMS for continuity purposes. In December 2005, Nkana Water and Sewerage Company took over the supply of water and sanitation to the said mining areas, pending their transfer to the respective CUs. Although this was a temporal arrangement, it meant that a given area or town had more than one service provider.

History and recent developments

1989: Begin of urban water and sanitation sector reforms through commercialization of utilities with the aim of full cost recovery. Creation of a commercial utility for Lusaka.

1991: New democratic government

Throughout the 1990s: Creation of 9 more regional utilities owned by local authorities during the 1990s, accompanied by a process of tariff rationalization.

1994: National Water Policy approved by Cabinet. Its seven principles are 1) Separation of water resources management from water supply and sanitation. 2) Separation of regulatory and executive functions 3) Devolution of authority to local authorities and private enterprises. 4) Achievement of full cost recovery for the water supply and sanitation services in the longrun. 5) Humanresources development leading to more effective institutions. 6) The use of technologies more appropriate to local conditions. 7) Increased budget spending to the sector.

1997: Water Supply and Sanitation Act passed. It foresees the creation of a regulatory agency (NWASCO) and a Devolution Trust Fund (DTF) as a financing vehicle.

2000: National Water Supply and Sanitation Council (NWASCO) becomes operational

2004: Establishment of the Devolution Trust Fund (DTF)

2005: A management contract with an international service provider was not renewed

January 2008: At least 13 people in Mufulira in northern Zambia were admitted to hospital after drinking water alleged to have been contaminated by the nearby Mopani Copper Mines. Residents are afraid to drink tap water and are collecting water from shallow wells or nearby streams. Mopani Copper Mines said the water used at its plant was treated before re-entering the water system. A similar water contamination affected nearby Chingola in 2006.

Financial aspects

Tariffs and cost recovery

Urban tariffs for domestic users are set according to the category of housing (low, medium and high costs) for purposes of cross-subsidization. (IPC)

Tariffs were increased substantially since 1992 (between twofold and eightfold in real terms depending on the utility). (IPC) Financial viability in the sector has improved with six of the nine licensed commercial utilities operating in Zambia reaching operational cost coverage by the end of 2006.(NWASCO) However, there is a "continuance of a low tariff regime" (WB 2006)

The regulator is financed through a 1-2% surcharge on water tariffs.

The share of household expenditures for water among the poor varied from 2.5% to 9.9% in 2002-03 (Dagdeviren, quoted in IPC). More than 60% of poor households paid more than 3% of their expenditures on water.

Investments

Between 1998 and 2002 investments in water and sanitation were only a fraction (2% to 12%) of what had been programmed. (IPC)

Financing

The government has established a Devolution Trust Fund (DTF) to provide financing to increase access in poor urban areas through the use of low-cost technologies. Until 2006 DTF financed water kiosks that provided access to clean water to 120,000 people at a cost of 643,455 Euro. The DTF assigns its funds based on proposals received from water utilities. (GTZ)

Efficiency

The level of non-revenue water in the commercial utilities operating in urban areas was estimated at about 50% in 2006.(IPC) Benchmarking has shown that performance indicators for utilities have constantly increased since NWASCO began its benchmarking exercise. (GTZ)

External cooperation

World Bank through a US$ 23m Water Sector Performance Improvement Project approved in 2006.

In Central Province the African Development Bank (AfDB) has been supporting the seven local authorities in the institutional reforms and infrastructure rehabilitation. (NWASCO)

The Eastern Province, which currently has only Chipata operating as a commercial utility, is receiving support from the German Government to commercialise the service delivery in the rest of the towns in the province. Southern and North-Western WSC have also benefited from German support in terms of infrastructural and technical advice.

GTZ supported the establishment of the regulator.

DANIDA, the EU and JICA

NGOs, including CARE

UNICEF in cooperation with the Maureen Mwanawasa Community Initiative, the wife of the late President Mwanawasa.

External links

• NWASCO

References

Source: International Poverty Center Policy Research Brief September 2008: Reforming without Resourcing: The Case of Urban Water Supply in Zambia.