Morogoro, TZ – Water project – 2 Oct 2013

The construction works for Magubike water supply project that commenced in January 2013 is now 98% complete.  The project has been implemented by Sanitation And Water Action (SAWA) under the supervision of Winrock International and Kilosa District council. SAWA has worked very closely with Magubike village leadership and community members in all stages of construction for ownership enhancement.

The completed activities include:

• Organize and oversee the construction of Magubike piped water Scheme
• Organize the social inclusion for implementation and management of water scheme
• Evaluate the water scheme 4 months after completion of construction work

The results are:

• Rehabilitated existing water facilities
• Constructed new water facilities
• Trained water supply project management committee

As part of capacity enhancement in the community, SAWA has used available skills and experiences within Magubike community to support implementation as well as to create employment opportunities while providing technical knowledge for operation and maintenance of water scheme.

To continue building capacity and enhance peer support within district SAWA has engaged a community trained artisan, from a previously supported village of Mvumi, who has performed good work as a role model for supporting construction work.

Magubike water project is serving over 5,867 people in ten sub-villages with access to clean and safe water service. The project is managed and run by trained Water Users Association to make sure that the service is available as per project expectation.

Rehabilitation of existing concrete water tank with the capacity of 90m3 on ground has been successfully completed. This activity involved removing the inside and outside surfaces of the tank and applying three coats with a strong cement sand ratio (1:1) blended with water proof cement to accommodate water valves, ensure leakage free. The tank had only one pipe used as inlet and outlet. A new pipe was fitted to function as an outlet. Old flow control chambers were demolished and new ones constructed.

Despite the challenges faced during trenching the community managed to complete digging trenches for approximately 5km of main pipes and distribution networks of approximately 13km.  The trenching was under the supervision of SAWA plumbers who ensured the required depth of 1m to 1.2 meter when crossing the road. All pipe work has been accomplished. Polly pipes crossing rivers in Magubike were protected by fitting GS sleeves to avoid any external damage that could be caused by human activities or flooding during rainy season. This task was accomplished by SAWA engineer who worked closely with trained community plumbers in Magubike.

Five existing shallow wells had their old hand pumps replaced with Rope pumps, which are more cost effective for investment and operation. The pumps were installed using a trained technician by Winrock International.

Cattle trough with 7x2m (double troughs) has been completed and tested, however it is not in full operational as the livestock keepers and WUA are  finalizing the management along with payment modalities. Also the livestock keepers requested to reduce trough depth. It was agreed that their cash contribution will be used to improve the structure.

Water system  testing was done after connection of electricity, where the pump was installed and water pumped to the tank. This event was witnessed by engineers from Winrock International, SAWA and community. Full testing to all water points was done by SAWA with WUA, Village Government and community.

Apart from construction works SAWA has also managed to conduct all required community meetings. Community members participated in the construction work under leadership of their sub village chairpersons who were managed by the village chairperson.

Training of Magubike WUA was divided into three main parts.  First one was general project operation and maintenance, followed by second training which was specific for financial management for WUA executive committee and village government leaders; third training was technical that covered pump operation and maintenance along with pipeline monitoring and maintenance that is managed by community plumbers.

One meeting has been organized as part of monitoring after commissioning of the project to the Water Users Association (WUA) and operating for one month. This is to enhance capacity of community to manage and report on their project.

Also the meeting will enable the community members to measure their performance against agreed targets of implementation. Members expressed their gratitude to iWASH, Winrock International and SAWA for being able to provide this crucial service to community.  Close supervision is done with WUA treasurer to be able to develop a good financial report. Monthly monitoring will be done for four months before evaluation then SAWA will make two more visits.

In the course of implementation, SAWA learned some lessons that could be an input to improvement of future projects enhancing sustainability;

While mobilizing community to contribute cash, monitoring should be also done to keep records of number of families involved i.e. get the list of the members and ensure reports are shared for building trust among community members.

Community contribution is entirely used for project capital investment in their respective points e.g. DP, Cattle trough, this practice is good however the gap felt is that WUA remains with nothing for startup water fund that could help them to set up project management system such as purchasing of books of accounts, setting up an office, opening of bank account.

It is advised in the future projects to include all these requirements as part of project cost for community contributions.

It is advised to Winrock to facilitate refresher trainings for supported community water projects; this enhances capacity and confidence especially on financial management and reporting. This has been learned from M&E visits made by SAWA to Mvumi project among others.