Investigating options for self-help water supply : from field research to pilot interventions in Uganda

In sub-Saharan Africa, households and communities have taken their own initiatives to improve water-supply services by constructing and managing an estimated one million self-supply water sources. These initiatives, which may already serve around 40 million people, take many forms: a few logs across a waterhole; an earth bund around a waterhole to divert runoff; a natural spring or shallow groundwater source protected by the community; a hand-dug well constructed by a householder and shared with his/her neighbours; the widespread use of rainwater; even some cases of private individuals drilling deep boreholes for their own and neighbours'’ benefit.
In 2005 an investigation was undertaken into self-supply improvements to water supplies in south and east Uganda. It was found that as much as 39 percent of the rural population relied on self-supply sources. This field note makes recommendations on how water supply professionals can best engage with communities, and briefly describes a recently-started pilot project supporting self-supply options. It examines the strengths and drawbacks of the conventional externally-driven approach to supporting water self supply. It suggests a complementary approach, which is likely to be more sustainable because it is more responsive to on-the-ground technical, social and economic realities. This ‘new approach’ attempts to find a balance between an accessible, reliable supply of good quality water on the one hand, and affordability and good management on the other. The field note outlines the implications of such an approach for policy, and suggests steps that can be taken towards its full-scale implementation.