plan 45Villa Rosario Water and Sanitation Project

Summary

This project will provide financing for water for 58 households, sanitation financing for 40 families, and will pilot a cross-subsidization scheme for the remaining households without sanitation.

Background

Water For People has worked in the Santa Cruz area doing mainly sanitation projects with BIBOSI, the partner NGO organization, since 2000, completing seven composting latrine projects.

The municipality of San Pedro, where Villa Rosario is located, is one where Water For People is committed to working for the next five years to make a sustainable impact on coverage figures and improve local partner's capacities to manage water and sanitation projects.

Location

Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, Bolivia

Attachments

  • Villa_Ro...

Focus

Primary Focus: Drinking Water - Households
Secondary Focus: Sanitation - Households

People Getting Safe Drinking Water: 290

58 families will receive water via household tapstands with this project.

School Children Getting Water:

People Getting Sanitation: 290

40 families will receive household latrines,while the remaining 17 without sanitation will be covered through a water tariff cross-subsidization scheme.

People Getting Other Benefits: 290

All beneficiaries will participate in the health and hygiene education program with focus on improved handwashing practices.

Start Date: 2007-02-01

Completion Date: 2008-08-01

Technology Used:

The project will employ both water and sanitation technologies. The water system will include a drilled well, electric pump, elevated storage tank, and distribution line to 58 household taps.

The sanitation technology to be used is composting latrines and at least one other locally relevant option (to be decided).

Phases:

The first phase (6-8 months) includes the construction of the water system and first 40 latrines and trainings.The second phase will include the remaining latrines from the cross-subsidization.

Community Organization:

The community has already requested this intervention from their local government office, the Municipality of San Pedro. The residents of Villa Rosario will each contribute in cash and in kind to both the water and sanitation interventions. A water board will be formed to manage the collection of tariffs and basic operation and maintenance tasks.

Government Interaction:

Ancillary activities:

BIBOSI will conduct trainings in health and hygiene education with a focus on handwashing, financial management, and operations and maintenance of both water systems and latrines. Composting latrines are ecologically friendly when managed correctly, but require more training upfront than other types of latrines.

The Santa Cruz area of Bolivia is one of the few areas where composting latrines are being built. It is the goal of Water For People to introduce composting latrines as an option (among others) to communities in other parts of the country through workshops and exchange visits.

Other Issues:

In addition to the hardware and software components of this project, Water For People and BIBOSI will pilot a financing scheme to test whether or not a water tariff cross-subsidization is feasible in this area of Bolivia. Sanitation projects often fail to reach scale or 100% coverage because once heavily-subsidized interventions are over, there is no way for new families or families excluded from the original intervetion to access sanitation facilities. Funding for this project will cover the cost of the water system and 40 latrines, training in health and hygiene, operations and maintenance, and financial management. The tariff collected from the water system will cover latrines for the remaining 17 families without them.

Indicators of success include the following:
1. Functioning household tap of adequate quantity and quality in each household.
2. Community management system in place responsible for tariff collection and ongoing operations and maintenance.
3. 40 latrines constructed with project finance are completed and being used hygienically.
4. 17 latrines are built using finance captured from water tariff.
5. This model of water tariff cross-subsidization is replicated elsewhere.
6. An improvement in at least one hygiene behavior (e.g handwashing).

Maintenance Revenue:

The annual maintenance costs include monthly electricity bills ($25), a plumber's salary ($45), and the purchase of chlorine ($20). A tariff will be established that covers these operational costs as well as a surplus, which will cover remaining community members without latrines and new ones that may move into the area.

Water For People and BIBOSI will work with the local governmental office to provide technical training so that there will be a permanent source of technical support to the community once the project has ended.

Maintenance Cost: $1,080

Metrics:

Prior art before metrics

Cost: $53,610

Please see the attached budget.

Co Funding Amount: $13,660

The Municipality of San Pedro (12,000) and the community of Villa Rosario (1300.00).

Community Contribution Amount: $1,660

Each community member will contribute $20 to the water system and latrine ($20 x 58=$1160). Beyond that, it is estimated that the value of in-kind labor is $500.

Fund Requested: $39,950

Implementing Organization: Water For People and BIBOSI

Water For People is partnering with BIBOSI, a registered NGO in Bolivia, and the municipality of San Pedro. BIBOSI has 16 years of experience implementing development projects in Bolivia. Bibosi works to promote an integrated development within the local communities through health initiatives, agricultural training, training, human resources, education and strengthening of the community with the active participation of the beneficiaries.

Attachments

  • Villa_Ro...
  • 2 participants | show more

    Regarding Budget

    Thomas Palgadhmal of Watershed Organization Trust

    We appreciate your good work engaged in providing safe drinking water and construction facilities in Bolivia. What is the approximate budget for drinking water activities i.e. for bore well, electric pumps, overhead tanks and distribution pipes etc. Kindly give the details of the same. What are the electric charges (per kilowatt or...

    We appreciate your good work engaged in providing safe drinking water and construction facilities in Bolivia.

    What is the approximate budget for drinking water activities i.e. for bore well, electric pumps, overhead tanks and distribution pipes etc. Kindly give the details of the same.

    What are the electric charges (per kilowatt or monthly average charges) at your place?

    The per person cost of the drinking water project works out to US$ 103.44. What is the net per person cost of the drinking water project of the BPR assistance?

    As per the budget submitted in the application, the share of municipality of Son Padro works out to 22. 38% whereas the people's contribution comes out to be 2.42%. Dont you think that the people's contribution is too low?

    The administrative cost and the operational cost (US$ 12900 + 4873.70) is equal to US$17774, which works out to 33.15% which too seems to be very high.

    • Ned Breslin of Water for People

      Thomas: Thanks for the really helpful questions which are much appreciated. Let us try to answer them in order: 1. cost breakdown of the water system is: 1. drilling of well ($12,000, covered by Municipality); 2. pump ($1,400, asked for through BPR); 3. tank ($6,200, asked for through BPR); 4. pipes ($7,600, asked for through BPR)...

      Thomas:

      Thanks for the really helpful questions which are much appreciated.

      Let us try to answer them in order:

      1. cost breakdown of the water system is: 1. drilling of well ($12,000, covered by Municipality); 2. pump ($1,400, asked for through BPR); 3. tank ($6,200, asked for through BPR); 4. pipes ($7,600, asked for through BPR); 5. other supplies like valves, re-bar, etc ($2,800, asked for through BPR).

      2. Electric charges - vary from place to place but generally under US$20/month

      3. I guess if we take out everything else and only look at BPR finance for water only (i.e. taking out sanitation), the cost of the project/person would be the $103 you are talking about. I guess we are struggling with teh question abit so bear with us. Our view is as follows:

      It is our view that the $25/benbeficiary goal of BPR should be a global goal, not a project specific goal. Water For People is supporting communities that are pretty small and very isolated and have been neglected and forgotten because people say "the cost is too high because they are hard to reach". That is why we are there and that is why this community has asked the municipality for support and they in turn have asked us for support. I think BPR would be sending a pretty bad message to people in many parts of the world who just do not fit into this financial calculation.

      The challenge is when the costs are buried in overhead and administration. I think it is here where we are not following your last question. The administrative cost of this project is only 10% as we have stated. The costs for the partners ($12,900) is for them to actually implement the project. This is not administration but rather vehicle costs to get them to the field, costs associated with training and capacity building at local level, and costs to hire the people needed to do these critical jobs (staff salaries). International NGOs can not expect local NGOs to work for nothing. Furthermore, we are hoping that, over time, through projects like these, Water For People can facilitate a direct relationship between Bibosi and BPR. This will take time (and language training among other things) but we look forward to the day when we are not playing this middle role although that role at this stage is critical.

      Finally, on costs from the community - there is also US$7,000 in kind that Villa Rosario is contributing above the cash contribution. This is significant. The household contribution of cash (~$30/family) is more than enough to cover electricity and repair costs, as well as the sanitation idea we are testing, so that to us is a good indicator.

      But the real cost of this project is $53,610 + $7,000 of in-kind labor = $60,610. This means that the community contribution in cash and kind is $8660 or 14% of the projects costs. It also means the real cost of helping this community is $190/person (minus sanitation costs). This is what it willtake to serve some of the poorest people in Bolivia. If we only kept it at $25 we would not be able to work in isolated parts of the country, but only along roads near major cities which would be unfortunate. If we wanted to keep it at $25 then the allocation would only be $7,250, not enough to cover the pipes alone.

      This is where the debate on costs needs to be rethought, as again it would be a pretty bad message to say "no" to this because they are isolated and poor.

      Please also note that to us, the really interesting work is trying to solve the sanitation problem with a water cross-subsidy. That would set a model for sustainable sanitation delivery long after the project is completed, a real challenge globally as you know.

      Thanks and I hope this helps,

      Ned

      Also note

  • 2 participants | show more

    Latrine Option

    Susan Davis of CARE

    Ned, Are you familiar with a solar latrine technology being developed at Georgia Tech Research Insitute? It is being tested in January in Bolivia. Keven Caravati is working on it with some students. Susan

    Ned,

    Are you familiar with a solar latrine technology being developed at Georgia Tech Research Insitute? It is being tested in January in Bolivia. Keven Caravati is working on it with some students.

    Susan

    • Ned Breslin of Water for People

      No, please tell us more! It sounds very interesting!

      No, please tell us more! It sounds very interesting!

      • Susan Davis of CARE

        I don't know much about it except that they will be testing it in January. Here's the link to an article: http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=1115

        I don't know much about it except that they will be testing it in January. Here's the link to an article:
        http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=1115

    • Susan Davis of CARE

      I don't know much about it except that they will be testing it in January. Here's the link to an article: http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=1115

      I don't know much about it except that they will be testing it in January. Here's the link to an article:
      http://www.gatech.edu/news-room/release.php?id=1115

  • Rating: 1

    review by Blue Planet Network

    This project comes to $179/person (if you don't count community contribution but include muni contribution) and so does not match Blue Planet Run criteria. Lots of discussion on this already but this is too far off the scale. Rating has nothing to do with the quality of the project.

  • Rating: 10

    review by El Porvenir

  • Rating: 8

    review by Watershed Organization Trust

    The project addresses the drinking water need, latrines as well as health and hygiene which is comprehensive.

    Though the per person cost is very high (due to remoteness, neglected by the govt and need of the people) this project should be considered as an exception.

  • Not Reviewed

    by Barefoot College

  • Rating: 8

    review by CARE