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 Community Water Point Construction in Dibate Town |
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In Dibate Town (in the Benishangul-Gumuz Regional State of North-Western Ethiopia) community members face a host of challenges associated with limited resources and poorly developed infrastructure. One of the most pressing concerns for families living in the area is how to access safe and reliable water sources. This is a challenge that CPAR has been helping community members to address. As part of its community programs in Dibate, CPAR has helped to develop new water points, protect natural springs and to construct tanks that collect and store rainwater near primary schools. One such water point was developed by protecting a natural spring source that would service the needs of 150 households. Creating a community water committee – a management structure that places the responsibility and benefit of the water point into the hands of the families that use it was critical to the sustainable development of this water point. This committee is in charge of regulating the equitable use of the water within the community. Recognizing that the water flow is not sufficiently high for all-day unrestricted access, the water committee has instituted a policy whereby the taps are closed for a set period each day to allow the spring to replenish its reservoir. At a set time each day, Adisu (a member of the community water committee) unlocks the door to the taps to let each family access the water. Adisu explained to CPAR staff that the decision was taken to ensure that, given the scarcity of water, the community is able to maximize this limited supply. The committee has also taken the step of instituting a user fee among the benefiting households in order to ensure that they have the resources available to deal with maintenance issues to protect their asset against any unforeseen problems. The fee is roughly $0.08/month per family. According to Adisu, this water point has made a big difference in the daily lives of the people living in his community. He explained that before the water point was constructed they had to collect water from open, unprotected sources, and community members experienced a high incidence of waterborne diseases. The construction of the water point has also decreased the time spent collecting water (a burden felt most severely by women and girls). Now families have more time to focus their energy in other areas. Youth have more time to focus on their education and families can devote more time to activities such as farming. However, challenges remain. At the height of the dry season, the water point has experienced low or negligible levels of water flow forcing people to return to unprotected sources for their daily water needs. CPAR continues to work with community members to find solutions to these water challenges and also to examine what future opportunities exist to further develop these water points. |
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