The purpose of this thesis was to analyze the impact of operation and maintenance practices
on the long-term sustainability of the Finnish-funded water supply projects implemented
as a part of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Project (RWSSP) between
1990 and 2005 in Western Nepal. This thesis explored the water systems’ practical
technical problems that the communities have been struggling with and the solutions
they have developed to tackle them. The availability of technical personnel in the
schemes or within the range of the community was studied, too.
Technical problems encountered by the communities in Devchuli, the target area of this
case study, included water source depletion, water systems becoming clogged with lime
and decreased water quality during the rainy season. Some schemes suffered from yearly
landslides but usually the villagers were able to return the scheme to a functioning
condition in a week. Population growth and the water scarcity caused by it turned out to
be one of the major reasons why the schemes were in need of rehabilitation. Due to increased
income and remittances, private taps (as opposed to public taps) had gained
some popularity, and the users were demanding upgrading of the schemes.
It was not easy to get technical or financial support from the local government. Often
the cost of repairs was too high for the WUSCs to bear on their own and they were dependent
on outside funds. As a result of this, some WUSCs had resorted to temporary,
cheaper repair solutions such as repairing the pipes with parts of bamboo. Availability
of technical personnel in the villages was moderate (75 % of the villages) but their task
descriptions and skills varied a lot. In the future, in order to ensure the functionality of
the schemes, the WUSCs should be offered post-construction support on a regular basis,
which requires developing the capacity of the local government bodies. If suitable,
NGOs or private operators could support local bodies in their tasks.