Toolkit for Urban Water Supply Projects

Module 1

Preparing the WSTF Application Form: A Guideline

Table of Contents

Introduction

Step 1: Identification of Suitable (Project) Areas

Step 2: Area Prioritisation and Selection

Collecting Information on the Areas You Identified

Presenting Information and Area Prioritisation

Step 3:Management Meeting

Step 4:Identify Data Collection Needs

Step 5:Involving Residents, the Council and the Chief

Involving Residents and the Chief

Involving the Council and the Public Health Officer

Assessing Future Water Demand

Step 6:Collecting Data

Step 7:Filling in the WSTF Application Form

Step 8:Approval of the Proposal by Management

Step 9:Submission of the Application Form to the WSB

What Happens after Submission of the Proposal

Issues to Consider

Appendix: Empty Tables (for copying)

Introduction

This document contains a step-by-step approach to the preparation of project proposals for the Water Services Trust Fund (WSTF). A filled in WSTF Application Form is the project proposal!

This document emphasises the importance of collecting reliable data on the proposed project areas. It also stresses the importance of involving important local stakeholders during the preparation of your proposal. Ensuring the participation of the following stakeholders should be considered:

Residents of the proposed project areas.
The Council.
The Chief.
Community-based organisations.

Step 1: Identification of Suitable (Project) Areas

As a first step the Water Service Provider (WSP) has to identify the areas within its service area that meet the criteria;

The proposed project areas is an urban area where (average) income levels are low,i.e. most residents cannot afford a domestic connection.
The area is underserved,i.e. the area is not connected to the distribution network of the WSP or it is connected but the number of (public and private) outlets is not sufficient to adequately supply the population of the area.

In order to assist the WSPs to identify target areas within their service area, this Toolkit (see Module 1, Section 2) contains 2 documents (one in MS-Word and one in MS-PowerPoint) that present detailed descriptions of the various types of urban low income areas.

Step 2: Area Prioritisation and Selection

Collecting Information on the Areas You Identified

To enable you to prepare successful project proposals you will need some key data on the areas you have identified. The table below lists the types of information required. The WSTF is aware that not all companies currently have reliable data on their urban low income areas. If you feel this is the case for your company, please try to prepare realistic estimates.

Table 1 (see next page) can be used to record the collected initial data.

Table 1: Project Area Overview

No. / Information required / Information (1) / Source of information (2)
1 / Name of area:
2 / Name of town:
3 / Population of the area: / No.
4 / Is the area connected to the supply network? / Y/N
5 / Population density: / H/M/L
6 / Legal status of the area:
7 / Main source(s) of drinking water in area:
8 / Main source of non-drinking water: (3)
9 / Number of public water outlets (kiosks, etc.): / No.
10 / Number of springs in the area: / No.
11 / Are yard wells common in the area? / Y/N
12 / Cost of 20-litre jerrycan: / KSh
13 / Are water resellers active in the area? / Y/N
14 / Main types of sanitation facilities in area? (4)
15 / Does area have road reserves? / Y/N
16 / Is the area prone to (seasonal flooding)? / Y/N
17 / Will the WSP be able to adequately supply the area? / Y/N
18 / Are there constraints (social, economic, technical and/or legal) that can affect successful project implementation? / Y/N
19 / Do most residents own the accommodation they live in or are most families renting a house, flat or room? (5) / O/R/M

1): Key: Y = Yes; N = No; H = High; M = Medium; L = Low

2): Source of information, for example:WSP, Council, NGO; Please write between brackets “E” if the figure presented is an estimate; Please write “ND” if no data is available

3): Water used for bathing, laundry, construction works, etc.

4): Please also mention if residents use “flying toilets”

5): O = most residents own accommodation; R = Most residents are renting their accommodation; M = Area is a mix of house owners and tenants.

The Appendix of this document contains a number of empty tables which can be used by you to record data on each area.

Presenting Information and Area Prioritisation

The information you have collected as well as the assessment made can be presented in the form of a table (see Table 2). This table could contain a column which is used to prioritise the areas.

Table 2: Matrix to present initial data and assessments on potential project areas

Area: / Population(1) / Legality(2) / Service level(3) / Constraints(4) / Value for money(5) / Priority (6)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

1): Please write down the population figure or the population estimate

2): L = Legal(-ised) area; N =Illegal area; P = Area is being legalised

3): C = Area is connected to the distribution network; N = Area is not connected; A = Area is adequately served; U = Area is underserved

4): S = Social constraints; E = Economic constraints; P = Political constraints; L = Legal constraints; T = Technical constraints preventing the area from being adequately supplied with water (considering the WSTF funding ceiling)

5): Assessment of the per capita investment cost (KSh/resident). It should be noted that when appraising the various project proposals the WSTF will use value for money as an important proposal evaluation criterion.

6): Please rank the areas according to overall project feasibility and impact

Step 3:Management Meeting

The initial collection of data could be followed by a management meeting during which the findings are presented and discussed. Such a meeting could have the following objectives:

Decide on a number of area(s) for which the preparation of a project proposalwill be considered.
Develop a (WSP) vision for the identified areas. In other words, the management of the WSP has to discuss what needs to be done to improve the service levels in the areas identified; should residents be reached by constructing water kiosk, should the focus be on yard taps, or should the area benefit from a mixed system? Can the area be supplied through the existing distribution system? Etc.
Identification of (types of) data which have to be collected (at area and Council level) in order to be able to prepare a sound project proposal.
Appoint a team which will be responsible for the preparation of the project proposals.
Agree on the proposal preparation work programme.

Step 4:Identify Data Collection Needs

On the basis of the initial collection of data and the outcomes of the Management Meeting you can identify and list the (types of) data which still need to be collected in order to prepare a successful project proposal.[1]

This Toolkit contains the tools needed to collect data on low income areas (see Module 2).

Step 5:Involving Residents, the Council and the Chief

Involving Residents and the Chief

Before a specific project proposal is prepared, as a WSP you will have to establish whether the project is going to be demand-driven. In other words, will the project be welcomed by the residents (by all residents?)? Willthe project be demand-driven? Will residents continue to make use of the sources/outlets they currently have access to (e.g. springs, yard wells, hand pumps, etc.)?

Assessing if there exists a real demand for a water supply or sanitation project is important, also for the WSP and the Water Services Board. A project which is not wanted and needed by the residents is not likely to become sustainable. In other words, such a project will not enable the WSP to meet its financial, commercial and technical objectives.

Assessing if a project is demand driven requires going to the area and communicating with the residents, the Chief, community-based organisations, etc.!

Ideally the WSP should contact the Chief and discuss the possibility to organise one or more public meetings or barazas (depending on the size of the area and the attendance).

During these public meetings(barazas) the following issues can be addressed:

The current water supply situation.
Do residents think the water situation needs to be improved and why?
Which water supply technologies do residents prefer and which can they afford (kiosks, yard taps, pre-paid meters).
The willingness and ability of the residents to pay for water (the WSP should inform the residents on the expected kiosk water tariff).
Water sources/outlets used for drinking.
Water sources/outlets used for other purposes (bathing, washing, etc.)
Role of water resellers and cartels.
Distance to water outlets
Water tariffs.
The social, political, legal and technical constraints a project might face.
Levels of vandalism and theft (related to public infrastructure).
Is land available for the extension of the network and the construction of kiosks?

Involving the Council and the Public Health Officer

The Council and the Chief should be approached in order to establish:

The legal status of the area.
Availability of road reserves.
The plans the council has with regard to the area (the Development Plan).
The willingness of the Council to make land available for the project.
The current public health situation in the area.

Assessing Future Water Demand

Experience shows that it is difficult to assess future water demand (daily per capita consumption), but experience also shows that demand is influenced by a number of factors such as:

The availability and accessibility of alternative sources/outlets of safe water.
The availability and accessibility of alternative sources/outlets of unsafe water.
The distance between dwellings and kiosks as compared to the distance between dwellings and alternative sources of water.
The time it takes to fetch water from a kiosk as compared to the time it takes to fetch water from alternative sources.
The tariff customers pay at the kiosk as compared to the price people pay at other sources/outlets.
The quality (as perceived by the residents) of kiosk water as compared to the quality of the water fetched at alternative sources/outlets.
The presence of water resellers in the area.

Estimating the future demand for kiosk water is difficult, especially if a Water Service Provider (WSP) is not operating any kiosks.

The table below can assist WSPs is assessing future demand for kiosk water. The quantities mentioned in the table are based upon water consumption measurements carried out in different parts of Kenya as well as in Zambia, Rwanda and Tanzania. It is important to note, therefore, that they may not reflect the actual situation in a specific urban low income area. The figures presented in the table offer nothing more than an indication because:

Each row only considers a single factor and not a combination of factors. The situation on the ground is always more complex (e.g. residents may have access to yard wells and may practice rainwater harvesting.).
Some factors, which may have an impact upon water consumption levels – e.g. climate, culture, religion, ownership of water outlets, etc. – have not been considered.

Table 3:Assessing future demand for kiosk water

No. / Water Supply situation / Average kiosk water consumption / Remark:
Rainy season / Dry season
Description / l/c/d (*) / l/c/d
1 / Residents have access to yard wells / 1-4 / 4-8 / Water is considered to be unsafe
2 / Residents have access to springs / 2-6 / 3-9 / Spring water is considered to be safe
3 / Residents have access to springs / 4-7 / 5-10 / Spring water is not used for drinking
4 / Residents practice rainwater harvesting / 3-8 / 4-12 / Rainwater is considered to be safe
5 / Residents have free & easy access to safe water / 1-3 / 2-5 / Domestic connections, etc.
6 / Kiosks are the preferred water supply option / 10-15 / 12-25 / Kiosk water is cheaper, nearer, better
7 / Residents do not have access to safe water / 12-25 / 15-30 / Residents drink unsafe water

*): l/c/d = litres per capita (person) per day

If an assessment is made regarding future water demand the Kiosk Planning Sheet (see Toolkit, Module 1, Section 1, File 4a) can be used to calculate the number of kiosks required.

Step 6:Collecting Data

It may be necessary, after having consulted the residents, the Chief and the Council, to collect additional data, for example, data on the current population of the area, the number of springs, yard wells, etc. (see the WSTF Application Form).

This Toolkit contains all the tools necessary to collect data (see Module 2).

Step 7:Filling in the WSTF Application Form

After having consulted the main stakeholders and after having collected the necessary data the team responsible for the preparation of the Application Form should be able to advice the management of the WSP on the areas for which a project proposal can be prepared.
Areas where a project is not demand-driven should not considered for a WSTF-funded proposal.
WSP, in consultation with the Water Services Board, should then decide for which areas a project proposal should be prepared.
After having received a go-ahead the proposal team can proceed with the filling in of the WSTF Application Form.
The WSP is invited to approach the WSTF Help Desk (Telephone: 020-2720696 or 0715-732199; e-mail: ) in case any clarifications or assistance are needed!

Step 8:Approval of the Proposal by Management

WSP management has to approve the draft proposals and has to provide advice on how the proposal can be improved.

Step 9:Submission of the Application Form to the WSB

The final draft of the Application form should be submitted to the Water Services Board for approval.

What Happens after Submission of the Proposal

The period between the submission of the Application Form(s) and the awarding or referring of the project proposals will be used by the WSTF to contact – if deemed necessary – the WSP or the Water Services Board if clarifications or additional data or information is needed. Together with its partners the WSTF aims to improve access to water and sanitation in urban low income areas and, therefore, it is in the interest of the Fund to ensure that project proposals are of excellent quality. This implies that the WSTF will provide all the necessary support during all phases of the project, including the proposal preparation phase.

Issues to Consider

A proposal for the WSTF can:

Target a single urban low income area, or
Target a number of smaller areas (cluster proposal), or
Focus upon the rehabilitation (refurbishment) of existing infrastructure.
Target all existing water kiosks in a town.
Include the procurement and installation of water meters, enabling the WSP to meter existing un-metered connections within the project area or in a surrounding buffer zone (In most cases water kiosks are not sustainable if they are surrounded by un-metered domestic connections).
Target small and scattered “pockets” (plots) of urban poor (for example plots where a large number of families are renting accommodation).

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Appendix: Empty Tables (for copying)

Table 1: Project Area Overview (sheet: ...... )

1): Key: Y = Yes; N = No; H = High; M = Medium; L = Low

2): Source of information, for example: WSP, Council, NGO; Please write between brackets “E” if the figure presented is an estimate; Please write “ND” if no data is available