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Empirical insights were made into the challenges of supplying water to communities within low-income areas of peri-urban Blantyre, Malawi. A networked public water supply is provided to those without a domestic tap via communal water kiosks managed by community-based Water User Associations (WUAs) under a government mandate. There has been considerable debate surrounding the tariff charged for water supplied to such vulnerable communities. However, research has largely failed to consider the costs of WUAs operating the kiosks and the impact on the kiosk tariff. The determination of kiosk tariffs is critical to ensuring lifeline access to a sustainable water supply under Sustainable Development Goal 6. We provide evidence of this from our experience in the field in Blantyre. In particular, we argue that sustainable kiosk running costs cannot be born solely by the end user. A number of reforms are needed to help reduce the kiosk tariff. To reduce WUA costs and the kiosk tariffs, WUAs need more training in financial record keeping and cost management, WUAs should not inherit outstanding kiosk debt upon taking over their operations, and water boards should build kiosk costs over which they have fiscal responsibility into integrated block tariff calculations and subsidize them accordingly.
Andrea Coulson; Michael Rivett; Robert Kalin; Sergio Fernández; Jonathan Truslove; Muthi Nhlema; Joseph Maygoya. The Cost of a Sustainable Water Supply at Network Kiosks in Peri-Urban Blantyre, Malawi. Sustainability 2021, 13, 4685 .
AMA StyleAndrea Coulson, Michael Rivett, Robert Kalin, Sergio Fernández, Jonathan Truslove, Muthi Nhlema, Joseph Maygoya. The Cost of a Sustainable Water Supply at Network Kiosks in Peri-Urban Blantyre, Malawi. Sustainability. 2021; 13 (9):4685.
Chicago/Turabian StyleAndrea Coulson; Michael Rivett; Robert Kalin; Sergio Fernández; Jonathan Truslove; Muthi Nhlema; Joseph Maygoya. 2021. "The Cost of a Sustainable Water Supply at Network Kiosks in Peri-Urban Blantyre, Malawi." Sustainability 13, no. 9: 4685.
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) is vital to the future of Malawi and motivates this study’s provision of the first stable isotope baseline characterization of the Shire River Basin (SRB). The SRB drains much of Southern Malawi and receives the sole outflow of Lake Malawi whose catchment extends over much of Central and Northern Malawi (and Tanzania and Mozambique). Stable isotope (283) and hydrochemical (150) samples were collected in 2017–2018 and analysed at Malawi’s recently commissioned National Isotopes Laboratory. Distinct surface water dry-season isotope enrichment and wet-season depletion are shown with minor retention of enriched signatures ascribed to Lake Malawi influences. Isotopic signatures corroborate that wet-season river flows mostly arise from local precipitation, with dry-season flows supported by increased groundwater contributions. Groundwater signatures follow a local meteoric water line of limited spread suggesting recharge by local precipitation predominantly during the peak months of the wet-season. Relatively few dry-season groundwater samples displayed evaporative enrichment, although isotopic seasonality was more pronounced in the lowlands compared to uplands ascribed to amplified climatic effects. These signatures serve as isotopic diagnostic tools that valuably informed a basin conceptual model build and, going forward, may inform key identified Malawian IWRM concerns. The isotopic baseline establishes a benchmark against which future influences from land use, climate change and water mixing often inherent to IWRM schemes may be forensically assessed. It thereby enables both source-water protection and achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 6.
Limbikani C. Banda; Michael O. Rivett; Robert M. Kalin; Anold S. K. Zavison; Peaches Phiri; Geoffrey Chavula; Charles Kapachika; Sydney Kamtukule; Christina Fraser; Muthi Nhlema. Seasonally Variant Stable Isotope Baseline Characterisation of Malawi’s Shire River Basin to Support Integrated Water Resources Management. Water 2020, 12, 1410 .
AMA StyleLimbikani C. Banda, Michael O. Rivett, Robert M. Kalin, Anold S. K. Zavison, Peaches Phiri, Geoffrey Chavula, Charles Kapachika, Sydney Kamtukule, Christina Fraser, Muthi Nhlema. Seasonally Variant Stable Isotope Baseline Characterisation of Malawi’s Shire River Basin to Support Integrated Water Resources Management. Water. 2020; 12 (5):1410.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLimbikani C. Banda; Michael O. Rivett; Robert M. Kalin; Anold S. K. Zavison; Peaches Phiri; Geoffrey Chavula; Charles Kapachika; Sydney Kamtukule; Christina Fraser; Muthi Nhlema. 2020. "Seasonally Variant Stable Isotope Baseline Characterisation of Malawi’s Shire River Basin to Support Integrated Water Resources Management." Water 12, no. 5: 1410.
Local tariffs in the form of household contributions are the primary financial mechanism to fund the maintenance of rural water supplies in Malawi. An investigation was conducted into the tariffs set by rural service providers to sustain drilled boreholes equipped with Afridev handpumps. A binary logistic regression analysis identified significant explanatory variables for the most common identified considerations when setting tariffs, ‘affordability’ and ‘operations and maintenance (O&M) costs’. The results demonstrate tariffs collected less frequently and usage above the design limit of the Afridev (300 users) had lower odds of considering affordability and higher odds of considering O&M costs, than those collected per month and within the design limit. The results further suggest a recognition by service providers of an increased maintenance challenge. High usage, acquiring spare parts, and the collection of tariffs when repairs are required indicate an increased likelihood of considering O&M costs, conversely to considering affordability. The balance of affordability and sustainable maintenance is a perpetual challenge under decentralised service delivery. Investment into ongoing support and supply chains is required for the financial and operational requirements of water supply, to ensure payments for services does not prevent access to clean water at the local level and to achieve the 2030 agenda.
Jonathan Truslove; Andrea Coulson; Muthi Nhlema; Emma Mbalame; Robert Kalin. Reflecting SDG 6.1 in Rural Water Supply Tariffs: Considering ‘Affordability’ Versus ‘Operations and Maintenance Costs’ in Malawi. Sustainability 2020, 12, 744 .
AMA StyleJonathan Truslove, Andrea Coulson, Muthi Nhlema, Emma Mbalame, Robert Kalin. Reflecting SDG 6.1 in Rural Water Supply Tariffs: Considering ‘Affordability’ Versus ‘Operations and Maintenance Costs’ in Malawi. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (2):744.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJonathan Truslove; Andrea Coulson; Muthi Nhlema; Emma Mbalame; Robert Kalin. 2020. "Reflecting SDG 6.1 in Rural Water Supply Tariffs: Considering ‘Affordability’ Versus ‘Operations and Maintenance Costs’ in Malawi." Sustainability 12, no. 2: 744.
Developing countries such as Malawi require improved access to isotope tracer tools to better characterize and manage water resources threatened by land development, deforestation and climate change. This is the first published study to use an isotope facility developed in Malawi for this purpose, instead of relying upon sample analyses from abroad. Results from this new facility are used to evaluate an important Lake Malawi catchment in the Rift Valley. This work successfully established a stable-isotope baseline, hydrochemical signatures, and system conceptualization against which future policy change and management strategies may be measured. Precipitation isotopic composition was consistent with the Global Meteoric Water Line, but varied, confirming different precipitation systems nationally. Groundwater largely followed a Local Meteoric Water Line, with limited isotopic variation indicating predominant areal groundwater recharge, but with dry-season evaporative enrichment of groundwater near Lake Malawi. Surface-water isotopes widely varied with local precipitation, suggesting the latter accounted for wet-season river flows, but upstream dambo (complex wetlands occupying a shallow, seasonal waterlogged depression) helped sustain dry-season flows. Isotope capacity reinforced water-resource conceptualization and provenance in a hydrologically complex, but not atypical, Rift Valley system, exhibiting a noted complexity of groundwater–surface-water interactions. The latter, critical to integrated water resource management, requires more focused study, to which an expanded array of isotopes will contribute to tracking Sustainable Development Goal 6 targets. This study and future catchment studies should help underpin Malawian water-resource policy implementation on several identified fronts.
Limbikani C. Banda; Michael O. Rivett; Robert M. Kalin; Anold S.K. Zavison; Peaches Phiri; Laura Kelly; Geoffrey Chavula; Charles C. Kapachika; Macpherson Nkhata; Sydney Kamtukule; Prince Mleta; Muthi Nhlema. Water–Isotope Capacity Building and Demonstration in a Developing World Context: Isotopic Baseline and Conceptualization of a Lake Malawi Catchment. Water 2019, 11, 2600 .
AMA StyleLimbikani C. Banda, Michael O. Rivett, Robert M. Kalin, Anold S.K. Zavison, Peaches Phiri, Laura Kelly, Geoffrey Chavula, Charles C. Kapachika, Macpherson Nkhata, Sydney Kamtukule, Prince Mleta, Muthi Nhlema. Water–Isotope Capacity Building and Demonstration in a Developing World Context: Isotopic Baseline and Conceptualization of a Lake Malawi Catchment. Water. 2019; 11 (12):2600.
Chicago/Turabian StyleLimbikani C. Banda; Michael O. Rivett; Robert M. Kalin; Anold S.K. Zavison; Peaches Phiri; Laura Kelly; Geoffrey Chavula; Charles C. Kapachika; Macpherson Nkhata; Sydney Kamtukule; Prince Mleta; Muthi Nhlema. 2019. "Water–Isotope Capacity Building and Demonstration in a Developing World Context: Isotopic Baseline and Conceptualization of a Lake Malawi Catchment." Water 11, no. 12: 2600.
The sustainability of rural groundwater supply infrastructure, primarily boreholes fitted with hand pumps, remains a challenge. This study evaluates whether coverage targets set out within the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) inadvertently increased the challenge to sustainably manage water supply infrastructure. Furthermore, the drive towards decentralised service delivery contributes to the financial burden of water supply assets. A sample size of 14,943 Afridev hand pump boreholes was extracted from a comprehensive live data set of 68,984 water points across Malawi to investigate the sustainability burden as emphasis shifts to the 2030 agenda. The results demonstrate that the push for coverage within the MDG era has impacted the sustainability of assets. A lack of proactive approaches towards major repairs and sub-standard borehole construction alongside aging infrastructure contributes to reduced functionality of decentralised supplies. Furthermore, costly rehabilitation is required to bring assets to operational standards, in which external support is commonly relied upon. Acceleration towards the coverage targets has contributed towards unsustainable infrastructure that has further implications moving forward. These findings support the need for Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) investment planning to move from a focus on coverage targets to a focus on quality infrastructure and proactive monitoring approaches to reduce the future burden placed on communities.
Jonathan P. Truslove; Alexandra V. M. Miller; Nicholas Mannix; Muthi Nhlema; Michael O. Rivett; Andrea B. Coulson; Prince Mleta; Robert M. Kalin. Understanding the Functionality and Burden on Decentralised Rural Water Supply: Influence of Millennium Development Goal 7c Coverage Targets. Water 2019, 11, 494 .
AMA StyleJonathan P. Truslove, Alexandra V. M. Miller, Nicholas Mannix, Muthi Nhlema, Michael O. Rivett, Andrea B. Coulson, Prince Mleta, Robert M. Kalin. Understanding the Functionality and Burden on Decentralised Rural Water Supply: Influence of Millennium Development Goal 7c Coverage Targets. Water. 2019; 11 (3):494.
Chicago/Turabian StyleJonathan P. Truslove; Alexandra V. M. Miller; Nicholas Mannix; Muthi Nhlema; Michael O. Rivett; Andrea B. Coulson; Prince Mleta; Robert M. Kalin. 2019. "Understanding the Functionality and Burden on Decentralised Rural Water Supply: Influence of Millennium Development Goal 7c Coverage Targets." Water 11, no. 3: 494.