This paper is based on an analysis of over 4,000 months of handpump revenue data in Mali, exploring the effect on revenue and usage when a water service switches from a volumetric tariff to a monthly flat fee. The switch from volumetric to flat fees led to three times more monthly revenue, although a subsidy gap persists. Flat fees and higher temperatures were linked to higher water usage, offering insights into the role of professional service delivery models to support climate-resilient and reliable drinking water supplies for rural communities.
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Ensuring sustainable water security through sustainable land management: Research evidences for policy
Land degradation is adversely affecting over 75% of the Earth’s land surface and could exceed 90% by 2050. Likewise, the rate of soil erosion will increase by 66% during the period 2015–2070. Sustainable land management (SLM) practices are key to reducing rates of land degradation and are proven to ensure water security by increasing soil moisture availability, decreasing surface runoff, decreasing soil erosion, increasing infiltration, and decreasing flood discharge. In Ethiopia, over 85% of the land is moderately to very severely degraded at an estimated cost of $4.6 billion annually. This research highlights the importance of developing an SLM-water security policy to make the most of SLM techniques at a local and national scale.
Tracing contaminants of emerging concern in the Awash River basin, Ethiopia
This study focuses on characterization of Emerging Organic Contaminants (EOCs) in the Awash River basin. Characterization of the EOCs was supplemented by chemical analysis of samples from river, boreholes, tap water, and surface water reservoirs. Analyses of environmental isotopes (δ 2 H, δ 18 O, and 222Rn) were used to investigate the exchange of contaminants between surface and groundwater supply sources. The analysis showed new types of contaminants in the water supply sources with potential impact on human and wider environmental health.
Water for healthcare is for more than drinking – Rethinking the water service indicators for healthcare facilities
Healthcare water systems are a critical but overlooked source of healthcare-associated infections. This poster presented at Singapore International Water Week 2024 details a cross-sectional study to examine the quality of water services in Bangladesh public hospitals as assessed by the JMP WASH in Healthcare Facilities indicator, and the utility of E. coli as an indicator of safe water for healthcare use.
Demystifying Heavy Metals and Physicochemical Characteristics of Groundwater in a Volcano-Tectonic Region of Middle Awash, Ethiopia, for Multipurpose Use
This study investigates the concentrations of physicochemical and heavy metal contaminants in the groundwater of the Middle Awash Basin, Ethiopia, to inform targeted water management strategies. After collecting groundwater samples during both the dry (June) and wet (October) seasons of 2021, the study found significant levels of contamination, including extraordinarily high concentrations of total dissolved solids and electrical conductivity. Over half of the groundwater sources were unsuitable for drinking, posing significant health risks to local communities that rely heavily on these sources due to limited access to clean surface water. These findings highlight the urgent need for comprehensive groundwater management and remediation plans in the Middle Awash region to ensure safe and sustainable water use.
Science–practitioner partnerships for sustainable development
How can we design funding models which are flexible and appropriate for science to deliver and sustain development impacts? A Nature Water Comment piece explores this question based on global experience to inform science funding bodies, governments, and donors. It offers a rethink of traditional science engagement to promote longer term collaboration including foundational science, advisory science, operational science and reflexive science.
Creating an enabling environment for research impact
This discussion document draws on perspectives of researchers, research users from government and UN agencies, and funders, to reflect on the enabling environment that funders and universities can create to support the translation of research into impact. Areas for funders to focus on to strengthen enabling environments include (1) fostering science-practitioner networks, (2) enhancing collaborative research environments based on equitable partnerships, and (3) shifting financing and incentives to sustain partnerships for impact at scale.
Policy and practice recommendations on flood risk management in the Awash basin
In 2020, extreme rainfall triggered massive flooding and severe damage to property in Ethiopia’s Awash river basin. The International Water Management Institute (IWMI) examined climatic and non-climatic drivers of this event and its impacts on different social groups. Recommended action points for practitioners and policy makers include institutional design for coordinated flood management and response, collaboration on operational guidance and improved early warning system, revision of studies based on recent science and data, improving access to data for researchers and research-users, integration of indigenous knowledge into flood risk preparedness and research, and strengthening of Awash-flood related research in Ethiopia’s university and higher education institutions. Gender-responsive interventions to flooding are critical.
Unbundling water and land rights in Kilifi County, Kenya a gender perspective
Feminist scholars have highlighted the importance of women’s land rights, and irrigation studies have explored the gendered relationships between land and water rights. However, less research has been conducted which assesses the relationship between water and land rights for domestic and productive purposes. Therefore, by collating community profiles, focus group discussions, interviews and survey data, this study explores women’s rights to land and water within rural communities in Kilifi County, Kenya. It provides interesting insight into the dynamics and negotiations of water access, including the social networks that affect how water transactions take place.
Reinforcing Feedbacks for Sustainable Implementation of Rural Drinking-Water Treatment Technology
Water safety management is a key factor that rural service delivery models must incorporate if they are to achieve universal access to safe drinking water. Practices such as source protection and water treatment help reduce the risk of fecal contamination. Therefore, this study recognises the importance of water treatment, assessing the implementation of passive chlorination and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection technologies in rural parts of South America, Africa, and Asia. The results identify a series of leverage points which highlight the need for fit-for-purpose intervention design reinforced by collaboration between facilitating actors through hybrid service delivery models.
