Case studies:

The Dona Flávia Experience: A case study on a community managed water project

Rationale of the Project

Water supply and sanitation is a priority need of Barangay Doña Flavia, the most populated barangay of the municipality of San Luis in Agusan del Sur, in the Philippines. The area is strategically located such that it is also considered as the commercial center of the municipality. It used to be a logging area but when abandoned, the watersheds had already been devastated. Before the project started, there were only eight units of shallow wells that could be depended on for potable water. Another 16 units of shallow wells dot the area but the water generated from these wells is considered unsafe.

The shallow wells have been generated through grants from the politicians and other benefactors of the barangay. A few wells are privately owned. However, the number of existing wells are not sufficient to meet the needs of a growing commercial center. Furthermore, the approach of providing the water supply facilities without community organization and mobilization has not been efficient and effective as the water projects could not be sustained. Improvements in sanitation are also required to have the necessary impact on the health status of the project beneficiaries.

The situation in Doña Flavia is common in several barangays in the country. A carefully planned demonstration project that is very creative, gender sensitive and highly participatory with high potentials for sustainability should be able to present a viable option for national and local governments on how community-based water and sanitation (watsan) projects should be implemented. The objective of the project was to build capacities not only at the community level but at the municipal and provincial local government units and to ensure that a support system would be in place.

In this project, the local government units of the province of Agusan del Sur and the municipality of San Luis have both been very active in supporting this demonstration project. The Philippine-Canada Local Government Support Program and the Philippine Center for Water and Sanitation - International Training Network Foundation assisted in the process of building local capacities of the stakeholders. A total of 2,687 people or 429 households were expected to benefit from increased access to safe water supply.

1. Background information

1.1 The province of Agusan del Sur

Agusan del Sur is a landlocked province occupying the north eastern Mindanao region of the Philippines. It has 14 municipalities of which 7 are called river towns because they are located along the Agusan River. The province is sparsely populated, having a population density of 57.41 per sq. km and a total of about 500,000 people. The province is mostly rural and the economy is based on agriculture and forestry-based activities.

The general health status of the population of the province in 1995 was relatively poor compared with the national condition. The incidence of diseases was higher in Agusan del Sur than the Philippines as a whole. Four out of the ten leading causes of morbidity are water-related diseases such as diarrhoea (rank 3rd), gastro-enteritis (rank 8th), intestinal parasitism(9th) and schistosomiasis (10th). Malaria, diarrhoea and typhoid also ranked 4th, 6th and 9th as the leading causes of mortality. Diarrhoea (rank 2nd) and viral hepatitis (6th) are among the ten leading causes of infant mortality.

Agusan del Sur is a Social Reform Agenda province. The Social Reform Agenda is a group of the 19 poorest provinces in the Philippines. Its economic potentials remain underdeveloped and it is prioritised for national government assistance.

The municipality of San Luis is considered one of the river towns of the province of Agusan del Sur. It is a municipality with 25 barangays, two of which are urban and the rest rural.

1.2 Water supply coverage

The latest data available indicates that for the total provincial population of about 514,736, only 53% is considered to have adequate access to safe water supply. The rest of the population with unsafe sources/facilities and without access to water supply facilities are considered the “underserved” and the “unserved” population, respectively. In San Luis, access coverage is estimated to be 49%.

This indicates that much still needs to be done in terms of addressing access to water supply in rural areas. While substantial investments have been made in the past to construct new facilities at the barangay level, most of these turned out to become underused or non-functional for a variety of reasons.

1.3 Main stakeholders/actors involved and their respective responsibilities

The pilot project was made possible through the collaboration of the following agencies: The Municipal government of San Luis, the provincial government of Agusan del Sur, the PCWS-ITNF and the newly established community water association of Doña Flavia. The objective of the project was to build capacities not only at the community level but at the municipal and provincial local government units and to ensure that a support system would be in place.

The roles of the actors were based on a proposal that the PCWS developed for the Philippines-Canada Local Support Programme funding. It was subsequently approved by all parties prior to the signing of the agreement. This is in accordance with the framework that the PCWS is proposing on an local government assisted community managed watsan program.

The Philippine-Canada Local Government Support Program contributed to the project through the following:

• facilitating the financial support for the capability building;
• provision of technical assistance when deemed appropriate; and
• project monitoring and supervision.

The provincial local government unit, through the Provincial WATSAN Center, was responsible for the following:

• provision of technical assistance and counterpart resources in the hardware component when required;
• local supervision of the Municipal Focal Persons;
• provision of Center personnel who were trained as co-trainers for the community trainings;
• assistance in the implementation of the community trainings (some resource persons, and materials); and
• participation in all project meetings.

The municipal government of San Luis, through its Municipal Planning and Development Office was primarily responsible for the following activities:

• the design and construction of the hardware (water supply and sanitation);
• local supervision of the community facilitators;
• provision of water and sanitation focal persons who could be trained as trainers for the community trainings;
• implementation of the community trainings;
• provision of full time watsan community facilitators, including salaries;
• participation in all project meetings; and
• provision of administrative and logistical requirements of the community workshops (venue, counterpart food, invitation and some resource persons).

The PCWS-ITNF, a non-government organization specializing in water supply and sanitation, was responsible for:

• the conduct of the project orientation workshop;
• the training of local facilitators;
• the conduct of training preparation workshops;
• the general monitoring and supervision over project documentation;
• the conduct of participatory evaluation workshop;
• being accountable to Philippines-Canada Local Support Programme for the entire conduct of the project (including reporting and financial management) and
• taking a lead role in project meetings.

The community water association, Doña Flavia Water Supply and Sanitation Association which was formed during the project period, is ultimately responsible for the following:

• efficient functioning of the water system (spare parts, special skills and equipment);
• optimal utilization of system;
• further training in accounting and systems management;
• expansion of system when capacity is exceeded;
• rehabilitation, when required;
• water quality surveillance; and
• resource mobilization.

2. Creating a Support System

2.1 Pre-Project Activities

The project concept emanated from the efforts of the municipality of which the majority of the staff is from Barangay Doña Flavia. They got the idea from the Barangay Investment Plan that was prepared several years ago and incorporated into the Municipal Five Year Development Plan (1993-1998).

In considering the Barangay Doña Flavia watsan project, the decision makers took into consideration the following (rather politically oriented) criteria: the number of population expected to benefit from the project, the reliability of the source and the accessibility of the project site. Furthermore, Doña Flavia was considered a growth center of San Luis and its proximity to the government center makes it a good venue to showcase a demonstration model.

While a budget of about 500,000 Philippine pesos was allocated for the water supply infrastructure, there was no clear budget for capacity building activities for water supply. The human resource development budget was for all the municipal programs, including water.

Since the budget for the infrastructure component was readily available, the municipal government contracted a private firm, RIBSON Construction, to develop and install the water system. All the while, not all the members of the community were aware that a water system was being developed in their area. Only those who were in the perimeter of the working area knew, but were not significantly involved in any way.

The Municipal government of San Luis, also sought assistance from the Provincial Water and Sanitation Center for their capability building component. This in turn was endorsed by the province to the Local Government Support Program which, in due time, indeed contracted PCWS-ITNF to assist in the project.

2.2 Capacity building activities

The entry point of the capacity building activities came when PCWS-ITNF was called by the Philippines-Canada Local Support Programme and the provincial government of Agusan del Sur in early May 1998 to a partnership meeting where a memorandum of agreement was signed between the implementing parties. By this time, the reservoir tank was already done and some work was on-going in setting up the pump. PCWS-ITNF was informed that the infrastructure was being rushed by the outgoing Municipal Mayor who was due for replacement in the May national and local elections. This Mayor was on his last term of office.

A series of activities was fast tracked in order to make sure that prior to project turn-over to the community, a viable community-based water supply and sanitation association was in place to assume responsibility, authority and control over the water supply system. A training on community organizing for water supply project implementers was immediately held to enable the identified community organizers to start the social mobilization process. The trainers’ training was immediately organized so that the municipal and provincial trainers could already train the local community leaders who were willing to assume the community management of the water supply system.

The trainings needed for various stakeholders/participants were based on a training needs analysis conducted by the PCWS-ITNF as part of the organizational diagnosis for Agusan del Sur:

Orientation Training and Action Planning for Community Organisers
This course was organized for the community facilitators to orient them on the community organizing process for water and sanitation projects. This course also provided the participants a framework for all the activities expected to be done in the community. Part of the outputs of the course is an action plan and identification of immediate needs that have to be addressed to facilitate the process.

Trainer's Training Seminar-Workshop for Watsan Project Implementors
This training was designed for the provincial and the municipal water and sanitation team who were expected to facilitate the community-based training program. The training included inputs on training management, principles of adult learning and experiential learning, facilitation skills and development of training designs and session plans for the Community Association level trainings. This workshop was designed to enable the municipal water and sanitation team to master basic concepts, topics, aspects and responsibilities of a sound and sustainable watsan management system and devise strategies to transfer the knowledge to their target participants.

Community Training on Organizational Management, Operation and Maintenance, Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion
This course was for the caretakers and members of the future Dona Flavia Association. It focused on the technical aspects of managing the water facilities, on how to compute for water tariffs covering operation and maintenance funds and included an orientation on sanitation and hygiene promotion activities.

The trained municipal team, together with the PCWS-ITNF staff oversaw the process of building the community organization, taking into close consideration the empowerment of the disadvantaged groups in the communities such as women. The process included the development of knowledge, attitudes and skills of the chosen leaders so that they will have the confidence to take a lead role in ensuring the sustainable, efficient and effective operation of the water systems. This resulted in the formation of the Doña Flavia Water Supply and Sanitation Association.

The various activities, consultations and dialogues that were held served as the venue for gender-fair community empowerment. Both men and women had equal opportunity to express their opinions on the various stages of the project. A case in point was the concern of Dona Flavia Association over the sloppy performance of the contractor. When it was clear to them that the municipal government was willing to surrender its major stake over the water system in favor of the community association, the Association questioned the location of the source pipe and the size/type of the pump that the contractor was already installing. The project was suspended pending a consultation meeting where the stakeholders were present. During the consultation meeting that followed, the issues were raised by the women and supported by the men members of the board and the relevant points for decision making were put on the table. The municipal government sincerely sought the consensus of the community before proceeding with the project because it was emphasized that community acceptance was a critical factor for project sustainability.

Initially, the women felt intimidated and they were hesitant to voice out their concern for fear of antagonizing the municipal local government. However, because the municipal government employees had already built a rapport with the community, in due time, trust was evident and this encouraged the leaders to speak out, make decisions, question the processes and assume authority over the water system. In fact, during the turn-over, the Dona Flavia Association would not accept the responsibility without the recognition of ownership. The memorandum of agreement was scrutinized very well by the organization before they agreed to sign it during a special ceremony jointly planned by the municipality and the community Association.

2.3 The relevance of advocacy activities

Advocacy was done to create an enabling environment for community management of water and sanitation systems. A strategic partnership with the Agusan del Sur Provincial Water and Sanitation Center was utilized to pursue the advocacy agenda of the project. One of the major targets for advocacy work were the local legislators. For the province, it is the Provincial Board (Sangguniang Panlalawigan or SP). For the municipalities, it is the Municipal Council (Sangguniang Bayan or SB).

In 1999, two documents were prepared by the Provincial Water and Sanitation Center. These documents now form part of the framework of how water and sanitation projects are to be implemented in the province and in the municipalities. The executive order for a municipal level water and sanitation team and implementing rules and regulations for a municipal level water and sanitation team and the executive order for the provincial water and sanitation center or unit.

This kind of institutional framework is now being considered in other watsan projects of the government. The Provincial Water Supply and Sanitation Master Plans of various local government units assisted by JICA to develop their master plan incorporated recommendations for other provinces to set-up their own watsan centers or Provincial Water and Sanitation Units.

The advocacy to create a municipal wide federation is also underway. The first consultation meeting to explore the idea and generate support was attended by representatives of the different water and sanitation associations in San Luis which are now managing water systems and are taking off from lessons learnt from the Doña Flavia experience.

2.4 Main characteristics of the community managed water project

Participation in decision-making between the support groups (NGOs, municipal and provincial government) and primary stakeholders (user groups), and a continual process of shared decision-making at all stages of the project cycle, is crucial. It helps develop the community's sense of responsibility for and control over the local operation, maintenance and management of the water or sanitation system. Participation is not limited to labour and money contributions. Community members are able to make informed choices in terms of choice and location of water/sanitation system, technology and level of service, operation, maintenance and management. Capacity building is an output, especially the development of skills in management, planning, analysis, decision-making, and problem solving.

Officers should not hold the same positions for a very long time. Also, paid jobs in service operation and management are created wherever possible and reliance on volunteer labour is reduced or eliminated. Technology is kept very simple to maintain and repair, where possible, with a reliable supply of spare parts and technical assistance available locally. Provision for the transfer of responsibility is built in from the beginning of the project, with clear recognition that this is a process, not an event.

Cost recovery is organized through the collection of water tariffs paid by the users themselves. This is primarily designed for the operation and maintenance of the water system. The ta pstands are metered and water rates are applied based on the meter readings. To date, they have a high collection efficiency (97%) and they have purchased a generator to enable them to operate the pump even in the absence of power supply from the electric cooperative. The Dona Flavia Association board has designed the annual budget (expected costs which includes fixed costs - staff, Board honorariums- and variable costs) and have conducted public hearings to explain costs and get approval for water rates.

The indicators of the community managed water and sanitation services are:

• Effectively sustained functioning system/service with effective financing and management.
• Effective use manifested by safe and environmentally sound use.
• Demand-responsive service.
• Division of burdens and benefits.

3. Key lessons learned

This demonstration project was implemented at a time when the national government has strongly urged the local government units to establish at least one demonstration site to pilot the institutionalization of Barangay water and sanitation associations and rural water and sanitation associations. The demonstration project in Doña Flavia has shown that a community managed water and sanitation system works. In fact, the municipality of San Luis has now utilized the concept of community management in pursuing other projects. In the implementation of this demonstration project, some of the key lessons learned on what works are as follows:

• Institution building is a process that takes time for certain ideas to be developed, accepted and owned. However, it is worth the investment if the local stakeholders at various decision making levels accept their roles and responsibilities towards project sustainability.
• Capacity building of local organizations should be considered a necessary investment that increases the project's chances of sustainability. Allocate a full time municipal worker who receives training and guidance on how to organize the men and women of a barangay into a viable user's group that shall be involved in the decision making processes of the water and sanitation project. Budgets for capacity building should be incorporated in the whole project costs. One shot trainings are not enough. The continuous learning process works, follow-up capacity building activities.
• Men and women should be given equal opportunities to participate. Women must be given space to express themselves and be assured that their opinions will be respected by men.
• External catalysts are instrumental to make sure that project actors fulfill their commitments. These may be LGU representatives or NGOs working in the area, periodically monitoring progress and providing technical advice when needed.
• Implementing a project within election period has its advantages and disadvantages. On one hand, the local chief executive wanted the water facility constructed immediately before he stepped down from his position. On the other hand, it was difficult to mobilize the municipal local government units because they were hesitant that the watsan project be tainted with too much politics. Hence, there was a decision among the partners to defer ground working and consultations after the elections.
• The concept of supporting a demonstration project works. It served as a challenge to the municipal government unit and the Dona Flavia Association to sustain their service operations, because they have been cited often and visited many times by local and foreign guests who wanted to see how they implemented this demonstration project.
• The introduction of a water supply project must be demand driven. A consultation process is important to establish levels of participation and willingness to support its continued operation, maintenance and repair. The community is also consulted in terms of how much its members are willing to pay monthly for maintenance costs.
• Remuneration to operating staff works. While the organization may work on the spirit of volunteerism, the caretaker and the bookkeeper should be paid for services rendered which inspires them to live up to their responsibilities.
• Ensure enough time frame to allow the community association to develop and be consolidated. Time frame for this kind of project varies. For instance, the time frame of six months to one year helped a lot in sustaining the momentum of the community association in managing their water systems.
• Support other activities such as networking and linkage building. The continuous flow of visitors to the demonstration project plus the assistance required from the other barangays have kept the community association active and alert. It served as a challenge to the community association to run their affairs well.

There are also a few risks/problems encountered:

• The change of general manager and some board members - as terms expire certain positions and people are changed, there is a need to continuously ensure that knowledge and skills are transferred and that commitment is built.
• The area is flood prone - it is flooded almost three months every year. This was already anticipated in the design stage but the risks continue to be present.

4. Guidelines for project replication

Aside from the key lessons learned that were cited above, the Doña Flavia experience also presents implementation guidelines and suggests some areas to look into in relation to project replication and policy options.

Surfacing of issues/problems
This is with regards to the water supply facility and the community organization. Facilitation techniques should be resorted to so that issues and problems are openly discussed and resolved. Identify problems where technical help is necessary. Discuss risks and root causes of problems. Consider also the focus on gender and poverty during establishment and operations. Other areas to look into are: user contributions during implementation, user voice and choice in planning and designing the water supply system, satisfaction of user demand, ratio of user-perceived costs/benefits for men/women and rich/poor, division of burdens and benefits.

Process documentation
Continuously document the processes involved. The repository of lessons learned from the successful and not-so-successful experiences will enhance future water and sanitation projects and programs. This will also be very useful to the water sector as this kind of documentation will help clarify issues, concerns and approaches in the field of community managed water and sanitation programs. Document as well the administrative and the implementation procedures.

Provision of needed technical inputs on issues/problems identified
Technical inputs are needed in the design and construction of the water supply system as well as in its operation and maintenance. Evaluate with the people which technical options will provide the greatest benefit to the greatest number of people at the least cost. The best technology is determined by cost-benefit analysis and simplicity to operate. Present the technical data to the people. The development worker has to have data to present to the community on why such technology choice. Be able to tell them the costs and the benefits, including the sustainability costs - how much the community needs to save every year to operate the water supply system. The technical person has a significant role. But if the community is not involved right from the start, everything will not be sustainable. Solutions, aside from technological remedies, usually include organizing and training the community to be able to cope with problems and risks, and, for sizable water systems, the willingness to pay regular tariffs for operation and maintenance.

Creation of a support group/office
Community initiatives for water supply and sanitation projects should be supported by government and non-government organizations. This makes people more confident in their own abilities and overcome the apathy felt towards government programs. Utilize local resource persons trained on the job.

Identification of next “action steps”
In implementing a similar project, continuous education and learning opportunities as well as work planning are required. Capacity building requires separate investments in resources, time and personnel. Time scales for construction work and capacity building are different. Meanwhile, the staff/implementers should prepare for an exit plan so that responsibility for program continuity is passed on to the capable community leaders. The other stakeholders such as the LGUs, other NGOs, etc. should also be clear about the phase outs plans.

Conclusion

The newly formed community association was regularly monitored and supervised by the municipal local government and the PCWS-ITNF. The efforts invested in developing a demonstration project has since been replicated in eight other barangays in San Luis where water projects were being developed. The municipal administration chose to prioritize the provision of basic water services and has tried to replicate the community management model for new water projects. The officers and key actors in the Doña Flavia association are now being tapped as “big brothers” as they are regarded as providing a good model. They are now assisting the municipal government in setting up community management systems for water supply projects in other barangays. These barangays include Doña Maxima, Poblacion, Don Alejandro, Nuevo Trabajo, Coalicion, Sta. Ines, Santiago, Mahapag and Anislagan.

This initiative has been recognized as effective and would later pave the way towards the formation of a municipal federation of barangay waterworks and sanitation associations. The federation was organized to serve as a forum for the board members in seeking the necessary assistance from the government and private entities for their common welfare and to oversee the sustainability of the community managed water systems.

The provincial government of Agusan del Sur also contributed significantly in the process. It has closely monitored and supervised the municipal government in their activities. It also provided the resource persons for some of the trainings and assisted in resource mobilization by providing some pipes to augment the resources at the municipal level.

ANNEX 1 - Chronology of Events

I. Pre-Project Activities

1. The MPDO identified the project based on a felt need.
2. The MPDO prepared a plan and submitted it to the MPDC, the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO) and to a donor agency -- the Local Government Support Program.
3. The MPDC approved the allocation for the Doña Flavia project, charged to the 20% Municipal Development Fund.
4. The PPDO endorsed the project to the LGSP and committed counterpart support in terms of available resources.
5. The LGSP committed its support and consulted PCWS-ITNF for capacity building assistance.
6. PCWS-ITNF, in consultation with PPDO and MLGU, prepared a project proposal on the capability building component and submitted it to LGSP.

II. Actual Implementation

March 1998	MLGU constructed the water supply system.
	MLGU contracted RIBSON Construction to develop the deep well source and to construct the water reservoir.
	RIBSON drilled in the first site.

May 1998	Memorandum of Agreement signing of MLGU, LGSP, PLGU and PCWS-ITNF.
	Planning meeting for partnership.
	Training on community organizing.
	Baseline survey.
	Core group formation.
	DFWSA drafted its by-laws.

May 31, 1998

General assembly and election of officers

June 1-6, 1998

Training of Trainers for the Provincial Water and Sanitation Task Force (PWSTF) and the Municipal Water and Sanitation Task Force (MWSTF).

June 24-26, 1998

First training for the DFWSA on team building, leadership, organizational management, sanitation and hygiene promotion.

July 14, 1998	Second training for the DFWSA on fiscal management and water rates.
	DFWSA questioned the contractor's choice of a drilling site and consulted with the LGU.
	Contractor transferred drilling to a second site.
	Pump testing by the MLGU and Board of Directors of the DFWSA.