Water User Groups Ensure Project Sustainability

by Micheline R. Millar

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Cambodia is blessed with fresh water resources but ironically only about a third of its people have access to safe water supplies and just 16% to adequate sanitation.

As a result many rural areas, in particular, suffer from high rates of waterborne and water-related diseases.

Many agencies, including ADB, are involved in providing expertise and financial resources for development projects to address these concerns. To ensure projects are truly effective and sustainable, the country’s Ministry of Rural Development has come up with the Water and Sanitation User Group (WSUG) concept that ensures local communities are fully involved in the process from start to finish.

Under the WSUG formula, the government agency introduces the project plan and provides technical training in its operation and maintenance. In turn, project beneficiaries use WSUGs to outline their water and sanitation requirements and to express opinions and concerns. Importantly, it is owned by the communities, and gives them a way to actively participate in provision of access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation.

One of the success stories of the scheme has been the ADB-backed Tonle Sap Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Project in Pursat province, with about 517 WSUGs established to date.

“For the sustainability of the project, WSUGs are formed. The project explains to beneficiaries about ownership and about the cost. If the people don’t take care of the facilities, the people will face again a lack of water supply. It is explained to them that these water wells belong to them, not to the project,” said Ky Seng Ha, manager of the project implementation unit of the Ministry of Rural Development in the provincial capital of Pursat.

As well as selecting the type and location of water supply and sanitation systems, WSUG members also decide on the payment option best suited to them, which can include cash, labor, materials, or even land.