Water

Model Terms of Reference
Implementing Zonal Management Approach to Urban Water Supplies

• Rationale
• Objectives
• Scope
• Links

Some 700 million people in the Asia and Pacific region still lacks access to improved water supply.

People who are not connected often spend 15% of their household income for water. They buy their water from neighbours at inflated costs, or get it from standpipes or stand-posts, where access to water is only available for short durations.

The core issue is getting connected to piped water promptly and on affordable terms, especially for the poor. Once connected, people are likely to pay only 1–2% of their household income for piped water.

Unfortunately, it is not so easy to improve operational performance of the whole distribution network.

A possible solution would be to sub-divide the network into smaller, more manageable hydraulically isolated zones. This would enable operators to focus resources and efforts within each zone, thereby increasing the chances of improved performance, reduced levels of non-revenue water (NRW), increased water conservation through effective consumer revenue metering, and more. The savings resulting from these service efficiencies could be directed to adjacent zones and the process progressively repeated until the whole network has been covered and overall performance improved.

This is the “zonal approach” to urban water supplies.

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The zonal approach’s main objectives can be summarized as follows:

• 24-hour piped water to all
• Affordable water
• Conservation of resources
• Sustainability of service
• Speedy implementation of development

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The zonal approach should not be implemented in isolation but must always be part of an integrated package that includes:

• Policy and the Political Enabling Environment
  Government endorsed and civil society informed policy on service levels, tariffs, tariff revisions, subsidies, private sector participation, etc.
• Technical, Financial, and Organizational Analysis
  Covers water source and hydraulic zone selection, water audit, and assessment of financial viability, organizational and social aspects, and environmental impact.
• Project Management and Procurement
  Project and utility management covering the development of people through leadership and strong management, with managers free to manage without political interference, as well as the procurement of services.
• Operational Management
  Based on management at the lowest practicable level, for example sub-zone caretakers.
  

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• Outline of TOR [PDF]
• Detailed TOR [PDF]
• Appendices [PDF]
1. Questionnaire for Water Utility (International Consultant)
2. Questionnaire for SSPWP Piped Water Operators (Domestic Consultants)
3. Questionnaire for SSPWP Water Vendors (Enumerators)
4. Questionnaire for Bottled Water Supplier (Enumerators)
5. Questionnaire for Consumer Survey (Enumerators)