Irrigation-plus

Poor people in developing countries need water for many purposes: for drinking, bathing, irrigating vegetable gardens, and watering livestock. However, responsibility for water services is divided between different government agencies, the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and irrigation sub-sectors, with the result that people's holistic needs are not met. Multiple use water services (MUS) is a participatory water services approach that takes account of poor people's multiple water needs as a starting point of planning, and the approach has been implemented in at least 22 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Scaling up Multiple Use Water Services argues that by designing cost-effective multi-purpose infrastructure MUS can have a positive impact on people's health and livelihoods. It analyses and explains the success factors of MUS, using a framework of accountability for public service delivery, and it also examines why there has been resistance against scaling up MUS. A stronger service delivery approach can overcome this resistance, by rewarding more livelihood outcomes, by fostering discretionary decision-making power of local-level staff and by allowing horizontal coordination.This book should be read by government and aid agency policy makers in the WASH and agriculture sectors, by development field workers, and by academics, researchers and students of international development.

This project brought together iDE-N's experience in MUS, irrigation, water management and appropriate sustainable business models with Renewable World’s experience in renewable energy and business models for income generation in extremely isolated communities.

Solar-powered water pumps, as a reliable system of lifting water, are critical to the success of this project. The traditional gravity-fed MUS, as previously implemented by iDE-N in Nepal, are designed to give priority for drinking water, with overflow water from the drinking water tank being used for agriculture and other uses. Householders are trained to use micro-irrigation systems to make efficient use of the MUS water for their agricultural needs. Micro-irrigation is a financial boon to households as it results in higher crop yields, longer growing seasons (as crops can be grown in the dry season), and better market prices (as these crops tend to be more scarce at that time of year). Increased income means that households can cover the costs of ongoing operation, maintenance, and replacement costs of multiple-use systems. Because they better meet the water needs of communities, multiple-use services also decrease conflict related to water access as well as damage to infrastructure caused by “illegal” or unplanned uses.

This scoping study offers implementable recommendations for investment opportunities in multiple use water services in Ghana. The report is based on an assessment of existing MUS modalities and innovations, potential for implementation and possible barriers. The study shows that MUS is a de facto practice both in formal domestic and irrigation service delivery, complemented by self-supply initiatives. Moving from de facto multiple use practices to a more planned and structured MUS approach can be done from various entry-points. Based on risk assessments, this study concludes that domestic-plus, rehabilitation of small reservoirs and self-supply for irrigation present the best direct investment opportunities for maximum impact.

A presentation by Stef Smits on basic MUS issues given at the 2012 MUS-group meeting in Washington, DC.