Results

This case study captures de facto MUS practices in 14 communities in Honduras. Specifically, it looks into the question of how such practices contribute to people's livelihoods and how they contribute to sustainability of the rural water supply services. It concludes that MUS is a common practice in nearly all households and in nearly all communities. The relative importance of MUS, however, depends on the livelihood strategy of a household. The study also shows how MUS can be regulated in such a way that it doesn't negatively affect system sustainability.

In December 2010, a technical exchange visit was organised between FAO and IRC. The objective of this visit was to further develop the "domestic water supply and sanitation" component of the MASSMUS methodology for assessing multiple uses of water in large-scale irrigation systems. This component was field-tested in the Krishna Western Delta irrigation system, in Andhra Pradesh, India.

The main conclusions with respect to domestic uses is that the most important contributions irrigation makes to domestic supplies is through direct supply of bulk water to city, towns and villages from canals, and through indirect use of groundwater. This is to some extent reflected also in canal operation procedures, where priority is given to filling reservoirs and village tanks for domestic uses. However, domestic water users are not represented in the governance structure of the irrigation system. One area of concern is the lack of adequate wastewater management facilities. As a result, wastewater is used in an untreated manner for irrigation. Although the extent of this is limited compared to conventional irrigation practices, locally it represents an important source of water.

Apart from domestic uses, the KWD also supports other uses of water. These include food production, fish and aquaculture and animal husbandry. A relatively large part of water in the command area is consumed by natural vegetation. In terms of the value created by these different uses, the KWD shows a similar pattern as other similar irrigation systems in the region, with crop production representing 60% of the total value created, with the rest shared between the other uses.

Many farms in tropical countries suffer from droughts in the dry season and sometimes even in the rainy season. In order to significantly increase the capacity to store water, the grassroots Farmer Wisdom movement in Northeast Thailand innovated pond construction on homesteads. This Working Paper first documents how pond water is mainly used to irrigate crops and fruit trees, and is also used for livestock or fish, and for domestic uses, even if ample piped water is available. Households were also found to harvest rainwater from roofs; take water from canals and streams; lift water manually from shallow wells and with electric pumps from deep wells; channel run-off from roads to paddy fields; use precipitation as green water on fields; and buy bottled water. Most households combine at least six of these nine water sources. The second part describes scenarios and some outcomes of a new simulation model, BoNam. This model provides guidelines for the optimal size and site of such ponds according to biophysical factors (weather, soil and crops), socioeconomic factors (prices, availability of labor and off-farm income) and household aspirations

Indira Shakya's presentation dealt with technologies for rainwater harvesting for MUS in Nepal