Multiple use water services for the poor : assessing the state of knowledge : final reoprt

Poor populations need water for a variety of essential uses ranging from drinking, hygiene and sanitation to food production and income generation. Existing approaches to water service delivery typically entail systems that are designed, managed and financed for a single use—for example, drinking or irrigation. But the poor often rely on such single-use systems to meet multiple water needs—needs not considered in the planning or management of the system. An alternative model for water service provision—known as multiple-use approaches to water service delivery—is a consumer-oriented approach that takes people’s multiple water needs as a starting point and involves planning, finance and management of integrated water services for multiple domestic and productive uses.

The purpose of this study is to guide prospective investments in the water sector by: (1) assessing the relative costs, benefits and poverty impacts of multiple-use approaches over single-use approaches; (2) evaluating the potential market for multiple-use approaches focusing on South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. (Authors abstract)