Performance evaluation on operation and maintenance of rural water supply schemes in Bhutan

Operation and maintenance (O&M) is one of the most vital factors contributing to the long life and sustainability of water supply schemes but is often neglected in the small rural communities in developing countries. According to a 1990-3 evaluation of rural water schemes in Bhutan, only 26% of these schemes was working and giving full benefit, while the rest required minor/major repairs or were not working at all. In order to contribute to the improvement of O&M of the rural water supply schemes in Bhutan, this paper sets out to study the existing problems with regard to O&M of the schemes, to assess O&M procedures and strategies in rural water supply systems with emphasis on protected springs and gravity fed piped water systems, and to review the performance of a number of selected schemes which have a Village Maintenance Committee (VMC) and caretaker. The introduction gives a history of the rural drinking water supply programme in Bhutan and identifies the present problem. Chapter 2 reviews literature detailing successful O&M systems in other developing countries and from this, themes and indicators to evaluate the performance of the O&M system of rural water supply in Bhutan are identified and presented in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 describes the results of the research based on data collected in 6 rural water supply schemes serving 6 villages in the districts of Paro and Thimphu. The findings on organizational set-up, the performance of caretakers and VMCs and functioning of the schemes are included. Issues resulting from the research are discussed in Chapter 5 and specific and general conclusions are drawn. A list of recommendations for improving the present system of maintenance of rural schemes in Bhutan, which stresses the need for the training and deployment of VMCs and caretakers, concludes the paper.