A plan for CDS to establish a water and sanitation district in Cite Soleil, Haiti

From October 1995 to May 1996, the Environmental Health Project (EHP), with assistance from GreenCOM, worked with Centres pour le Developpement et la Sante (CDS), a Haitian NGO, to plan an autonomous water and sanitation District in Cite Soleil, an informal settlement of 200,000 inhabitants in Port-au- Prince. EHP's efforts were part of an 18-month project designed by USAID/Haiti and RHUDO/CAR with funds from the Environmental Initiative for the Americas Program. The USAID activity was designed to enhance an ongoing UNDP-funded project to construct an independent water supply system for Cite Soleil. UNDP provided $2.5 million to CDS to construct the system, which was scheduled for completion July 1, 1996. The system consists of two wells 5 km. from Cite Soleil, a water tank with a capacity of 264,000 US gallons, a network of pipes, and 70 public fountains, 60 of which are equipped with four faucets. Eighteen of the fountains were financed by Plan International.

The USAID project was designed to support CDS in establishing an autonomous organization capable of managing the UNDP-financed water supply system and providing environmental sanitation services with revenues from the sale of water. EHP has overall responsibility for the technical assistance, while GreenCOM is responsible for the behavior change component.

The purpose of the technical assistance was to help CDS in the following areas:
- Develop a financial plan to operate and maintain the UNDP-funded water supply system
- Develop an infrastructure plan to address the additional water and environmental sanitation needs in Cite Soleil
- Develop a plan for the creation of an autonomous District to manage the water and sanitation services over the long term

The plan developed for operation of the system has five major components:
1. Institutional Design of an Independent Water Management District;
2. Community Participation and Behavior Change (including formation of neighborhood fountain committees and zonal committees responsible for solid waste collection, study of water and sanitation practices, developing a communication strategy);
3. Infrastructure (includes a site description, current environmental conditions, and immediate and future needs for the water supply system, solid waste management, and domestic wastewater disposal;
4. Finance and Rate Scheme; and
5. Demonstration Activities including community- managed communal latrines, public laundry facilities, a pilot solid waste collection team, and implementation of the first two phases of the communications strategy.