1. Johnny François Regional Office Manager, Les Cayes
Safely managed community water supply: success factors for sustainability
Good afternoon. My name is Johnny Francois. Today I will be speaking to you about Water Mission’s experiences in supporting community-managed water supplies in Haiti.
Johnny François
Regional Office Manager, Les Cayes
2017 Haiti Water Summit
State University of Haiti, Port-au-Prince

2. Community water system designs should utilize best-in-class technology
Key messages
Community water system designs should utilize best-in-class technology
There is willingness to pay for high quality water service in Haiti
Water committees can respond to some challenges, but need ongoing training and support
I hope to communicate three things to you today:
Water supply system designs should utilize best-in-class technology in order to provide long-lasting, high quality service
If water service provides a high level of quantity, quality, accessibility, and reliability, communities in Haiti are willing to pay for and sustain it
Community water committees can respond to most technical, institutional, environmental, and social challenges, but they need ongoing training and technical and administrative support as they face certain conflicts while working to keep water flowing

3. Water Mission is a Christian engineering NGO that has been working to improve access to safely managed water services in Haiti since Like many NGOs in the country, our early efforts were focused on responding to technical shocks in Haiti’s water supplies as a result of natural disasters and outbreaks. As we continued to support DINEPA and rural communities throughout relief, recovery, and development, emphasis on sustainable management and support of community water supplies has grown. With over 60 full-time staff members operating out of three offices in Port-au-Prince, Cap Haitien, and Les Cayes, Water Mission has designed, constructed, and supported over 500 safe water treatment and distribution systems that contribute to the resiliency of Haiti’s safe water supplies.

4. Customized engineering solutions
Mechanized pumps
Solar or grid power
Chlorination & other appropriate treatment
We have learned a lot from our experiences. One of the most important is that reliable access to safe water requires customized engineering solutions. For Water Mission, this involves:
Mechanized pumps that are designed to provide the right flow at the right total dynamic head
Reliable power sources, which usually means solar (point out solar array on top of treatment house). Solar-powered solutions allow us to serve more people per water point; provide high levels of service in remote areas; and minimize operation and maintenance costs for communities over the long-term
We always chlorinate water regardless of the source in order to keep it safe during collection, transportation and storage. We also often include other treatment steps, such as settling (point out settling tank on top of treatment house) and filtration.

5. Customized engineering solutions
Mechanized pumps
Solar or grid power
Chlorination & other appropriate treatment
Storage in excess of daily demand
Metered distribution points
We often utilize a packaged water treatment system called the Living Water Treatment system which is capable of filtering and chlorinating most sources of water
Water storage and accessible distribution points are also critical design elements

6. Financial sustainability
100% communities cover operating & minor maintenance expenses
Average performance in best projects:
5 Gde/5 gallon
Water price
>17,000 Gde/month
Revenue
>150,000 Gde
Bank balance
We have found that when water supply systems provide a high level of quantity, quality, accessibility, and reliability, communities are willing to pay for the service. Financial viability of community safe water supply systems in Haiti is possible even with a typical water price of 5 Gde/5 gallons.
When we work with communities, we follow an extensive mobilization, training, and support process. Professionalized, participatory processes that empower water user committees to plan for and recover ongoing costs of rural safe water service encourage ownership and stimulate innovation.
The result of this is that, over the past 3 years, 100% of the communities we are supporting are covering their day-to-day operating and minor maintenance expenses with revenue generated from selling safe water. The average revenue in the top 10% of our projects is 17,100 Gde/month and the average bank account balance is 150,600 Gde. We believe these “success stories” can be the norm, not the exception.

7. Lafiteau
33,510
Lafiteau is a success story of a project where a water committee has performed well – provide relevant details about volume of water distributed, monthly revenue, and savings for replacement
7,712

8. Ongoing direct support
In order to achieve this type of operational and financial performance, water committees need ongoing direct support after water supply systems are “commissioned”. We know they will face challenges, and if they have someone walking with them as they face them, they will gain confidence.
Typically, we are involved in providing administrative support, reviewing financial books. We also provide ongoing training to community-based water, sanitation and hygiene promoters who continue to generate demand in the community.

9. Ongoing direct support
We are also involved in providing technical support to water system operators, and are investing in satellite-based data logging and transmission systems which are capable of monitoring water production, water quality, system pressure, and well depth remotely.

10. www.watermission.org haiti@watermision.org
Thank you!
Thank you for your time today. I will be happy to answer any questions or direct you to colleagues who will be able to answer them. Please come and see us at our table. I look forward to connecting with you.