SinhalaI Tamil October 12, 2006 -- Water, sanitation and health are inextricably linked and lack of these basic facilities impact heavily on rural communities who depend on agriculture, livestock breeding, and market gardening to earn a living. As water resource dwindle, the right to water and equitable access to it has become one of the most compelling issues facing rural Sri Lanka. The Government of Sri Lanka commitment to its people is to a supply of safe drinking water and adequate sanitation for its entire population by the year 2010. Building Critical Water Services The World Bank is supporting Sri Lanka’s Second Community Water Supply and Sanitation Project(CWSSP II) to build critical water and sanitation facilities and strengthen the capability of the central and local governments to deliver and manage sustainable water supply and sanitation services. The development and management of water resources, remains a high priority for Sri Lanka given its strategic importance to rural development and poverty reduction. Aiming to improve the health and well-being of rural villages the project is designed to empower local communities to plan, implement and manage their own water and sanitation schemes. 10% of Households Have Access to Tap Water At present this service is at a critical level. Only about 1 out of every 10 households have water on tap and every fifth person relies on rivers, streams and other unprotected water sources for their drinking water. About 30 percent of village and small town populations have private access to safe water sources. Sanitation levels are equally poor, with almost thirty percent of the populations in villages and small towns not having access to sanitary latrines. Traditional Water Sources No Longer Safe, and in Short Supply Growing competition among domestic, agricultural, industrial and commercial users has resulted in a shortage of this scarce resource especially in the dry zones of Sri Lanka. In addition, contamination of water sources and the lack of a regular and reliable water quality testing system have meant that traditional water sources in rural Sri Lanka have become increasingly unsafe. This deterioration in the availability and quality of traditional water sources can be responsible for the country’s declining health standards. Bacterially contaminated water sources and poorly designed pit latrines are usually a main vector for infectious and parasitic diseases particularly prevalent among young children. Bringing Water to Rural Areas, Improving Health The project development objective is to increase service coverage and achieve effective and sustained use of water and sanitation services in rural communities. It is being implemented in a decentralized manner through the Provincial Councils and the Pradeshiya Sabhas with the onus on communities to assume responsibility for planning, implementing, and managing investment schemes so that they are in control of their own water and sanitation investments. By this decentralized service delivery system, the project is strengthening the capacity of three tiers of government—central, provincial and local and demonstrate effective implementation options for other investments in rural areas. Low health standards due to lack of knowledge and low awareness of health implications among communities, will be addressed by implementing education programs on hygiene, protecting water sources and conserving the environment. The project is introducing routine checks on water quality which includes the testing of wells, ground and surface water sources for the existence of physical and chemical pollutants. The identification of potential pollutants and the training of community members to carry out routine water sampling using easy-to-use test kits, will be an added feature. Although poverty targeting is not explicit, the beneficiaries of the project will be predominantly poor. The correlation between poverty levels and water sanitation access is high, with over 90% of Sri Lanka’s poor living in rural areas where the project is targeted. The first Community Water Supply and Sanitation Project was implemented in 1993 by the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing Construction in the districts of Badulla, Matara and Ratnapura. The project evaluation revealed that user involvement—specifically women as primary water collectors -- in all aspects of water supply system development, improves project implementation, and operation and maintenance sustainability. The total cost of the project is US$50.76 million, of which US$33.50 million will be financed as an outright grant by the World Bank. The Government of Sri Lanka is contributing 7.15 million and the community 10.11. This is one the largest grant provided by the World Bank to an Asian country in rural water supply and sanitation development. | TIMELINE | | The project period | 6 years | | Commencement Date | September 2003 | | Completion Date | August 2009 | | Project financing | US$ Million | | International Development Association (IDA) | 33.50 | | Government of Sri Lanka | 7.15 | | Community | 10.11 | | Total | 50.76 |
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