Panama : rural water

assisted Panama"s Department of Environmental Health (DEH) in a program to provide 500 piped water systems and 1,300 handpumps to small villages. The program was planned to enlist community participation and a commitment to operate and maintain the completed systems. By 1980 562 water systems had been completed; 26 of these were selected at random for this A.I.D. evaluation. Sixteen of the systems had good records of operation, with effective management, adequate maintenance, and regular collection of fees. The other 10 were experiencing serious problems, although communities with strong local organizations seemed able to resolve their problems within a year. Individuals trained to operate and maintain the system and handle simple repairs were found in all the villages visited. Monthly household charges ranged from 25 cents for gravity systems to $3 for diesel-powered systems. Few villages had difficulty covering operating costs. Piped water, access to which water was almost universal in the villages visited, was of good quality; was used for drinking, cooking, bathing, and cleaning; and relieved women and girls of the time-consuming duty of gathering water. In an unintended effect, the systems helped stem rural-urban migration and were clandestinely used to water vegetable gardens and small livestock. Participation in building and maintaining the systems promoted community initiative and self-reliance. At the macro-level, the water systems helped reduce rural infant mortality and diarrhea. A survey of handpumps in 8 adjacent villages confirmed DEH estimates that non-use of the handpumps is widespread. The problem is the failure to require community commitment to pump operation and maintenance and the impossibility of repairing locally the type of pump installed. Reasons for the project"s success included the DEH"s effective administration and prior experience, use of simple and reliable technology, community participation, adequate water resources, and moderately high rural per capita income. However, there is a potential for problems due to DEH budget cuts, rising energy costs, and growing improper use of piped water.