Influence of Service Levels and COVID-19 on Water Supply Inequalities of Community-Managed Service Providers in Nepal
In Nepal, there are three types of water service providers; two types of government-managed service providers covering urban and municipal areas, and community-managed service providers called Water Users and Sanitation Associations (WUSAs). This study aims to assess the current water supply service...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-05-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/10/1349 |
| _version_ | 1797534325057519616 |
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| author | Arati Shrestha Shinobu Kazama Satoshi Takizawa |
| author_facet | Arati Shrestha Shinobu Kazama Satoshi Takizawa |
| author_sort | Arati Shrestha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In Nepal, there are three types of water service providers; two types of government-managed service providers covering urban and municipal areas, and community-managed service providers called Water Users and Sanitation Associations (WUSAs). This study aims to assess the current water supply service levels and water supply inequalities of WUSAs in terms of water consumption, supply hours, and customer satisfaction. Among the three types of water service providers, WUSAs offered the best performance in terms of their low non-revenue water (NRW) rates and production costs, high bill collection rates, and long supply hours. During the COVID-19 lockdown, water consumption increased, but bill payment notably decreased, possibly due to restricted movement and hesitation by customers to make payments. The multiple-year water consumption variations illustrated the uneven water consumption behavior of customers. Despite the variation in water supply hours, Lorenz curves, Gini coefficients (G), and water consumption analysis depicted low inequalities (G ≈ 0.20–0.28) and adequate water consumption among WUSAs even in 2019–2020. In the three WUSAs, more than 90%, 74%, and 38% of customers consumed water above the basic, medium, and high levels, respectively. Thus, maintaining high service levels of WUSAs is instrumental in achieving Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nepal. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:28:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-af2f95f7301445948fb164c795ea8262 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T11:28:02Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-af2f95f7301445948fb164c795ea82622023-11-21T19:28:58ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412021-05-011310134910.3390/w13101349Influence of Service Levels and COVID-19 on Water Supply Inequalities of Community-Managed Service Providers in NepalArati Shrestha0Shinobu Kazama1Satoshi Takizawa2Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-8654, JapanDepartment of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-8654, JapanDepartment of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo 113-8654, JapanIn Nepal, there are three types of water service providers; two types of government-managed service providers covering urban and municipal areas, and community-managed service providers called Water Users and Sanitation Associations (WUSAs). This study aims to assess the current water supply service levels and water supply inequalities of WUSAs in terms of water consumption, supply hours, and customer satisfaction. Among the three types of water service providers, WUSAs offered the best performance in terms of their low non-revenue water (NRW) rates and production costs, high bill collection rates, and long supply hours. During the COVID-19 lockdown, water consumption increased, but bill payment notably decreased, possibly due to restricted movement and hesitation by customers to make payments. The multiple-year water consumption variations illustrated the uneven water consumption behavior of customers. Despite the variation in water supply hours, Lorenz curves, Gini coefficients (G), and water consumption analysis depicted low inequalities (G ≈ 0.20–0.28) and adequate water consumption among WUSAs even in 2019–2020. In the three WUSAs, more than 90%, 74%, and 38% of customers consumed water above the basic, medium, and high levels, respectively. Thus, maintaining high service levels of WUSAs is instrumental in achieving Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Nepal.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/10/1349community-managed systemsCOVID-19online paymentwater consumptioninequality |
| spellingShingle | Arati Shrestha Shinobu Kazama Satoshi Takizawa Influence of Service Levels and COVID-19 on Water Supply Inequalities of Community-Managed Service Providers in Nepal Water community-managed systems COVID-19 online payment water consumption inequality |
| title | Influence of Service Levels and COVID-19 on Water Supply Inequalities of Community-Managed Service Providers in Nepal |
| title_full | Influence of Service Levels and COVID-19 on Water Supply Inequalities of Community-Managed Service Providers in Nepal |
| title_fullStr | Influence of Service Levels and COVID-19 on Water Supply Inequalities of Community-Managed Service Providers in Nepal |
| title_full_unstemmed | Influence of Service Levels and COVID-19 on Water Supply Inequalities of Community-Managed Service Providers in Nepal |
| title_short | Influence of Service Levels and COVID-19 on Water Supply Inequalities of Community-Managed Service Providers in Nepal |
| title_sort | influence of service levels and covid 19 on water supply inequalities of community managed service providers in nepal |
| topic | community-managed systems COVID-19 online payment water consumption inequality |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/13/10/1349 |
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