Sustainability
The major factor contributing to the cost of a water system is the time between repairs. Often, the most expensive part of maintenance is a complete or partial renewal of the system, but that renewal is, in a sense, inevitable. The factor that can be controlled is how long the system lasts before the renewal.
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Long-term use can be encouraged through a careful assurance of the three factors at right.​
1.
COMMUNITY DEMAND
2.
Financial Solvency
3.
Dynamic management
"Only with monetary investment does more general cultural investment follow"
As obvious as it might seem, projects enacted anywhere must fulfill some pressing need. Often, when a water system is built, the people of the area it serves are not consulted, and the water system solves some need other than that which they find important. For a system to be sustainable, it must satisfy a demand - it must solve a real problem.
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It is also important to talk to the communities being served about the importance of a water system and the benefits of having a modern one. By communicating the health concerns associated with open wells or streams, it is possible to increase the level of community commitment to a water system.
Community Demand
Financial Solvency
While it is perhaps obvious that any infrastructure project requires funding, the importance of the source of the funding is often understated.
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Counterintutitve as it may seem, a significant source of the funding must be from the (often impoverished) community itself. By asking those who will use the system to buy into it, the builder of the system can increase long-term commitment to it, increasing the odds that it will ultimately last.
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Conversely, if the traditional model of essentially infusing generous amounts of money and then leaving once the project is complete is followed, the result is, all too often, a drop in interest once the original funding has run out. This results in systems breaking down.
Dynamic Management
As important as the initial construction of the water system is continued small-scale repair. By fixing problems when they occur and not allowing them to grow to catastrophic failures, costs can be kept down and the system can be prevented from becoming unusable for extended periods of time.
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A traditional western-style centrally organized and administrated water system does not work in this regard. In rural areas without effective transportation infrastructure, the communities themselves must be empowered to make repairs to their own systems. However, since they often lack funding, some federal support must exist at least financially.
A Case Study
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The CHotiari Reservoir
The project to build the Chotiari Reservoir in Pakistan attempted to provide irrigation water for farmers in Sindh province.