Design of Regional Rural Water Supply Schemes-A New Approach

Quality of drinking water and its regular timely availability in adequate quantity to end users carry prime importance during design of any Regional Rural Water Supply Scheme (RRWSS) or multi-village scheme. RRWSSs are executed with a purpose of either providing potable water to quality affected areas or supplying water in sufficient quantities in water stressed areas. Presence of existing PWSS also affects the sustainability of a RRWSS as it gives an easy option for the village to opt out from the scheme. Villages that have cheaper water sources would not prefer RRWSS. Likewise those that truly face water scarcity are not satisfied with the 40 litres per capita per day (lpcd) provided by the schemes and demand either handpumps or individual PWSS even after execution of the schemes. As a result, cases of villages moving out of RRWSS and demanding new schemes are rampant. This implies reinvestment by the Government. Plight of RRWSSs is not at all encouraging. Inspite of huge investment by the Government of Maharashtra, only 56.60% of schemes are functional. This study tries to find out the ingredients that would motivate a consumer to be loyal to a RRWSS. It studies the different dimensions of water supply relevant to consumers, significance of consumer surplus, and consumers’ cost minimization problem before defining the states of nature under which a RRWSS can prove to be successful.