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Toolkit for Urban Water Supply Projects
Module 2
Identification of Areas Suitable for Water Kiosks: Selection criteria
Data Collection and Selection of Project Areas
Lessons Learned from the Kiosk Projects
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Identification of Project Areas: Selection Criteria
An important activity which precedes the preparation of a proposal for a water supply
project is the identification of suitable low income urban areas that could benefit from
the project.
In order to be able to prioritise areas and to make a good selection, the WSP should
develop and apply a number of prioritisation/selection criteria that reflect the various
objectives of the project. The following criteria should be considered:

Socio-economic status of the area (Can the area be described as a low
income urban area?).

Legal status of the area.

Current water supply situation (access to treated water, use of unprotected
sources, formal and informal tariffs, etc.).

Population size and past and expected population growth rates and patterns.

Current sanitation situation (do pit latrines pollute open wells which are used
for drinking purposes).

Current public health situation (recent outbreaks of water-related diseases,
etc.).

Expected impact of a water supply and/or sanitation programme.

Sensitisation and education requirements.

Existing technical constraints (The WSP is unable to the area with sufficient
quantities of water, large a large number of un-metered and illegal
connections) and required measures, programmes and inputs in order to
improve water supply.

Existing social constraints (Presence of informal water sellers, high level of
vandalism, etc.).

Assessment of technical works required.

Other water supply projects and initiatives developed and implemented by
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Toolkit for Urban Water Supply Projects
Module 2
The Selection of Project Areas
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local community-based organisations.
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Community-based organisations which are active in the area.

Expressed needs and the willingness and ability to pay for an improved
service and a better product.
Data Collection and Selection of Project Areas
The collection of reliable data is at the basis of the successful water supply project.
In order to achieve the social, public health, commercial and technical objectives of
the WSP, the following types of data will have to be collected and analysed:





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Data concerning the legal status of the peri-urban areas considered.
Demographic data, patterns of population growth and patterns of migration.
Spatial developments (extension of the area and densification of the
population).
Data concerning current water consumption levels and patterns, the use of
alternative (unprotected and protected) sources of water.
Data on the current sanitary situation.
Information on (registered) groups and organisations that (could) represent the
community and an inventory of existing forms of community participation.
On the basis of existing water consumption patterns and a detailed knowledge on
alternative (cheaper) sources of water, a service provider is able to estimate per
capita daily consumption levels and to make peri-urban water demand forecasts. The
main objectives of the data collection exercise are the following:


Enable to select the project areas using the selection criteria.
Calculate the number of required kiosks (using the peri-urban kiosk system
planning sheet, see Module 2, Section **).
The objectives of the project and the collected data will also enable the project team
or taskforce to identify a number of indicators that can be used to monitor and
evaluate the project (both the approach and the outcome of the project).
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Data Collection Tools
This section contains a set of data collection tools which can be used to collect all the
information required to:
 Prioritise project areas.
 Prepare a project proposal.
 Implement a water supply project.
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Toolkit for Urban Water Supply Projects
Module 2
The Selection of Project Areas