Abstract:
The rural drinking water projects were implemented in several developing countries with the support
of national institutions and international donor agencies. This alternative system has been established
with the support of community based organizations in many rural water sectors. The concept of
‘participatory approach’ has been recognized by the donors and adopted with CBO managed RWS
schemes for ensuring the sustainability of the projects. This study focused on understanding the
social sustainability of the RWS which are functioning in the Ampara district, Sri Lanka. The data
have been gathered from primary and secondary sources. The questionnaire has been dispersed
among CBO managed water schemes and, interviews and group discussion were also conducted for
collecting the information. Data has been processed using the SPSS package and analysis was
presented in an interpretative way. The services of the RWS systems were satisfied by the
participants. However, the result of the study found that community involvement in the establishment
of CBO scheme was low and the identification of location for CBO scheme was also highly
influenced by the donors and other agencies rather than local people. Further, it revealed that
women’s participation was also in poor condition even though they have interest or willingness to
take part in the RWS operation and maintenance. The community was not a highly influencing factor
in the sustainability of the projects. Thus, this study suggests active participation of the local
community in all stages of the CBO managed RWS scheme to assure the success and sustainability of
such projects.
