Social Aspects of Small Water Systems

Abstract

The cost, safety, reliability, and flexibility of small water systems depend on the people who manage them and the socio-political-economic setting in which these individuals operate. Management is more than the technical operation of water systems. It is the governance of the community, and how water fits into the community’s present and future. In small communities, the management system is ill-equipped to actively address change. Moreover, as systems built over 30 years ago begin to crumble, the old model of management is not effective.