Promoting Multiple Water Use Services Based on Integrated Water Resources Management: The Planning and Implementation

Access to water is a key factor determining whether or not poor rural people are able to engage in economic activities. Many poor rural people in South Africa experience insecurity in terms of access to water. The reasons for this situation are manifold, but much can be traced back to inadequately informed planning; for too often services are not planned on the basis of an understanding of villager's real needs and capacities, nor based on the water resources potential to cater for these needs. When considering rural people's livelihoods strategies, it becomes evident that people require water for both domestic and productive needs. Research undertaken in relation to AWARD'S (Association for Water and Rural Development) work to improve the access of poor people to water resources in the Sand River Catchment in 2001; provided groundwork for our understanding of these needs. As a step further a methodology called SWELL (Securing Water to Enhance Local Livelihoods) that focused on enhancing participation of poor rural people in municipal water services planning was piloted in eleven villages of Bushbuckridge. This paper presents a methodology for assisting local government in water services planning to meet poor people's multiple water needs; based on the availability of water resources, the status of the infrastructure as well as demand and allocation of these resource.