Agua Para Todos / Water For All
[last updated April 14, 2005 12:00 AM]

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General Information
Partnership website(s)
Expected Timeframe
November 2004 - November 2009
Partners
Governments:
  • Government of Bolivia - SEMAPA Municipal Water Company, Cochabamba
Major Groups:
  • Agua Tuya (Bolivia)
  • Cochabamba "Water Committes" (Bolivia)
  • Pro Habitat (Bolivia)
UN System:
    		Other intergovernmental organizations:
      Other:
        		 
        Thematic Focus
        Primary Themes:
        • Sanitation
        • Water
        		 Secondary Themes:
        • Education
        Geographic Coverage
        Geographic Scope: Local
        Country(ies) where the partnership is being implemented:
        Bolivia
        National Focal Points
        This partnership has not made any contact with the national focal points for sustainable development in the countries involved
        Goals and Objectives
        Summary of the partnership's goals and objectives
        The main objective of the partnership is to give people from poor suburban areas around the City of Cochabamba-Bolivia access to low cost potable water. We have developed a very novel model in water distribution systems. Using this model we can:
        Give access to a large number of people in a very short time, at a very low cost and with incremental investments instead on one big investment.
        A complete description of the project if provided in the section of Mechanism of Implementation (below).
        Targets and Progress
        Partnership targets
        To build 15000 household connections in the next five years
        Progress against targets
        500 household connections in the first three months of operation.
        Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
        Arrangements for Capacity-Building and Technology Transfer
        Relationship to International Agreements on Sustainable Development
        How the partnership contributes to the implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
        AGENDA 21 : Section I, Chapter 3 (3.7p); Chapter 6 (6.3,6.5, 6.10, 6.12 (e), 6.13(d) & 6.24); Section I, Chapter 7 (7.16(c), 7.16(i)&7.24); Section II, Chapter 18 all
        Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21: Chapter II, (8,9) & Chapter III (27,31,34)
        Johanesburg Plan of Implementation: Chapter II (7a,c,m); Chapter II (8); Chapter IV (25); Chapter VI (54); Chapter IX (73)& Chapter X (83,86,88,96). Relevant Sections of Agenda 21
        Combating poverty; Protecting and promoting human health conditions; Promoting sustainable human settlement development; Protection of the quality and supply of freshwater resources: application of integrated approaches to the development, management and use of water resources
        Relevant Sections of the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
        Poverty eradication ; Protection and managing the natural resource base of economic and social development ; Health and sustainable development ; Means of implementation
        Coordination and Implementation
        Coordination Mechanism of the Partnership
        The work of the partners will be coordinated through a small technical coordination office that will operate in the areas that are prioritized for the construction of the systems.
        Implementation Mechanism of the Partnership
        SEMAPA is the local Municipal Water Company.
        Without the partnership:
        - The people of the suburban areas have organized themselves into so called ¿water committees¿ and are building their own water systems (within SEMPA¿S concession area) in an uncoordinated, inefficient way (they lack technical skills and experience)
        - SEMAPA (The municipal water company) does not have the investment capacity needed to build secondary water distribution networks and household connections.
        Without the partnership SEMAPA will not be able to serve the entire concession area it operates on in the short term.
        - AGUA TUYA / PLASTIFORTE (a private, commercial oriented initiative) has been building water distribution systems for the water committees for the past eight years but has not been coordinating its work with SEMAPA. Please refer to: http://aguatuya.com
        With the partnership:
        - AGUA TUYA / PLASTIFORTE will build water systems for the water committees (A , B and C in the illustration) in the suburban areas. Each water distribution system will gather between 100 and 500 household connections (homes). The cost of the construction of these systems will be paid by the users themselves.
        - Thanks to Pro Habitat (Non profit foundation), users pay the cost of the system in monthly payments.
        - AGUA TUYA / PLASTIOFORTE, Pro Habitat and SEMAPA train each water committee in water system management.
        - With the partnership, the construction of these systems will be coordinated with SEMAPA so that the Municipal Company can plan ahead where to direct its main water pipelines and consequently optimize its future investments.
        - The water committees will then manage their own water distribution systems and will create (with support from AGUA TUYA / PLASTIFORTE, and Pro Habitat) small enterprises (SMMEs) for managing and maintaining their systems.
        - SEMAPA will soon have new demand for its water. SEMAPA will reach each water committee with a main water line and will wholesale water to each committee at one water-entry point.
        The idea behind this is to radically lower the cost of the water to the final user (to about one tenth of the current price) since:
        a) SEMAPA does not need to invest in building secondary distribution systems
        b) SEMAPA has one contract with each committee instead of one contract with each user (lower administrative costs).
        Resources
        Funding Currently Available
        Amount in US$:
        Source(s): Foundations / charities
        Currently, all the works are being paid by the population (the final users) through financing (short term loans) provided by Pro Habitat Foundation
        Non-financial resources available
        Type(s): Computers - Staff
        Source(s): Private sector - Foundations / charities
        These resources are available from our core partners (SEMAPA, AGUA TUYA and PRO HABITAT) but our intention is to create a coordination office that would have it¿s own resources.
        Funding Sought
        Required Amount in US$: 500000
        Source(s) already approached: We have applied for funding to the World Bank Development Market place for USD 97000 for the creation of a coordination office. Additionally we need a to create a low interest rotating fund of USD 400000 for extending credit to the users
        Non-financial resources sought
        Requirement(s): Computers
        Source(s) approached and details:
        Additional Information
        Additional Relevant Information
        This innovative model is scalable nation wide and could be replicated in other countries
        This project has been nominated finalist of the SEED AWARDS. Visit http://seedinit.org (finalists)