USAID is currently implementing the four-year Liberia Municipal Water Project (LMWP), a unique project opportunity and a foundational investment that not only addresses urban water supply infrastructure needs, but also sets the stage for a community-based and a decentralized approach for water supply management that can foster sustainable operation and maintenance (O&M) for the recommended capital improvements.
This is a report on the Mid-Term Performance Evaluation of the Sustainable Water and Sanitation in Africa (SUWASA) project, funded by USAID in Washington, D.C. The project is being implemented by Tetra Tech ARD Inc., in nine countries: Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, South Sudan, Uganda, and Zambia. Liberia was added after this evaluation started; therefore, it will not be part of this report. The project’s period of performance is September 30, 2009 to September 29, 2015.
The Water and Development IDIQ (WADI) will support USAID missions, bureaus, and other operating units in implementing USAID’s Water and Development Strategy. Task orders implemented through this IDIQ will reflect the Agency’s strategic direction in the water sector, including improving health outcomes through the provision of sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene and managing agricultural water sustainably and more productively to enhance food security.
LMWP will assist local and national authorities in developing plans for urban water supply and sanitation improvements, implementing short and medium-term water supply infrastructure improvements, and re-establishing local capability to sustainably operate and maintain the water supply improvements. During the four-year project base period, it is the goal of LMWP to help establish improved water supply access in each city, with infrastructure managed by locally-based entities capable of financially and technically sustaining the service.
SUWASA was a regional initiative to foster the transformation of water and sanitation delivery services in Africa to achieve their long-term financial sustainability through the application of market-based principles. SUWASA was designed to spread effective models of reform at the water utility and sector levels and to facilitate innovative financing approaches for African water providers. SUWASA supported the Government of Liberia in developing a methodology for calculating and using the cost of water services as a basis for tariff decisionmaking.
