Hydraulic ram pumps and Sling Pumps

OP-32-EThe BPD Report mentions also that: “A few projects are trying to improve cost recovery, not byimproving revenue collection but by increasing water consumption. These projects are usinghygiene education programs to explain the importance of using water for bathing and washing, and ofhaving sanitation technologies (e.g. toilet) in the home”. The report shows that there are no setformula to improve cost recovery, but rather a blend of possibilities which should be adapted to localcircumstances and context.This report wishes, however, to propose that setting an appropriate strategy for cost recovery can beseen in a wider perspective. Cost recovery should not only be seen as trying to apply a series ofcorrective measures for insufficient revenue collection, but rather that it is part of an integral approachwhich can be planned for right from the start. It relies on a series of mutually dependent factors, whichhave been grouped into two main chapters: 1. Planning for cost recovery; and 2. Putting cost recoveryinto practice.Planning for cost recovery includes:• the way the project has been introduced; demand-driven projects respond better to local realitiesand expectations;• a decision about what costs should be recovered and by whom, in an equitable way; technologicalchoices have a definite impact on level of recurrent costs;• an analysis about the willingness to pay of communities;• the setting of an adequate institutional framework in order to manage the system in a financiallysustainable way;• defining accompanying measures, such as setting an appropriate legal and policy framework,educational and/or promotional campaigns and capacity-building activities.Putting cost recovery into practice includes:• setting an appropriate tariff; there are different types of tariffs which communities can choosefrom, according to the context;• optimising costs; this means being able to identify and estimate costs as well as to minimise them;• access to other sources of funding; tariffs in most cases do not cover all costs, making it essentialto analyse other potential financial sources;• effective financial management; this encompasses budgeting; revenue collection, bookkeepingand accountability; financial control and monitoring;• service efficiency as the best passport for an operator; this will cover system performance andreductions in unaccounted for water, as well as improving relationship with users.This report will review each one of these elements, and try to highlight their key characteristics andadvantages / disadvantages. The objective of this report is to provide the reader with sufficient insightinto the various factors affecting cost recovery, so that they can subsequently be discussed and testedwithin a project team and with communities. Finally, IRC together with other sector professionalswish to develop this Occasional Paper into a Technical Guide that will include a wide variety ofexamples from the field.4