Infrastructure asset management: a key building block for sustaining rural water services

With high levels of non-functionality and low levels of service, it is clear that rural water assets are not being adequately managed. It is also a symptom of the current focus on first time access, which needs to shift to a focus on long term service delivery. There is a need for actors within the rural water sector to follow other infrastructure-heavy and professionalised industries, and start adopting asset management practices. This paper gives an overview of the main components of infrastructure asset management and makes a case for wider adoption in the rural water sector (for all types of rural water systems, including both hand pumps and piped schemes) in developing countries. It provides new evidence from a case study on good practices from rural municipalities in South Africa and identifies first steps for under-resourced municipalities.