Sustainability in operation and maintenance

Sustainability of rural water supply projects based on community participation is a key focus of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry in the new South Africa. The George Moshesh Project, as part of the first Presidential Lead Projects under the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), provides a useful case study for investigating the development of a community management system. As the consulting engineers and training agent involved in this completed project, the authors are interested in documenting the experience of one of the first community managed and maintained projects under the RDP in Eastern Cape, South Africa. The paper will first define the context by looking at the existing water supply situation in the northeastern region of the Eastern Cape, emphasising operation and maintenance realities. The paper will then focus on the various factors affecting the sustainability of management systems set up at the George Moshesh Project.