Watercade - community friendly software for designing and estimation of water supply schemes

As community initiatives in managing water resources and addressing water demands is a key concern in developing countries, the role of community in planning, implementing and operation and managing water supply schemes is increasing rapidly. The informed choice of the community in cost-effective and sustainable technologies for implementation, operation and maintenance is very crucial. This paper describes software developed by the Socio Economic Unit Foundation, Kerala, India to support communities in preparing schemes considering wider technological choices, cost-effectiveness and optimal design. In the last two years hundreds of communities have experienced the application of the software and proved its effectiveness in reducing man days required for Detailed Scheme Report (DSR) preparation, consideration of wider technological and service level options, and optimum design. The Watercade software is a community- friendly tool for designing and estimating has supported community in gaining maximum benefits in planning and implementing community managed water supply schemes. Watercade has enabled community management and informed decision-making to become a reality.