The thematic group on multiple use services
The objective of this thematic group is to evaluate and promote multiple use of water by users in Honduras and to stress the importance of it for the livelihoods of the community, without affecting the functioning of the community water supply system.
Background and achievements of the thematic group on multiple use of water
In Honduras, the theme of MUS has been promoted throughout a series of workshops by IRC in collaboration with the Honduran network for water and sanitation RAS-HON. This in the end has led to the formation of a thematic group which is being hosted by the resource centre of RAS-HON. One of the first activities of the group was to document existing practices, to make an inventory of what people do with the water coming from the rural water supply systems.
Design of multiple use water systems
In 2011, a team of RAS-HON and colleagues from the rural infrastructure project (PIR) from FHIS carried out an assesment to validate the manual to improve planning for multiple uses of water systems. The manual was tested in four communities. The manual was originally developed as part of a pilot project on multiple use systems in MAMCEPAZ, an association of municipalities centred around the town of La Paz in Honduras.
Impact of multiple uses of water on the sustainability of water services: experiences of 14 communities in Honduras
It is only recently that the practice of productive use of water supply systems has been recognized in Honduras, and it is only recently that technicians and professionals recognized that this practice can have a negative impact on the sustainability of services, if not properly regulated.
This study has been conducted to document the existing practices with multiple use of water supply systems and to find out the impact it has on the livelihoods of families, and on the sustainability of the services.
The case studies in this document show that nearly all families make use of water for productive purposes, although scope and importance of the practice are very different. Labourers, workers and subsistence farmers tend to use small amounts of water for small-scale use for their chickens and garden. Bigger farms, businesses, industry and landowners use lots of water for very large scale production, but many of them have individual systems to meet their needs and do not use the community water supply system for productive purposes. A group of small and medium farmers can use large amounts of water, but only ay certain times of the year. However, this group then tends to use the community water supply system.
One of the conclusions of the study is that productive use of water can have a negative impact on sustainability, especially in the case of occasional use of large amounts of water by small and medium farmers. The multiple use can generate problems and put pressure on water resources. Overuse of the available water within the system can lead to inequitable distribution and can generate conflicts within the community and with neighbouring communities.
At the same time, throughout the study, a set of easy implementable measures was identified to help regulate the multiple use, e.g. through differentiated tariffs setting.
The study concludes that the multiple use of water plays an important role in the financial situation of rural families. But, if not regulated, this can lead to problems of sustainability. It is important to recognize that the practices exist and should be taken into consideration in the management of water services. The study contains recommendations to support water boards in regulating the multiple use for both new and existing systems.
The study is in Spanish and can be downloaded below.
Experiencias de MUS en 14 comunidades de Honduras.pdf (869.6 kB)
How the practice of multiple uses of water support livelihoods in rural Honduras
In rural and peri-urban areas people tend to use the available water supply systems for multiple uses. Domestic uses like water to drink, cook, clean, and for personal hygiene, but also for productive uses, like watering the garden, supply water to the animals on the compound, or water used for home based small scale industry. These productive uses support the livelihoods of people. It is only recently that the practice of productive use of water supply systems has been recognized in Honduras, and it is only recently that technicians and professionals recognized that this practice can have a negative impact on the sustainability of services, if not properly regulated.
This field note summarises the findings of the study that has been conducted in 14 communities in Honduras, with the purpose to document the existing practices with multiple use of systems and to find out what impact it has on the livelihoods of families, and on the sustainability of the services. The field note is in Spanish and can be downloaded below. The note is an information product developed by RAS-HON’s thematic group on multiple use systems.
A manual to improve planning for multiple uses of water systems
In 2008 RAS-HON and IRC carried out a study to map existing experiences with multiple uses of water in Honduras. The study showed that the practice of multiple use of water is very common in many communities, but most of the times this practice is not planned for, nor regulated. This can be a threat for the sustainability of the water supply systems. As a logical follow up to the study, RAS-HON and IRC decided to continue to work on a manual for engineers, technicians and other sector professionals, who are responsible for or participating in the planning and implementation of water systems. The manual explains how to take into account multiple uses of water issues in the project cycle and gives suggestions for use of tools and methods.
The manual is in Spanish, and can be downloaded below.
In 2011, a team of RAS-HON and colleagues from the rural infrastructure project (PIR) from FHIS carried out an assesment to validate the manual. The report with lessons learned, can be found here.
Guia_para_planificacion_e_implementacion_de_proyectos_de_MUS.pdf (865.6 kB)
Sharing the Honduran MUS experience
One of the key objectives of IRC’s Latin American Regional Programme is to share lessons learned within Latin America, but also globally. The Honduran experience with MUS, obtained throughout the implementation of the study on the impact of multiple uses of water on the sustainability of water services was shared during various occasions.
Lessons from piloting MUS in La Paz, Honduras
The validation of the planning manual for the implementation of multiple use water sysems that was developed by RAS-HON revealed some valuable lessons which have been used to improve the manual. Read more about these lessons in this article. For the full summary a link is given to the original article which was published by RAS-HON in Spanish.
Implementing Multiple Use Water Services approach in Honduran context: first experiences
The department of La Paz is located two hours from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. La Paz is a region famous for the coffee export, cold climate and abundant water. There are four projects implemented using the Multiple Use Water Services (MUS) approach by FHIS, the Honduran Social Investment Fund, with support of IRC. It’s the first time in Honduras that projects are implemented using MUS methodology.
