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El Salvador
>> Regional Overview >> El Salvador Overview Activity Data Sheet
PROGRAM: El Salvador
TITLE AND NUMBER: Increased Access By Rural Households to Clean Water, 519-004
PLANNED FY 2001 OBLIGATION AND ACCOUNT: $3,050,000 DA
PROPOSED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND ACCOUNT: $3,100,000 DA
STATUS: Continuing
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1998 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2003Summary: USAID's water strategic objective contributes directly to Agency and MISSION PROGRAM PLAN global issues to preserve tropical forests, protect watersheds, strengthen civil society, increase accountability of government institutions, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect maternal and child health by lowering the incidence of diarrhea, cholera and other waterborne diseases
Watershed destruction has lowered water tables and reduced the availability of groundwater throughout El Salvador at the same time that surface water contamination is reaching dangerous levels. A recent survey of rural water sources found that 61% of the families interviewed were drinking water contaminated with fecal coliforms and 52% by E. Coli bacteria. Limited supplies of clean water have a direct effect on both human health and environmental stability. Women and children are the main beneficiaries of new potable water systems which improve their health and increase their economic productivity and quality of life by freeing them from the need to spend time and energy carrying water.
USAID is working to achieve four key intermediate results to increase rural household access to clean water: 1) improved quality of water sources; 2) improved performance of water distribution systems; 3) more effective citizen actions to address water issues; and 4) improved municipal management of water resources. This program integrates assistance under the health, economic growth, and democracy strategic objectives that all support efforts to increase rural household access to clean water. The primary focus of the objective is on local community and municipal-level interventions in three critical watersheds that transcend the boundaries of 18 municipalities. This strategic objective is also working at the national level by assisting with the reform of national policies and by replicating successful interventions and lessons throughout the country.
Key Results: Rural household access to clean water increased from 29.5% to 44% in the target areas during 2000. This 14% increase was the equivalent of two years progress and nearly reached the year 2000 target of 45.5%. With such excellent progress, USAID was on track to achieve the 2002 target of 65% until earthquakes hit El Salvador in January and February and severely damaged water and sanitation systems in the southern half of the country. USAID continued to make major gains this past year in promoting a combination of soil conservation, reforestation, organic cropping and integrated pest management activities which protect watersheds. The number of hectares protected increased by 81% during 2000 to 13,408 hectares, which is 76% above the target level. Civil society remained engaged in water sector activities during 2000, and there have now been 198 water-related changes in rural communities. This is an increase of 4% over last year and is 10% above the 2000 target. Finally, the number of municipalities with water-resource management plans (which made a large jump last year) slowed considerably this year as only one new municipality approved a water-resource management plan. This indicator is now 17% below the year 2000 target. The Mission has noted this slow progress and work is underway to develop water management plans with eight additional municipalities in order to meet the 2002 target for this indicator.
Performance and Prospects: The Mission made excellent progress during the last year in laying a base for sustained development of the potable water and sanitation sectors. CARE, the institutional implementer, built relationships with other organizations to assist in conducting activities under the objective, and 10 agreements have been signed with local, national and international groups and agencies. These agreements provide a basis for improved coordination and information sharing between the GOES agencies and the donor community regarding water and sanitation plans, methodologies, and priorities.
USAID continues to be the major source of watershed protection, reforestation, potable water, sewage treatment, organic agriculture and agricultural diversification assistance not only in the 18-municipality target area but also throughout the country. There are a few local NGOs providing assistance in these areas, but there are no other significant donor activities and the results observed are largely due to the work of USAID partners. Progress in provision of clean water to rural households outside the target area has been slowed by delays in approval of the Inter-American development Bank's (IDB) new water and sanitation loan and by the fact that many older water systems have not been properly maintained. Additionally, a number of older systems have not been expanded to keep pace with population growth, and many rural water systems were damaged by landslides or floods in 1998, 1999, and now again by earthquakes in 2001.
Quality of Water. USAID is increasing water quality by protecting watersheds, improving agricultural practices and implementing new solid and liquid waste disposal practices. Watershed protection, as measured by the areas devoted to soil conservation and reforestation, increased to 8,286 ha, an increase of 75% which is nearly double the 2000 target. The area covered by improved agricultural practices increased by 91% to 5,122 ha. USAID signed a new cooperative agreement this year for the construction of two new solid waste recycling and disposal facilities and a new sewage treatment plant. The percent of households benefiting from improved solid and liquid waste practices increased by seven percent and 144% respectively during 2000, and the number of industries using pollution prevention practices increased from two to five.
Water Distribution Systems. USAID made excellent progress this year in expanding the number of water distribution systems that provide rural communities with access to clean water. Twenty-one water systems were constructed, expanded or rehabilitated, as USAID's water, health, and disaster recovery objective teams worked with municipalities and local community groups to finalize and inaugurate new water systems. This progress allowed the Mission to exceed its target of 44 rehabilitated, expanded, or new systems in 2000 and to be well positioned to meet or exceed the results projected for 2002.
Citizen Actions. USAID is stimulating increased citizen actions through a combination of education, citizen group actions and participatory assistance for groups in the target area. Particular attention was given to clean water education activities during 2000, because the indicator for this activity (Salvadorans knowing at least one solution for unclean water) had declined during 1999. Consequently, this indicator rebounded from 46% to 86%, which is 53% above the 2000 target. Citizen group actions continued to expand from 190 to 198 during 2000 to finish 10% above the year 2000 target. This progress represents a leveling off of activities in this area, as most of the groups have already been formed and attention is turning to watershed protection and water system expansion activities. The number of organizations working on water-related issues declined from 152 to 132 during 2000, but is still well above the target of 40 organizations. This decline has a very positive aspect, as smaller groups joined together to form fewer, larger groups to deal with water and sanitation issues and priorities.
Municipal Management. Municipal management of clean water systems has proven its utility as a model for delivering clean water and promoting decentralization of water services to rural areas. One additional municipality in the target area developed a water management plan during 2000, and eight additional municipalities are currently managing their own water systems. Other municipal management plans are in various stages of development and USAID expects to see substantial additional progress in this area during 2001.
In FY 2001, $3,050,000 of DA funds will be used as follows: (a) $1,650,000 to continue integrated watershed management and protection activities, such as reforestation, erosion control, soil and water management, and crop diversification; (b) $750,000 to support citizen awareness and participation in potable water activities; (c) $350,000 to assist municipalities to design and/or manage water and sanitation systems, and (d) $300,000 to support the participatory process engaged in the development of a national water policy framework.
In FY 2002, $3,100,000 of DA funds will be used to further (a) policy dialogue on water-related issues, (b) citizen awareness and participation in potable water activities, and (c) integrated watershed management-related activities.
Possible Adjustments to Plans: The most significant adjustment is the need to revise 2001 and 2002 targets that estimate the percent of households in the target area with water that meets quality and time standards. Reports from partners indicate that earthquake damage to water sources and older water systems severely affected access to clean water in many areas of southern El Salvador. About 20% of target municipalities experienced serious earthquake damages, and USAID estimates that access to clean water in these municipalities was reduced from 44% to 37% during the last two months. Clean water targets for 2002 may need to be lowered by an equivalent amount.
Start-up delays and earthquake emergency operations during January and February 2001 have also slowed implementation progress, and two non-government organization (NGO) partners have requested additional time to complete planned activities. The Mission expects that both of these requests will be approved. These modifications are considered important, because they provide flexibility that will help the Mission adjust to changing priorities and support the earthquake recovery plans. USAID also plans to expand the target area to include municipalities that were particularly hard hit by the earthquakes and to increase integration with activities under the health objective to benefit areas that need help most. When this is done, the Mission will need to review targets for several indicators to reflect the fact that the program will be working in a larger number of municipalities in the future.
Other Donor Programs: The Inter-American Development Bank's (IDB) $47.6 million loan for reform of the water sector and the potable water and sanitation sub-sector, ratified by the Legislative Assembly in February 2001, has been reprogrammed for earthquake reconstruction. The EU and the governments of Sweden, Germany, Japan, and Spain work through GOES institutions and NGOs to support the development of water and sewer systems in rural areas.
Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: The largest grantee is the CARE consortium, composed of CARE and three local NGOs. This consortium has expertise in watershed management and participatory development of local water delivery systems. Other grantees include Project Concern International, World Vision, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the Inter-American Agricultural Science Institute, the National Agriculture Chamber-Camagro, and Border Development Services. These grantees are implementing watershed protection, reforestation, soil conservation, solid and liquid waste management, sustainable agricultural practices, and crop diversification interventions. Camp Dresser & McKee International is providing support to a draft water law
El Salvador: 519-004
Performance Measures:
Indicator FY97
(Actual)FY98
(Actual)FY99
(Actual)FY00
(Actual)FY00
(Plan)FY01
(Plan)FY02
(Plan)Indicator 1: Area covered by improved soil conservation and reforestation practices 4,055 4,423 4,736 8,286 4,500 4,800 5,000 Indicator 2: Water-related changes resulting from citizen-group actions 43 127 127 198 180 240 300 Indicator 3: Rural households in target areas with water that meets quality and time standard 30 (M)
26 (F)38 (M)
39 (F)29 (M)
30 (F)40 (M)
48 (F)46 (M)
45 (F)55 (M)
55 (F)65 (M)
65 (F)Indicator 4: Municipalities with water-resource management plans 0 0 9 10 12 15 18 Indicator Information:
Indicator Level (S)or(IR) Unit of Measure Source Indicator Description Indicator 1: IR Hectares, cumulative Contractor and grantee reports Practices taken into account are soil conservation and reforestation. Indicator 2: IR Number of new changes Activity No. 519-0388 reports for the 11 municipalities under the municipal-development activity and the CARE annual Diagnostic reports for the 18 municipalities Changes made as a direct result of citizen group efforts to resolve water issues include, but are not limited to: formation of pro-water groups (NGOs); technical and/or rehabilitation of delivery systems; pollution prevention; conflict resolution; and other pro-clean water actions. Indicator 3: S Percent of households that meet both quality and time standards, per year, by male-and-female-headed households (M/F) CARE baseline survey. Sample size: 2,850 households All households in target areas, whether in municipalities or cantons, are considered rural. Households water supplies must meet both quality and time standards to count as progress against this indicator. Quality is defined as water from piped systems provided that the system has a quality control program in operation that includes regular chlorine residual testing at various points in the distribution systems and periodic bacteriological and physical/chemical testing at the water source. Water from piped systems is considered to meet time standards if the household receives water every day of the week. Households with non-piped water are defined as meeting the quality standard if water is treated with chlorine by the household. Households with non-piped water meet the time standard if water source is available every day. Non-piped water includes wells and springs. Indicator 4: IR Number, cumulative Contractor and grantee reports A formal plan and a budget with water source protection, contamination prevention, and water prevision activities. U.S. Financing
(In thousands of dollars)
Obligations Expenditures Unliquidated Through September 30, 1999 6,518 DA 369 DA 6,149 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Fiscal Year 2000 3,307 DA 3,332 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA Through September 30, 2000 9,825 DA 3,701 DA 6,124 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA Prior Year Unobligated Funds* 0 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA 3,050 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001 3,050 DA 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 DFA Future Obligations Est. Total Cost Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA 3,100 DA 1,225 DA 17,200 DA 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 CSD 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 ESF 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 SEED 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 FSA 0 DFA 0 DFA 0 DFA
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Last Updated on: May 29, 2002 |
