IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i19p5363-d271592.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing Sustainability in Rural Water Supply Systems in Developing Countries Using a Novel Tool Based on Multi-Criteria Analysis

Author

Listed:
  • Isabel Domínguez

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander, Cra 27 calle 9, Bucaramanga, Santander 680002, Colombia)

  • Edgar Ricardo Oviedo-Ocaña

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander, Cra 27 calle 9, Bucaramanga, Santander 680002, Colombia)

  • Karen Hurtado

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander, Cra 27 calle 9, Bucaramanga, Santander 680002, Colombia)

  • Andrés Barón

    (Universidad Industrial de Santander, Cra 27 calle 9, Bucaramanga, Santander 680002, Colombia)

  • Ralph P. Hall

    (School of Public and International Affairs, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA)

Abstract

Rural water supply systems (RWSS) in developing countries typically have deficiencies that threaten their sustainability. This research used Multi-Criteria Analysis and the Analytical Hierarchy Process to identify indicators that can be used to assess the sustainability of RWSS. The assessment tool developed is composed of 17 attributes with 95 quantifiable indicators. The tool enables the assessment of the sustainability of RWSS, using data collected through semi-structured interviews, social cartography, technical inspection, household surveys, and water monitoring. The tool was applied in a case study of a RWSS in the Andean region of Colombia, illustrating a participatory, holistic, and structured assessment that provided a single sustainability measure for the system (3.0/5.0). The tool’s completeness is represented by its extensive attributes and indicators that deliver a robust baseline on the state of a system, help identify improvement strategies, and monitor system performance over time that can assists rural community organizations with RWSS management.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabel Domínguez & Edgar Ricardo Oviedo-Ocaña & Karen Hurtado & Andrés Barón & Ralph P. Hall, 2019. "Assessing Sustainability in Rural Water Supply Systems in Developing Countries Using a Novel Tool Based on Multi-Criteria Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-22, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:19:p:5363-:d:271592
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5363/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/19/5363/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rebecca Barnes & Nicholas Ashbolt, 2010. "Development of a Planning Framework for Sustainable Rural Water Supply and Sanitation," International Studies of Management & Organization, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(3), pages 78-98, January.
    2. Sharon A. Jones & Kristen L. Sanford Bernhardt & Mark Kennedy & Kelsey Lantz & Trent Holden, 2013. "Collecting Critical Data to Assess the Sustainability of Rural Infrastructure in Low-Income Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(11), pages 1-19, November.
    3. Reed, Mark S. & Fraser, Evan D.G. & Dougill, Andrew J., 2006. "An adaptive learning process for developing and applying sustainability indicators with local communities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(4), pages 406-418, October.
    4. Saaty, Thomas L., 1990. "How to make a decision: The analytic hierarchy process," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 9-26, September.
    5. Kate Neely & Jeffrey P. Walters, 2016. "Using Causal Loop Diagramming to Explore the Drivers of the Sustained Functionality of Rural Water Services in Timor-Leste," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(1), pages 1-18, January.
    6. S. E. Dickson & C. J. Schuster-Wallace & J. J. Newton, 2016. "Water Security Assessment Indicators: The Rural Context," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(5), pages 1567-1604, March.
    7. Michiel C. Zijp & Reinout Heijungs & Ester Van der Voet & Dik Van de Meent & Mark A. J. Huijbregts & Anne Hollander & Leo Posthuma, 2015. "An Identification Key for Selecting Methods for Sustainability Assessments," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(3), pages 1-23, March.
    8. S. Dickson & C. Schuster-Wallace & J. Newton, 2016. "Water Security Assessment Indicators: The Rural Context," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 30(5), pages 1567-1604, March.
    9. Sheree A. Pagsuyoin & Joost R. Santos & Jana S. Latayan & John R. Barajas, 2015. "A multi-attribute decision-making approach to the selection of point-of-use water treatment," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 35(4), pages 437-452, December.
    10. Kleemeier, Elizabeth, 2000. "The Impact of Participation on Sustainability: An Analysis of the Malawi Rural Piped Scheme Program," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 929-944, May.
    11. United Nations UN, 2015. "Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," Working Papers id:7559, eSocialSciences.
    12. Bibiana Duarte-Abadía & Rutgerd Boelens, 2016. "Disputes over territorial boundaries and diverging valuation languages: the Santurban hydrosocial highlands territory in Colombia," Water International, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(1), pages 15-36, January.
    13. Harrison Mutikanga & Saroj Sharma & Kalanithy Vairavamoorthy, 2011. "Multi-criteria Decision Analysis: A Strategic Planning Tool for Water Loss Management," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 25(14), pages 3947-3969, November.
    14. Kelly Alexander & Yihenew Tesfaye & Robert Dreibelbis & Bekele Abaire & Matthew Freeman, 2015. "Governance and functionality of community water schemes in rural Ethiopia," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 60(8), pages 977-986, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jiean Ling & Eve Germain & Richard Murphy & Devendra Saroj, 2021. "Designing a Sustainability Assessment Framework for Selecting Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Technologies in Corporate Asset Decisions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-21, March.
    2. Truong Duc Toan & Dang Ngoc Hanh & Dao Thi Thu, 2023. "Management Models and the Sustainability of Rural Water Supply Systems: An Analytical Investigation in Ha Nam Province, Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-22, June.
    3. Ahmed M. N. Masoud & Marika Belotti & Amani Alfarra & Sabrina Sorlini, 2022. "Multi-Criteria Analysis for Evaluating Constructed Wetland as a Sustainable Sanitation Technology, Jordan Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-24, November.
    4. Karki, Dipesh, 2023. "Factors affecting nonpayment of water service by rural households in Nepal," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Juliana Marcal & Blanca Antizar-Ladislao & Jan Hofman, 2021. "Addressing Water Security: An Overview," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-18, December.
    2. Çağlar Kıvanç Kaymaz & Salih Birinci & Yusuf Kızılkan, 2022. "Sustainable development goals assessment of Erzurum province with SWOT-AHP analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 2986-3012, March.
    3. Yanting Zheng & Jing He & Wenxiang Zhang & Aifeng Lv, 2023. "Assessing Water Security and Coupling Coordination in the Lancang–Mekong River Basin for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-20, December.
    4. Morgan, Te Kipa Kepa Brian & Fa`aui, Tumanako Ngawhika, 2018. "Empowering indigenous voices in disaster response: Applying the Mauri Model to New Zealand's worst environmental maritime disaster," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 268(3), pages 984-995.
    5. A. Psomas & I. Vryzidis & A. Spyridakos & M. Mimikou, 2021. "MCDA approach for agricultural water management in the context of water–energy–land–food nexus," Operational Research, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 689-723, March.
    6. Donalda Karnauskaitė & Gerald Schernewski & Josianne G. Støttrup & Marija Kataržytė, 2019. "Indicator-Based Sustainability Assessment Tool to Support Coastal and Marine Management," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-23, June.
    7. Jorge Cerqueiro-Pequeño & Alberto Comesaña-Campos & Manuel Casal-Guisande & José-Benito Bouza-Rodríguez, 2020. "Design and Development of a New Methodology Based on Expert Systems Applied to the Prevention of Indoor Radon Gas Exposition Risks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(1), pages 1-32, December.
    8. Thapa, Bhesh Raj & Ishidaira, H. & Pandey, Vishnu Prasad & Bhandari, T. M. & Shakya, N. M., 2018. "Evaluation of water security in Kathmandu Valley before and after water transfer from another basin," Papers published in Journals (Open Access), International Water Management Institute, pages 10(2):1-12..
    9. Ana María González & Harrison Sandoval & Pilar Acosta & Felipe Henao, 2016. "On the Acceptance and Sustainability of Renewable Energy Projects—A Systems Thinking Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(11), pages 1-21, November.
    10. D. Bajić & D. Polomčić & J. Ratković, 2017. "Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis for the Purposes of Groundwater Control System Design," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 31(15), pages 4759-4784, December.
    11. Bacon, Christopher M. & Sundstrom, William A. & Stewart, Iris T. & Maurer, Ed & Kelley, Lisa C., 2021. "Towards smallholder food and water security: Climate variability in the context of multiple livelihood hazards in Nicaragua," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    12. Siavash Fallah-Alipour & Hossein Mehrabi Boshrabadi & Mohammad Reza Zare Mehrjerdi & Dariush Hayati, 2018. "A Framework for Empirical Assessment of Agricultural Sustainability: The Case of Iran," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-26, December.
    13. Denis Michalina & Peter Mederly & Hans Diefenbacher & Benjamin Held, 2021. "Sustainable Urban Development: A Review of Urban Sustainability Indicator Frameworks," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-20, August.
    14. Diana Mutuku Mulatya & Vincent Were & Joseph Olewe & Japheth Mbuvi, 2021. "Willingness to pay for improvements in rural sanitation: Evidence from a cross-sectional survey of three rural counties in Kenya," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(5), pages 1-19, May.
    15. Fabricio Baron Mussi & Aline Alvares Melo & Ubiratã Tortato, 2018. "Contributions for the use of qualitative indicators: an analysis of Itaipu Power Plant’s Sustainability Program," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 109-128, December.
    16. Shan Huang & Qi Feng & Zhixiang Lu & Xiaohu Wen & Ravinesh C. Deo, 2017. "Trend Analysis of Water Poverty Index for Assessment of Water Stress and Water Management Polices: A Case Study in the Hexi Corridor, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-17, May.
    17. Jose Manuel Diaz‐Sarachaga, 2021. "Monetizing impacts of Spanish companies toward the Sustainable Development Goals," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(4), pages 1313-1323, July.
    18. Brennan Lowery & John Dagevos & Ratana Chuenpagdee & Kelly Vodden, 2020. "Storytelling for sustainable development in rural communities: An alternative approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(6), pages 1813-1826, November.
    19. Ray Biswas, Rahul & Rahman, Anisur, 2023. "Development and application of regional urban water security indicators," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    20. B. Deb Nath & C. J. Schuster-Wallace & S. E. Dickson-Anderson, 2022. "Headwater-to-consumer Drinking Water Security Assessment Framework and Associated Indicators for Small Communities in High-income Countries," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 36(3), pages 805-834, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:19:p:5363-:d:271592. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.