Post-Construction Support
The Post-Construction phase is the last phase in the Step-By-Step process; after this the Water User and Sanitation Committee (WUSC) should be able to operate, maintain and manage their drinking water supply system independently. The phase is therefore vital to ensure the sustainability and quality of water services now and into the future.
Much of the effort at this point aims at building the capacity of the WUSCs and water users in basic areas of sustainable operation and maintenance (O&M) and management, such as adequate water tariffs and an O&M fund, sourcing village maintenance workers, spare parts and components, regular meetings and financial management.
A key component of the post-construction approach is the Water Safety Plan (WSP++), in which the concept of safety incorporates provision of safe supply as well as safe quality of water. Therefore the WSP++ also serves as a regular Operation and Maintenance (O&M) plan. WSP++ also links to the Total Sanitation where the attention is at the water saftey at home.
The post-construction activities are mainly targeted at piped water supply schemes where failure in one section can affect the entire scheme, as opposed to well or point source improvement schemes that function individually.