Water and Sanitation

Water is not just one of life's essentials, it is also a scarce commodity that must be conserved for future generations. An adequate supply of clean water is essential for social and economic development. This in turn requires reliable water supplies and sanitation systems that take into account technical and engineering matters as well as institutional and management issues.GFA Consulting Group, in co-operation with specialised water engineering companies, provides a full range of services to this end.

The creation of a favourable legal and regulatory environment (via water law and water policy) is a prerequisite for providing water supply and sanitation services on a sustainable basis. This means encouraging the establishment of independent regulatory authorities, introducing decentralised  decision-making processes, push-ing through pricing reforms, implementing the integrated treatment of water resources, passing enforceable laws and regulations, and enacting sound sector concepts.

Institutional structures and organisational procedures in the water sector have to be optimised in order to facilitate cost-efficient and target- oriented performance, which is no less important to public or private investors and water users. This entails the decentralisation of responsibilities, creation of performance monitoring systems, and consideration of key aspects of financing. Autonomy, transparency and accountability are crucial for involving the private sector and improving services. Commercialisation and privatisation have to be initiated and supported to the end. GFA helps utilities restructure and implement modern management and operational procedures by various means, including the introduction of modern software packages to increase overall performance and achieve long-term technical and financial sustainability.

Sustainable water and sanitation services have to respond to water users' true demands. One essential criterion is for communities to manage their own programmes. This is only made possible by encouraging local initiatives and integrating consumers into institutional structures. GFA addresses these issues by developing and implementing tailor-made solutions for community- managed systems. In addition, GFA can assist in public awareness campaigns and sanitation and health education.

Human resources development at all levels is key for helping institutions and utilities to efficiently operate and maintain water supply and sanitation systems in rural and urban areas. This applies to administrative (or commercial) staff members as well as to technicians.

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