A decision support system for rural water supply in Mozambique

[摘要] Current practice of'the rural water sector in Mozambique does not generally consider all factorsthat have influenc.eon project sustainability, The urgent need to provide returnees in rural areaswith safe water, does not give adequate time to engineers, technicians and those involved in thesector, to conceive and plan a water project property.A Decision Support System (DSS) for rural water supply has been proposed to assist the decisionmaking process to be more systematic, fast and comprehensive. It requires a number of input catavariables which are not difficult to obtain and these variables have been selected to ensure thatmost aspects inherent in a successful project are considered. The main achievement of this systemis the project report, similar to a project preliminary design, and the financial results which areimportant for project assessment and ranking.The Decision Support System is a computational model which uses engineering and economicsapproach to combine and process input data and information contained in its database. While thecalculation method does not need constant updating, the database has to be verified frequentlyto produce reliable results. South African prices have been used in the database construction buta correction factor facility was incorporated to adjust and make the model useable inMozambique.The model has been designed to be used by planners, engineers and technicians, and fundingagencies. The model can be used by planners to assess implication of policy decisions on futurewater supplies and water resources development. For engineers and technicians, the modelestimates water demands, project components sizes and quantities, and water source developmentand reliability. To funding agencies, the model is a tool to determine the best investment scenarioof a rural water supply project.

[发布机构] University of the Witwatersrand