Welcome to ruralwaterdecisions.org -- a web-based decision support tool for rural water
supply planning.
Rural water planners are often faced with difficult questions regarding the level of service and sustainability of their water supply networks.
Should we increase the per-container fee to improve cost-recovery? If we do, what fraction of customers will revert back to using surface sources? How will the amount of water (and revenue) collected change after the price increase?
Using geospatial water point data combined with household source choice and demand models, the tool predicts households' water collection decisions. These predictions are used to provide planners with critical metrics, such as the number of households collecting from each source and the share of households using improved water supply.
The tool also allows users to conduct scenario analysis, providing insights into the effects of changes in price, quaility, placement, or availability of sources on households water collection decisions.
To predict households' water collection decisions we need to gather some information about the water network. To start, we need the location, price, and quality of each source in the network.
Water source data can be uploaded using an Excel file (a sample file is included here). If you have data on your water network to upload, make sure it follows the formatting of the sample file, and then use the 'Import Data' button to upload your file. If you are using the sample data, first download it before importing.
Each water source included in the data has been uploaded to the map.
Additional source characteristics, including the price and quality can be found by clicking on the 'Table' button above.
Notice this table is editable. Any edits to source attributes will be reflected in the following water source choice and demand predictions.
To add a source select the 'Add' button above. This will add a source to the end of the table, where source attributes can be input.
To delete a source, use the 'Delete' button in the rightmost column of the table.
To calculate demand, we need to know the population density at each location
in the study site.
The default population
density is
households per grid cell.
To indicate a higher population density in a particular grid cell,
left-click on the cell. To indicate a lower population density in a
grid cell, right-click on the cell.
Population density:
To calculate demand, we also need to know the prevalence of private
source usage at each location in
the study site. At baseline we assume that
% of household demand is met using private sources.
To
indicate a higher prevalence of private source usage in a particular
grid cell, left-click on the cell. To indicate a lower prevalence of
private source usage in a grid cell, right-click on the cell.
Private source use:
10%
Lastly, we need know how rain water consumption changes with the
seasons.
Use the 'Chart' button above to input the percent of household water
demand that is supplied by rainwater in each month.
Click and drag the points to adjust the seasonality of household rainwater collection.
Now, using the information provided on water source attributes, population density, private source use, and rainwater collection, we can predict household water source choice and water demand.
Model parameters are based on water source choice research but can by adjusted by clicking the 'Edit' button above.
Click the 'Predict' button to predict household source choice and
demand.
This may take several minutes.
Water source catchment areas are displayed on the map, and show which sources households residing within each region are most likely to collect from.
A summary table that describes source demand statistics can be accessed by selecting the 'Table' button.
Community-level demand statistics can be found by selecting the 'Community' button.
You have reached the end of the tool. We hope you found it useful!
We hope this can help you make planning decisions. For scenario analysis we encourage you to dowload these results, and then re-run the tool using the 'edit table' feature to estimate the effects of changes in source prices, quality, location, or availability.
To run the tool again click here (make sure you have saved your results!).
For feedback, support, or to report a problem, please contact us at .
