Consider network capacity when pursuing water access goals. The interim evaluation report noted that of the households surveyed on Santiago Island, about 45% with a connection still only had water service for three or fewer days per week, on average. Consequently, although more households were connected to the water network, the proportion of households with intermittent supply was still relatively high. MCC’s investments sought to increase household connections to the network through pipe extensions under the infrastructure grant projects and through subsidized connections for poor households, and aimed to reduce technical losses through infrastructure grants intended to rehabilitate the network. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) had also been planning to build a desalination system to increase water supply. At interim, the evaluation did not find evidence of reductions in technical losses, the new desalination plant had not yet been built and the amount of water available for supply on the network had not increased. Projects that focus on increasing connections to the network should also consider how the network capacity could constrain or maximize benefits to connected households.
Lesson Learned