Interview: Ned Breslin on World Water Day and long-term water solutions

Emily Spivack ( Bio  /   Posts )  |  Tuesday, March 22, 2011 UTC

To celebrate World Water Day, PopTech caught up with Water For People CEO and PopTech speaker Ned Breslin, who was awarded the 2011 Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship by the Skoll Foundation this past week.

Water For People (WFP) helps people in developing countries improve quality of life by supporting the development of locally sustainable, long-lasting drinking water resources and sanitation facilities. The organization’s main tenets focus on following through and following up after the water systems have been built; no more abandoned wells and broken water pumps. Breslin framed the mission of WFP’s work during his PopTech talk by asking, "What happens when we leave? What happens when that system has to run for a while? Are the children still smiling? Are the girls back in school? Is water flowing?"

We wanted to see what was on tap (excuse the pun!) for WFP on WWD, how this day can help redefine aid, and what accountability measures WFP holds itself to in developing sustainable water practices.

PopTech: What is Water For People doing for World Water Day?
Ned Breslin: Probably the most significant push we are making on World Water Day is a session in Washington DC on learning and improving programmatic performance [featuring Kate Fogelberg and Susan Davis, Water For People; Marc Manara, Acumen Fund; Marla Smith-Nilson, Water1st; moderated by Jon Sawyer, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting].  We have been part of a series of meetings over the past seven months that are designed to reinforce solid programmatic work around the world while addressing weaknesses we see on the ground in new ways.  This work has been done in collaboration with the IRC in Holland, GWC and others.  The learning session in DC is a further step along this important path of building on strength and addressing challenges.  A number of organizations will present on their actual experiences so that we can all sit back and see ways in which we can all improve our work.  It should be very exciting.

In your opinion, why is World Water Day significant?
WWD is the one day on the calendar where the water (and sanitation) community can speak with a common voice about water supply and sanitation.     

We rightly celebrate the day when a community gets water for the first time but the way water and sanitation agencies operate it's as if this is the end of the story.  It’s not.

What is the most important message you hope is conveyed by World Water Day?
I keep hoping we could use WWD to make a new commitment.  The day seems to move into a rather stale conversation on the need to have more funding.  This is perhaps best illustrated by all these events in Washington, DC, that I think are trying to influence Congressional allocations for water supply and sanitation.  Don't get me wrong, funding matters.  But I would like to see a new commitment on the part of all of us who are responsible for implementing projects and programs worldwide to also put our reputations on the line a bit more.  It is not enough to simply ask for money in my view.  

Instead, we should be saying that the money we receive and subsequently allocate to the field will in fact lead to transformative change and we will prove it.  We will commit to monitoring the results over time and commit to building systems and structures in-country so that the communities we help today get to a stage – over time – where no new investments from US non-profits, US bilateral agencies like USAID and MCC, and others are ever needed again.  

Does the water aid system need to be overhauled? Does a shift in priorities need to take place?
[It’s about] redefining the "project".  The project has always been about getting finances and building something – handpumps that provide water, gravity fed schemes that transfer water from the top of mountains to households, and latrines….We rightly celebrate the day when a community gets water for the first time but the way water and sanitation agencies operate it's as if this is the end of the story.  It’s not.  Its actually the first day of a long journey for communities and we really have no idea if all the training and back-up support that was put in place will actually function over time.  Follow-up is required – just like follow-up is required after training courses here in the US.  So monitoring and staying engaged, while not sexy, is essential to success on the ground.

...the proof is clear as day for those who spend time in the field, passing broken water points that offered so much promise.

How does Water For People stay engaged with the water and sanitation projects it’s begun to ensure that they don’t fall into disrepair?
We guarantee at least 10 years of post-implementation monitoring so we can see how problems are addressed, step back in lightly if there are problems, and work in a way that our footprint declines over time as capacity is institutionalized.  That is responsible development and my hope is that others commit.  

What other organizations have real follow-through and track their long-term commitments to water and sanitation-based solutions?
Some have [committed] – Water1st monitors, A Child's Right values monitoring, El Porvenir monitors well.  We need more agencies to commit though or the investments we make today will not be lasting – the proof is clear as day for those who spend time in the field, passing broken water points that offered so much promise.

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Comments

Gravatar Name: Chris

To put it simply – yes, having worked in Africa this is a massive problem, upon returning to the UK you find yourself (rightfully) questioning every penny an organization spends on water resources.

This is extremely good work and should be made far more public.

Gravatar Name: bill

I think this is a good idea to help people, but I think another aproach would be to help create better cities with better infrusture and have people from the outside mode to this centralized locations.
This a problem we have in america with sprawl construction, we waste so much gas in highways to move people form home place to work place.
if we design our cities better we would cut the travel time considerably.
with all the money cities would save on travel time we would be able to invest in this countries with less economic power.

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