Abstract:
Consumption of unsafe water in developing countries results in considerable number of
illnesses and deaths annually. The World Health Organization and the International
Water Association are promoting the use of water safety plans (WSPs), a risk
management approach aimed at attaining water safety. This study investigated how
culture impacts on the implementation of WSPs in these countries. Combining
interpretive and critical paradigms resulted in the choice of qualitative methodologies
utilizing multiple-case studies. Cases from India, Uganda, and Jamaica are each
embedded with three units of analysis: promoters of WSPs, water utilities and their
customers. Thematic analysis of data generated from semi-structured interviews, field
observations and documents revealed eleven cultural factors impacting on the
implementation of WSPs. Analyses of these factors led to various groupings and the
subsequent development of a taxonomy categorizing these factors as being either
enabling, limiting, or neutral in relation to WSPs. Findings show all the limiting factors
to be deviations from the values and principles on which they are built. The findings
have also led to the development of a culturally adapted risk management framework.
This four-step cyclical & iterative framework is designed to address the impact of
culture on the implementation of WSPs. The implementation of WSPs will take time
and will require continuous improvement to the process. The successful management of
drinking water risks in developing countries will require a broad institutional approach
and a concerted effort that involves institutions beyond the water utilities. As such,
targeted recommendations are first made towards achievement of good governance.
Activities that will lead to the embracement of WSP by stakeholders along with
suggestions to attain its institutionalization are also put forward. Recommendations
towards addressing negative cultural factors include suggestions on dealing with:
pollution causing rituals, bettering storage related practices, addressing excessive water
use in rituals, counteracting belief that water should be free, fighting corruption and
improving compliance, changing deliver-first safety-later attitude, and improving
knowledge management practices.
