Improvement of water utility management in Tajikistan: reduction in water wastage using a metered tariff system

Some countries, such as Samoa in the Pacific Islands and Jordan in the Middle East, are facing severe water shortages due to climate change (Chenoweth et al. 2011; Beyerl et al. 2018), whereas a few other countries are facing deterioration of water services due to water wastage (Sivakkumar et al. 2020; Njoku et al. 2022).

Inadequate quality of water services may reduce the level of customer satisfaction, resulting in reduced tariff collection rates and a consequent worsening of water utility management, thus creating a detrimental, vicious cycle. To improve this and change it to a virtual cycle, increasing customer satisfaction by improving water supply services is essential (Ogata et al. 2021). In addition, a study conducted in Seoul, South Korea (Han et al. 2015) found that customers placed a higher value on water supply services, whereas service providers placed a higher value on affordability.

The Republic of Tajikistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Half of the country is at an altitude of 3,000 m or higher. Tajikistan is considered one of the richest countries in the world in terms of water resources; however, only 55% of the country's population had access to safely managed water sources in 2020 (UNICEF and WHO 2021). Therefore, Tajikistan had the lowest water supply level among former Soviet Union Countries and the highest risk of waterborne diseases. In 2004, there were 699 water supply facilities in Tajikistan, of which 113 were non-functional, and 358 did not meet water quality standards (JICA and Kyowa Engineering Consultants Co. Ltd 2007).

In the rural areas of Khamadoni District, 42 of 57 villages had water supply facilities; however, due to inadequate maintenance and management, only 16 of 47 deep wells were operational. Therefore, more than 70% of the residents were using water from rivers or irrigation canals (JICA and Kyowa Engineering Consultants Co. Ltd 2007), similar to the residents of Moscow Town. There was an urgent need to update and improve the water supply facilities and establish efficient maintenance systems.

Hardware support was provided through the Grant Aid Project (2008–2013) and software improvements through a technical cooperation project with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) (2017–2021). The specifics of these cooperation projects are listed in Table 1.

An external consultant oversaw the Grant Aid Project (2008–2013) ex-post evaluation from the end of 2016 to the beginning of 2018. This included a field survey undertaken between February 2017 and May 2017. The key indicators evaluated were relevance, effectiveness, efficiency, impact, and sustainability, with each indicator rated as follows: high, 3; medium, 2; and low, 1. For the overall project, the ratings were as follows: very high, A; high, B; there are some issues, C; and low, D.

The overall project rating for the ex-post evaluation results (JICA 2018) was low (i.e., D). The ratings for the evaluation indicators were 3, 1, 2, 2, and 2, indicating high relevance, low efficiency, medium effectiveness, impact, and sustainability, respectively.

Specific comments highlighted that the project was highly relevant as it was aligned with Tajikistan policies and consistent with the Japanese Aid Policy. Moreover, it was stated that while the project content generally aligned with the plan, the project costs exceeded the budget, and the duration was much longer than initially planned.

Observed positive impacts of the project were that the implementing agencies conducted their own geophysical surveys and constructed wells as planned using equipment procured under the project. Although there were no major problems in terms of the system and associated technology, several issues, including a lack of system training, financial difficulties in undertaking adequate maintenance and repairs, and making capital investments, were found. It was further highlighted that, although the operational indicators were achieved, the overall water supply system was not fully functional, with frequent leakages and issues of customers leaving taps open.

A technical cooperation project was implemented in the Kamadoni District from 2017 to 2021 to address the issues identified in the ex-post evaluation. The issues included improper maintenance of water supply facilities, difficulties in water utility management, and water wastage by customers, which may have deteriorated the functions of the water supply system. The overall objective of the technical cooperation project was to ensure the sustainability of water supply systems in the target areas.

The results of the aforementioned evaluation of the 2008–2013 project revealed that the water supply did not improve in the Khamadoni District as initially expected. Therefore, it was proposed to improve the entire water supply service and financial status of the VK by installing water meters in all houses and implementing billing systems based on water consumption. In this context, the technical cooperation project by JICA was implemented in 2017 based on prior experience and the recommendations of the evaluation team of the Grant Aid Project.

The implementing agency of the project in Tajikistan was the Khojagii Manziliyu-Kommunali (KMK), which was the central government agency responsible for managing water utilities, including Khamadoni VK. The project included four outcomes related to Khamadoni VK:

• organizing data for water supply management,

• enhancing the water service management capacity of key staff,

• introducing a metered tariff system, and

• efficient operation and maintenance of water supply facilities.

The approach of the technical cooperation project was that Japanese experts and their project counterparts worked closely together on field projects, mainly involving on-the-job training.

The Khamadoni District, the target area of the project, is close to the border with Afghanistan. Therefore, Japanese professionals avoided this area due to security restrictions. Thus, field activities in those areas mainly involved the Tajikistan national consultants.

The specific project activities were as follows:

First, monthly water production rates, water demand, non-revenue water ratios, and other data required for managing water services were recorded for the project. Furthermore, the project strived to streamline operations and make accounting documents more transparent through the digitization (database creation) of operation and maintenance ledgers, customer management ledgers, and other handwritten records. The number of complaints, meter readings, payment records, and organizational structures of VK was also reviewed and quarterly financial reports were formulated and submitted to KMK. A data management manual was established to improve data management.

Before project implementation, Khamadoni VK was not able to accurately calculate the volume of water production. Thus, the volume was estimated from the capacity of each well (pumping rate per hour) and the operating hours recorded in the register. One bulk flow meter was installed with the water supply system that had been newly constructed through the Grant Aid Project in 2013.

However, as the water distribution pipes from old existing wells did not have bulk flow meters, another bulk flow meter was installed in December 2018 through the technical cooperation project. Therefore, water production was determined to be approximately 3,000,000 m³ per year until 2018, based on well yields and operating hours. Since then, the two bulk flow meters have been read and recorded on a daily basis, which has enabled the calculation of the amount of water distributed to Moscow Town.

Second, to deepen their understanding of the general management principles of the water services of Tajikistan's counterparts, executives of water service-related organizations from Tajikistan were trained in Japan. This training was designed to increase understanding of the importance of business management from a medium- and long-term perspective, capital investment, securing funds for sustainable management, customer relations, and public relations. After the training completion, follow-up workshops were held for the training participants to discuss measures to improve water services in Tajikistan.

Third, in Khamadoni VK, metering systems were implemented for customers (about 3,000 households), who were required to install individual meters during the project period and a series of training sessions were conducted on meter reading for tariff collection.

As a major activity of the project, various efforts were made on transitioning to a metered tariff system. At the beginning of the project, the distribution pipes that had been installed in Moscow Town during the Soviet era (old distribution system) and those extended by the Grant Aid Project (new distribution system) were separated by operating gate valves. The new water distribution system was classified as Zones 1–5 and the old system as Zone 6 and customer meters were installed in the new system.

A customer database was established using Microsoft Access-based customer management software to facilitate the management of the metered tariff system. The manual for meter readers was updated accordingly based on the manuals from another district where a metered tariff system was already in place. Prior to the commencement of the project, Khamadoni VK staff explained the following to the customers: meter management responsibility, metering system calculation method, construction work details, and the effects of installing meters in each house. After gaining the customer's understanding, the meter installation started.

Meanwhile, on-the-job training was provided to ensure that VK staff responded appropriately to meter failures, on-site water leaks, illegal connections, and customer complaints. When a customer complained during a meter reading, the meter readers did not address the complaint individually but shared the information with VK's chief customer officers through an established communication system.

Additional on-the-job training was provided to the meter readers on recording meter readings and reporting them to the PC operators and accountants on using the customer management and accounting software, respectively. The metered tariff system was launched in Khamadoni VK in January 2019 and the percentage of residents with a metered tariff system increased from 1 to 68% during the project period. The meter readers made many mistakes in their meter readings and calculations at the beginning of the operation and time was needed to accumulate accurate data. However, these issues gradually declined and by the end of the project, the system operated without problems.

The results of the ex-post evaluation customer survey conducted in May 2017 were adopted as a baseline survey for the technical cooperation project. An endline customer survey was conducted in December 2019. In the baseline survey, 75 randomly selected households in each of the 25 streets of Moscow Town were asked five questions regarding water stability, quality, pressure, supply hours, and overall satisfaction. Participants selected answers to the questions from three options (good, medium, and poor) and the results were rated and analyzed as satisfaction percentages. The endline survey adopted a similar sampling method and questionnaire, with 94 randomly selected households in the 25 streets of Moscow Town, and the results were analyzed as satisfaction percentages.

In cases where the number of family members changed (e.g., because someone moved out), customers were required to submit documents to VK to support the changes. This placed a substantial operational burden on the customers and VK staff. In contrast, the metered charge is simply calculated by multiplying the water unit cost by the metered water volume in the metered tariff system, reducing the time and effort required from the customers as well as Khamadoni VK workload.

The amount of water supply in 2020 decreased significantly throughout the year compared to that in 2017. The yearly amount of water supply decreased by 1 million m³ (34%) from 2,950,000 to 1,950,000 m³ in 2017–2020, respectively. In addition, over 145,000 m³ of water was saved in 1 month, July 2020, the month with the highest water supply demand.

It is estimated that in the high-altitude areas and in approximately one-third of the downstream areas of the water supply zone, the water pressure increased as 0.5–1 kgf/cm² in the water head after the technical cooperation project. The reduction in water wastage also increased the daily water supply from 12 h intermittent supply under the fixed rate system to a continuous 24 h supply.

Moreover, prior to the project, there was no disinfection system and residual chlorine in the supplied water was not monitored. Appropriate disinfection systems and monitoring methods were implemented throughout the project to maintain free residual chlorine levels of >0.1 mg/L at the customer's tap.

The overall satisfaction rate increased from 52 to 100% throughout the project. Customer satisfaction with other subjects such as water supply stability and water pressure increased significantly from 3 to 94% and from 53 to 94%, respectively. The increase in these satisfaction rates was considered effective for water conservation by customers who used taps for irrigation.

After the project, these customers were trying to conserve water because of the metered tariff system.

The metered tariff system encouraged water conservation awareness among customers and despite the increase in per-unit water rates, it significantly increased customer satisfaction with water services. This also resulted in an increase in Khamadoni VK's revenue for water tariffs from 762,000 Somoni (86,395 USD) in 2017, at the beginning of the project, to 942,000 Somoni (106,803 USD) in 2021 toward the end of the project (a 24% revenue increase).

Water utility managers often believe that customers consider low water tariffs to be the most important factor. However, the findings of this project suggest that customers are more concerned about good service than low water tariffs.

This project also revealed that customers were not aware of the deteriorating water services under the fixed tariff system. This was evident from their use of tap water for garden irrigation, which consequently reduced water pressure, water supply hours, and other aspects of water service.

One major factor for the success of this project was that the VK staff explained and demonstrated the benefits of metered water rates to customers in the Khamadoni area based on good practices in another district where a metered water rate system was already used. Regarding the transition to a metering system, it was determined that the success of the transition was not only due to the physical installation of customer meters but also the simultaneous implementation of various measures. These included the separation of the distribution network, the establishment of a customer database, and the requirement of on-the-job training.

In the JICA cooperation in the Khamadoni District, after updating or expanding the hardware with financial assistance, the transition to a metered tariff system was implemented simultaneously with improvements in the capacity of VK staff to oversee water utility management and field operations. However, for areas that do not require large hardware improvements, such as the renewal and/or expansion of pipe networks, only improvements in the training of utility staff and the transition to metered tariff systems may be sufficient to improve the operational capacity of water utilities.

Therefore, it might be worthwhile if the activities introduced in this study were replicated in wider areas of Tajikistan.

We appreciate the continuous support of officials from KMK and Khamadoni VK; colleagues of the JICA Tajikistan office, especially Mr Shohei Kawabata; and the JICA Global Environment Department for conducting the project and finalizing this paper.

Data cannot be made publicly available; readers should contact the corresponding author for details.

The authors declare there is no conflict.