A “Concept to Completion” Approach to Ensure Sustainable Groundwater Supply to Villages in Armenia

A dependable supply of clean water is critical to villages in Armenia for culinary use and irrigation for production of food crops.  The Village Well and Water Supply Project (Well Project), primarily funded by the US Government, began in late 2000 with military humanitarian assistance funds and then later by the USDA.  The Well Project includes over120 village wells and pipelines and provides access to drinking and irrigation water to more than 21,000 households.  Of the 120 operating projects, 40 are new wells, 55 are rehabilitated wells, and 25 are pipelines. 

An evaluation revealed that a high percentage of new and rehabilitated wells were inoperative.  The reasons for the failures were numerous including well/pump design or construction problems, poor maintenance, non-use due to cost, theft/vandalism, and the lack of a distribution system beyond the well.  Many problems could be related to breakdowns in the project process beginning at the planning stage through to the point when the well is turned over to the village.  A team was sent to Armenia to identify reasons for village well failures and propose effective solutions. 

The overlying recommendation consisted of creating a “Concept to Completion” process which allows for flexibility and continuity starting from the project planning phase through project completion and handover.  The pervasive problem with the well process was the lack of flexibility.  Due to the uncertainty surrounding a well project, the ability to make decisions and changes in the middle of the process is critical.  The system did not appear to have flexibility to implement design or technology changes, which resulted in well failures.  These failures may have been eliminated or reduced by implementing a more flexible and cooperative process where the village, designer, contacting agency/owner, inspector, and contractor work as a team throughout the process.