Background

Improved rainwater harvesting systems at household and community levels with larger storage capacity were demonstrated under ICIMOD’s Himalica initiative in villages in Myanmar that were facing an acute water shortage. The traditional roof RWH systems at household level were improved, new ponds constructed, and a few existing
community ponds repaired (sediment excavated). Local communities now have much more water for drinking and sanitation purposes during the dry season. The measures have reduced the drudgery of women, as they spend less time and energy bringing  water during the dry season. Communities are consuming more water by an average
of 11 lpcd in wet season and 18 lpcd in dry season, saving 1.5-2.0 hours per day in fetching and travelling a shorter distance by about 2 km during the dry season.

The Issue

In the Letmaunggwe hills of Southern Shan State in Myanmar, many villages located on the tops and slopes of the hills are fully dependent on rainwater. There are no ground water sources such as springs, tube wells, and bore wells in many villages. Therefore, the communities face acute water shortages for drinking and irrigation during the dry months. Most of the houses have private roof rainwater harvesting systems of about 100-200 litre capacity for storing drinking water during the rainy season (June-September). The rest of the time, people collect water from
open community ponds.

During the seven months of the year when water is in short supply (November–May), water collection requires a significant amount of time that could otherwise be spent on several productive activities. Households are forced to drink turbid water from open and contaminated community ponds. Waterborne diseases like stomach ache and diarrhea are common in the villages. Livestock are taken to the community ponds, and in some villages the same pond is used for drinking water.

The Solution

Sustainable changes or improvements to existing water sources in these five villages required strong ownership by the local community. Therefore, to mobilize the community in regard to water management, Water Management Committees (WMCs) were formed in six pilot villages. To build capacity of project professionals and the Water Management Committee, hands-on practical trainings on improved water management,WASH, and water quality management were organized. Himalica also supported the WMCs to create rules and regulations for managing
their available water resources. All new water harvesting systems were constructed with partial contributions from the participating families. In addition to capacity-building and community mobilization, Himalica’s RWH project in six pilot villages – namely Pan Tin, Tha Yat Pin, Kyaung Nar, Kyaung Taung, Zee Yar, and Antpet in Shan State, Manmar have achieved the following:

Constructed 78 RWH systems at household level, each with a storage capacity of 450 litres
• Constructed 20 community RWH systems, with storage capacities ranging from 13,500 to 90,000 litres
• Improved more than 100 RWH systems at household level through providing a mould for tank construction and replacing wornout or lost parts or patching roofs, replacing bamboo/zinc gutters with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipes, and the covering of exposed storage tanks with zinc and bamboo sheets.
• Constructed a new community pond with a storage capacity of 5,000,000 litres near Kyaung Taung village.
This plastic water harvesting pond in Myanmar provides a water source in the dry months MIID
• Dug out sediment from and improved three existing community ponds, and increased their collective storage capacity by about 2,400,000 litres.