From data to action: Strengthening professional management of rural water services in Burkina Faso

In many rural areas of Burkina Faso, boreholes, elevated tanks and distribution networks are in place, yet communities continue to experience prolonged service interruptions. Pumps break down, tanks run dry without warning, and information on service continuity or water quality remains scarce. These recurring failures point to a deeper challenge: the sustainability of rural water services depends primarily on how systems are managed, monitored and how the responsible actors are held accountable.

Against this backdrop, IRC supported the introduction of a structured monitoring and evaluation approach for leased water systems, turning performance data into a practical tool for decision-making, accountability and system improvement.

Under leasing contracts, municipalities delegate the operation of water piped systems to private operators, known as “fermiers”. These operators are responsible for day-to-day service delivery, routine maintenance and customer relations, and are contractually required to report on their technical, financial and operational performance.

In practice, however, municipalities and decentralised technical services often struggle to access reliable, standardised and actionable data. Without a clear view of system performance, it becomes difficult to enforce contracts, anticipate breakdowns or plan corrective investments. Strengthening monitoring and evaluation therefore emerged as a strategic entry point to improve both service delivery and governance.

To address this gap, IRC supported the development and testing of a digital performance monitoring platform for leased water systems. The tool enables operators to regularly enter technical and financial data and automatically generates standardised performance reports.

Key indicators—such as volumes of water produced and sold, revenues collected, technical failures and maintenance interventions—are now centralised and visualised through dynamic dashboards. This approach has improved transparency, reduced information asymmetry between operators and authorities, and created a shared evidence base for performance assessment and dialogue.

Data alone is not enough. To ensure that information leads to action, regional performance review workshops were organised in seven regions of Burkina Faso, following the validation of data for the first and second semesters of 2024. In total, 195 leased water systems were assessed, with 100% participation from the concerned operators. Each workshop brought together more than sixty stakeholders, including operators, municipal authorities, decentralised technical services and regional administrations, under the leadership of regional governors.

The discussions shifted the focus from isolated technical problems to systemic performance analysis. In particular, they underscored the need for a better understanding and documentation of water networks through up-to-date as-built plans, the securing of production capacity to ensure service continuity, and the establishment of operational financial mechanisms to anticipate equipment renewal. The exchanges also confirmed that the effectiveness of "affermage" arrangements largely depends on the clarity of, and compliance with, the rules governing their operation: improved ownership of contracts, their availability at the local level, and adherence to contractual obligations—especially with regard to reporting, payment of fees, and transparency on water quality—are essential levers for strengthening accountability and trust among stakeholders.

One of the key outcomes of the performance analysis was the identification of critically underperforming or non-functional systems. To move from diagnosis to corrective action, detailed preliminary design studies were conducted to develop ready-to-finance investment projects and applications for finance for upgrading and/or extending 10 existing piped water facilities.

These studies provided in-depth technical diagnoses, identified the root causes of system breakdowns and proposed tailored rehabilitation and upgrading solutions. By linking performance monitoring with concrete technical planning, the initiative ensured that investment decisions were evidence-based and aligned with actual system needs.

This experience reflects IRC Burkina Faso’s core belief that sustainable, inclusive and high-quality water services are achieved not through isolated infrastructure investments, but through strong governance, effective management and robust accountability mechanisms. By combining digital innovation, structured monitoring and evaluation, multi-stakeholder dialogue and targeted technical planning, IRC acts as a facilitator of systemic change. The approach strengthens local capacities, supports data-driven decision making and improves coordination across local, regional and national levels.

The technical, operational and methodological foundations are now in place and have been tested under real-world conditions. Ensuring long-term sustainability and scale-up will depend on strong institutional ownership by national and local authorities, and on the integration of these tools into existing sector governance frameworks. In a volatile institutional and financial environment, this systemic anchoring remains essential to securing lasting improvements in rural water service delivery and advancing progress towards SDG 6.