| Summary: | Includes bibliographical references (leaves 111-126). === Water Service Authorities, which may be district municipalities with hundreds of community-managed supplies under their jurisdiction, are legally responsible for ensuring the quality of water supplied to all consumers. Without the assistance of communities, this requirement, which would involve regular testing in many remote and inaccessible supplies, is extremely difficult to fulfil. Water Service Authorities also struggle to respond timeously to problems in remote supplies, as they are often unaware of the problem for some days. Two-way communication between the Water Service Authority and the Community-based Water Services Provider is therefore essential to an effective monitoring programme. Information and communication technologies, particularly mobile phones on the cellular network, offer potential solution to the challenge of supporting community-managed supplies. Following an investigation into the information needs of various stakeholders in community management, a prototype drinking water quality information system for community-managed supplies was developed.
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