Guidelines for Operation and Management of Water Kiosks for Water Supply and Sanitation Authorities.

These Guidelines for Operation and Management of Water Kiosks are a subsectoral document with particular importance for the Water Supply and Sanitation Authorities (WSSAs) since it affects low-income groups and underserved areas in urban centres. Some households in WSSA's licensed areas cannot afford a direct house water connection. To address this, WSSAs are obligated to provide a more affordable water supply option, leading to the creation of these guidelines. They aim to ensure the smooth and sustainable operation and management of water kiosks, offering a lower-cost alternative for water service provision. In the area of jurisdiction of a WSSA, water kiosks are mainly owned and managed by WSSAs. In some situations, a water kiosk may be constructed and owned privately or by community organizations, and the WSSA still needs to regulate it. The WSSA should also engage relevant stakeholders in decisions concerning the kiosk's placement, operation, and management.
Water kiosks must adhere to minimum technical requirements to ensure an ergonomic and hygienic water supply. These include (i) Proximity: No one in urban areas should have to carry water for more than 200m; (ii) Safety and Hygiene: Users must be able to fill containers safely, with a solid slab for hygienic collection and a sufficient slope for natural drainage and easy cleaning; (iii) User Comfort: Kiosks with long operating hours should provide shade or shelter, and an elevated fetching bucket bay can serve as a lifting aid; (iv) Infrastructure: A soak-away system should be present for adequate drainage, along with a water meter for accurate measurement of water delivered and sold; (v) Quality and Reliability: High-quality water taps are essential, and storage should be considered for intermittent supply or low pressure areas. Furthermore, the Guidelines provide the criteria for the design of water kiosks in Article 4.2. As for their location, a kiosk may be located on public land, private land, road reserve or WSSA-owned land and shall abide to some criteria for chosing the water points, including (i) should be accessible to all users; (ii) public participation in the decision about the location; (iii) should be placed in a way that they can serve a maximum number of customers in an efficient and customer-friendly manner; (iv) should ensure adequate coverage among the different water points; (v) should start with densely populated areas to less populated areas; (vi) ensure maximum security of kiosks infrastructures.
As for the financial aspect, WSSAs need to identify the construction costs and funding sources for water supply systems and kiosks within their business plans. If external funds from groups or individuals are used, proper arrangements must be made to ensure the WSSA legally owns the kiosk. Water kiosks operate in two ways: manual operation, which requires a human operator and can use either postpaid or prepaid meters (where the operator buys water in bulk to resell), and automated operation, which uses electronic prepaid metering technology and doesn't need an on-site operator, serving as an advanced management solution. As for the kiosk tariffs, WSSAs must seek EWURA approval for them, ensuring they consider low-income earners and, for operated kiosks, implement a two-part tariff (operator and end-user) where the end-user price, displayed prominently, is 35% higher than the operator's purchase price, with WSSA responsible for tariff change notifications.