## 3 Results
### Community Water Supply: Historical Development and Current Status
#### 3.5.2 Water Point Functionality and Current Asset Status  
Functionality variation, not just numbers of water points, profoundly affects the groundwater-surface water supply balance (Figure 13). Water points at survey (2019) are classified as functional, partially functional but in need of repair, not functional, no data (i.e., functionality is uncertain, but quite likely not functional), or no longer exists or abandoned. The potential for water points to become  
Figure 12: **(a)** Lake Chilwa Basin (Water Resource Area 2) and **(b)** Phalombe District: cumulative historical development of groundwater and surface water water points (secondary \(y\) axis, far right) and percent proportion of groundwater points (primary \(y\) axis); and current asset status showing functionality breakdown of total points surveyed in 2019 (based on mWater data retrieval May, 2020).  
'stranded assets' that do not fulfil their design purpose increases in this order [21]. Stranded assets are probable in the later three categories, but also could emerge from the partially functional category if repairs are not forthcoming and the asset persistently fails to function as designed.  
Decreased functionality of surface water-sourced points compared to groundwater is evident (Figure 13a). Calculating percentage rates based on all the above five categories, functional points account for 56%, and when added to partially functional points 82%, of the Basin's groundwater-sourced points and 59% and 81%, respectively, of Phalombe District points (Figure 13b). These compare to much lower surface water counterparts of 44% and 61% at Basin level and just 37% and 55% at Phalombe  
Figure 13: Water point functionality breakdown of Lake Chilwa Basin and Phalombe District subset surveyed in 2019 (based on mWater data retrieval May, 2020) showing: (**a**) numbers of water points; (**b**) percentage functionality across all five functionality categories; (**c**) percentage functionality across functional partially functional and not functional categories (three categories).  
District level. Surface water functionality is dominated by failing or abandoned 'piped into public tap' gravity-fed schemes. Groundwater-sourced functionality, biased somewhat by low functionality of protected/unprotected dug wells and unprotected springs, is dominated by the higher functionality of boreholes. Functional boreholes account for 60% and with added partially functional boreholes 88% of Basin boreholes and 63% and 84%, respectively, of Phalombe District boreholes. A better metric of functionality influence on forward planning based on realistically available water points is to express percentages based on the first three functionality categories listed (Figure 13c). Functional boreholes then account for 63%, and with added partially functional 91%, of Basin boreholes. This is significantly greater than gravity-fed surface water supplies, Basin functional schemes being at just 48% rising to 68% when partially functional schemes are included.  
The impact of these functionality contrasts are graphically illustrated in the Figure 12 'current asset status' (right panels) where the sum total of water points in 2019 are functionality segregated. Asset stranding of surface water-sourced points is evident at the basin scale, and accentuated in Phalombe District. District functional points for groundwater and surface water similarly approach 1000 with both increasing to approximately 1400 points with inclusion of partially functional points. The remaining three (upper histogram bar) categorisations representing the probable'stranded asset fraction' diverge, comprising approximately 350 groundwater versus some 1450 surface water points. These numbers are indicative of the 'failed investment'; surface water numbers roughly equate to the number of gravity-fed schemes installed during the 2002-2006 step increase in installation activity.