While the role of maintenance is crucial for the sustainability of water points, the manner in which the water points are maintained or managed is also important. This is the “soft” condition suggested by Baumann (2009) although the evidence is not clear. Cronk and Bartram (2017) found that water points managed by private operators in Tanzania and Nigeria were more functional than those managed by the local communities. Meanwhile, with increasing ownership of the community participation in waterpoints management, sustainability can be improved. Holm et al., (2016) for example suggested that the sustainability of water points in Malawi could be improved if the communities were given autonomy in deciding the type of water points to be installed. This is also supported by Gill (2014) and Gill and Flachenburg (2015) who found that water points were better sustained through increased ownership by communities, and by WaterAid (2009) which found that more autonomous community groups such as Water User Groups and Water User Associations were more successful in sustaining water points. While private operators remain a viable alternative for the management of waterpoints, there is a risk of profiteering which will be detrimental to the expansion of coverage and sustainability of waterpoints in underserved populations (WaterAid, 2009). Finally, community management of water points can also be useful in terms of pooling maintenance and financial risks (Koehler et al., 2015)<sup>14</sup> .

A number of studies also found that functionality of water points post installation, is affected by technology or its type. This is a “hard” condition under Baumann’s definition. In Tanzania, Cronk and Bartram (2017) found that Nira handpumps were more functional than Afridev and India Mark II handpumps. Similarly, using data mining techniques, Chowdavarapu and Manikanandan (2016) showed that the extraction and water point type significantly predicts functionality. In addition, there could be an endogenous relationship regarding the observed high levels of non- functionality of water points. Certain types of water pumps are more expensive to sustain than others, and this could be challenging for communities which lacked the financial resources and hence are unable to replace or repair water pumps, leaving them dysfunctional. Meanwhile, a survey of 512 water points in Kenya for example found that 44 percent of submersible pumps were not functioning while only 2 percent of handpumps were not (Goodall et al., 2016). Similar results were found for Timor Leste (Willets, 2012).

Finally, a number of studies have also found the importance of hydrological factors in explaining water point functionality. For Tanzania, Fisher (2015) found a statistically significant relationship between functionality and groundwater storage. Water points in areas of low storage is associated with higher functionality. Similarly, using data from the 2015 Nigeria National Water and Sanitation Survey, Andres et al. (2018) found that hydrogeological factors are significant in explaining water point

> 14 Additionally, Koehler et al. (2015) also suggested that the sustainability of rural water supply can be further improved by taking advantage of advances in monitoring and payment technologies.

8