Development of a Tool to Measure Resilience against Floods for Water Supply Systems in Tanzania

Abstract

Resilience of water supply systems (WSS) needs improvements to better cope with flood impacts. Resilience in Tanzania, given its significance, remains a theoretical concept. Yet increasing interest from the water industry means the development of tools to quantify resilience and the eventual use of those tools to assist in operational decision making is required. The current study developed a resilience measurement tool for Tanzania WSS. Preassessment and pretesting of globally based indicators were conducted, followed by a three-round Delphi process to refine the tool’s variables. The tool was finally tested and evaluated in two WSS. The conceptual framework of the final tool consists of (1) system in analysis, (2) dimensions, (3) principles, and (4) indicators, and the assessment tools consist of (1) measures and measurement scales, (2) weightings, and (3) aggregation of variables. The overall system resilience (OSR) identifies specific needs for improvement of resilience in various aspects of the system, leading to decisions on appropriate intervention, planning, and budgeting measures to improve the overall resilience of WSS.