“We used to collect data [on the caretaker groups/KPP of the Communal Wastewater Treatment Plant/IPAL Komunal] manually. This method consumed much time, energy, and is costly,” Ms. Sandra Anggraini, the Head of UPT PALD (the technical implementing unit for domestic wastewater) of Malang district, started her story about the challenge in the IPAL Komunal data collection.
This data collection method for is particularly challenging as Malang district has a total of 120 KPPs that manage 120 IPAL Komunals that the government has gradually built since 2007.
She added that the UPT PALD had only data on 31 KPPs until October 2020. Even so, the data are not completed with information on the IPAL Komunal users.” Such limited data will challenge the district government to track progress of achievement in safely managed sanitation.
To address this issue, USAID IUWASH PLUS facilitated UPTD PALD and 14 piloted KPPs to collaborate in the data collection and IPAL Komunal management. These 14 KPPs were among the 31 KPPs registered in the UPT PALD and have received desludging services. They were selected because the KPPs are active and the IPAL Komunal has nearly reached optimal capacity.
Thus, USAID IUWASH PLUS project trained the UPT and KPPs on the use of mWater—an open access data management platform—to collect data on the KPP users in November 2020. This data collection training is a part of the capacity building sessions for the UPT PALD and KPPs, which USAID IUWASH PLUS has been providing. The capacity building also covers other topics such as IPAL Komunal operation and maintenance as well as occupational safety and health.
In addition to the mWater training, USAID IUWASH PLUS also created accounts for each KPP to send customer data that can be monitored by the administrator in the UPT PALD]. The 14 KPPs collected data on their respective IPAL Komunal users, including their name and address from November to December 2020. “With the assistance in using the mWater trained by USAID IUWASH PLUS, the data collection of the IPAL Komunal users become much easier” said Ms. Sandra Anggraini.
The UPTD PALD have recorded data of 860 households which are connected into IPAL Komunals in their database. These data are the results of the survey that the KPPs carried out using the mWater.
Ms. Sandra Anggraini also said that this success has spurred UPT PALD to collect data at other IPAL Komunal locations. On mid-March, 2021, UPT PALD received another training from USAID IUWASH PLUS in using the mWater so that they could train other KPPs to collect data on the IPAL Komunal users. The data collection will be continued to an additional 30 IPAL Komunals in 2021.
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