Water Point Functionality and Service Delivery Monitoring Dataset - 2023

This dataset contains water point assessment data collected during routine field monitoring activities conducted in Malawi in 2023 under the Trocaire water point functionality survey program. The survey was designed to evaluate the operational status, service reliability, and management conditions of rural water supply infrastructure, with a focus on boreholes and community-managed water points.

Data collection was carried out using the mWater platform. The dataset includes geospatial coordinates, functionality status, water availability and reliability indicators, pump and civil works condition, reported mechanical failures, seasonal variability, water quality observations (including salinity and contamination issues), and basic performance metrics such as collection time and access distance.

The dataset also captures governance and service delivery information, including water point committee composition, tariff structures, financial record keeping, maintenance practices, and service provider arrangements.

The survey was conducted across multiple rural water points in Malawi, with locations determined by program implementation and field accessibility.

This dataset can be used for:

Rural water infrastructure functionality analysis
Borehole and handpump performance monitoring
WASH program evaluation and reporting
Geospatial mapping of service delivery gaps
Water quality risk screening (e.g., salinity and contamination indicators)
Governance and sustainability assessments of community-managed water systems

Installation

You can install the development version of waterpointstatus from GitHub with:

# install.packages("devtools")
devtools::install_github("openwashdata/waterpointstatus")

## Run the following code in console if you don't have the packages
## install.packages(c("dplyr", "knitr", "readr", "stringr", "gt", "kableExtra"))
library(dplyr)
library(knitr)
library(readr)
library(stringr)
library(gt)
library(kableExtra)

Alternatively, you can download the individual datasets as a CSV or XLSX file from the table below.

Click Download CSV. A window opens that displays the CSV in your browser.
Right-click anywhere inside the window and select “Save Page As…”.
Save the file in a folder of your choice.

dataset	CSV	XLSX
waterpointstatus	Download CSV	Download XLSX

Data

The package provides access to water point assessment data collected during routine field monitoring activities conducted in Malawi in 2023 under the Trocaire water point functionality survey program. The survey was designed to evaluate the operational status, service reliability, and management conditions of rural water supply infrastructure, with a focus on boreholes and community-managed water points.

library(waterpointstatus)

metadata

The dataset waterpointstatus contains 1425 observations and 45 variables

waterpointstatus |> 
  head(3) |> 
  gt::gt() |>
  gt::as_raw_html()

waterpoint_id	latitude	longitude	waterpoint_image	functional_status	downtime_duration	abandon_reason	has_current_issue	current_issue	water_available_today	continuous_30days	no_water_30days_reason	repair_duration_days	seasonal_unavailable	seasonal_period	flow_test_possible	fill_time_20l	latrine_within_100m	observed_issues	water_quality_issues	preventive_maintenance	maintenance_barrier	user_population	universal_access	households_no_access	access_barrier	max_roundtrip_minutes	max_distance_metres	has_service_provider	provider_type	has_tariff	tariff_frequency	tariff_amount_mwk	tariff_cost_basis	has_financial_records	has_positive_balance	savings_or_loans	record_balance_mwk	has_bank_account	bank_balance_mwk	committee_year_formed	committee_member_count	committee_women_count	treasurer_gender	months_unavailable
243390968	-16.31032	34.88356	https://api.mwater.co/v3/images/a40d5baecd634858b974289d071f79e1	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	No	System is not functional	0	No	NA	NA	NA	Yes	Damage or problem with pump	NA	NA	NA	0	NA	NA	NA	0	0	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	0
13625083	-16.44955	34.86430	https://api.mwater.co/v3/images/157b0a22c0294b9e97ded388a7b61333	Not functional	Less than 1 month	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	No	NA	NA	NA	Yes	Damage or problem with pump, Damage to civil works - platform, well head, riser etc, Other	NA	Sometimes	NA	258	0	NA	NA	5	3	Yes	Water Point Committee	Yes	Per month	200	Maintenance costs, Operation costs	No	NA	NA	NA	No	NA	2015	10	6	Female	0
12203015	-16.44641	34.86387	https://api.mwater.co/v3/images/05c67273c9dd4b888692e5de0ecbcdc8	Not functional	2 - 5 years	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	Yes	01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12	NA	NA	Yes	Water quality, Other	Salinity / saltiness	No	Lack of money, Lack of understanding/commitment to Preventative Maintenance	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	No	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	NA	12

For an overview of the variable names, see the following table.

variable_name	variable_type	description
waterpoint_id	numeric	Unique identifier assigned to each water point.
latitude	numeric	Geographic latitude of the water point
longitude	numeric	Geographic longitude of the water point
waterpoint_image	character	File name or reference to image captured during the survey visit.
functional_status	character	Operational status of the water point at time of visit
downtime_duration	character	Reported length of time the water point has been non-functional or abandoned.
abandon_reason	character	Primary reason the water point was abandoned or left non-functional.
has_current_issue	character	Indicates whether any current technical or operational problem was observed.
current_issue	character	Type of current problem affecting the water point.
water_available_today	character	Indicates whether water was available on the day of the visit.
continuous_30days	character	Indicates whether the water point provided uninterrupted water supply over the past 30 days.
no_water_30days_reason	character	Reason for water interruptions within the last 30 days.
repair_duration_days	numeric	Number of days taken to repair the water point after the most recent breakdown
seasonal_unavailable	character	Indicates whether the water source becomes unavailable during certain seasons.
seasonal_period	character	Time of year when water is typically unavailable due to seasonal variation.
flow_test_possible	character	Indicates whether a flow rate test could be conducted during the visit.
fill_time_20l	numeric	Time required to fill a 20-litre container during flow rate test.
latrine_within_100m	character	Indicates presence of a latrine within 100 metres of the water point.
observed_issues	character	General technical or structural problems observed during the visit, multiple responses possible
water_quality_issues	character	Observed or reported water quality concerns
preventive_maintenance	character	Indicates whether routine preventative maintenance is performed on the water point.
maintenance_barrier	character	Main reason preventing regular preventative maintenance.
user_population	numeric	Estimated number of people regularly using the water point.
universal_access	character	Indicates whether all community members have access to the water point.
households_no_access	numeric	Estimated number of households without access to the water point.
access_barrier	character	Primary reason some households lack access to the water point.
max_roundtrip_minutes	numeric	Maximum reported round-trip time in minutes to collect water.
max_distance_metres	numeric	Maximum reported one-way walking distance to the water point.
has_service_provider	character	Indicates whether a designated service provider or operator is responsible for the water point.
provider_type	character	Type of service provider responsible for operation and maintenance
has_tariff	character	Indicates whether users pay a tariff or fee for water access.
tariff_frequency	character	Frequency at which the water tariff or user fee is collected.
tariff_amount_mwk	numeric	Amount charged per tariff period in Malawi Kwacha
tariff_cost_basis	character	Cost factors considered when setting the water tariff
has_financial_records	character	Indicates whether financial records or books are maintained for the water point.
has_positive_balance	character	Indicates whether financial records show a positive account balance.
savings_or_loans	character	Indicates evidence of savings accumulation or loan repayment in financial records.
record_balance_mwk	numeric	Reported balance recorded in financial books
has_bank_account	character	Indicates whether the service provider maintains a formal bank account.
bank_balance_mwk	numeric	Reported balance held in the bank account
committee_year_formed	numeric	Year the water point committee was established.
committee_member_count	numeric	Total number of members serving on the water point committee.
committee_women_count	numeric	Number of women serving on the water point committee.
treasurer_gender	character	Gender of the committee treasurer.
months_unavailable	numeric	Total number of months per year the water source is unavailable.

Example

library(waterpointstatus)

# Example 1: Visualization Map on water point status
library(leaflet)
library(dplyr)
library(stringr)

# -----------------------------
# 1. Data preparation
# -----------------------------
wp_map <- waterpointstatus %>%
  mutate(
    latitude = as.numeric(latitude),
    longitude = as.numeric(longitude),

    # Clean functional status (real-world messy labels handled)
    functional_status = case_when(
      str_detect(tolower(functional_status), "functional") &
        !str_detect(tolower(functional_status), "not|non") ~ "Functional",

      str_detect(tolower(functional_status), "not|non") ~ "Non-functional",

      TRUE ~ "Unknown / Partial"
    ),

    # Population
    user_population = as.numeric(user_population),

    # Scale for visualization
    pop_scaled = sqrt(user_population)
  ) %>%
  filter(!is.na(latitude), !is.na(longitude))

# -----------------------------
# 2. Color palette
# -----------------------------
status_palette <- colorFactor(
  palette = c(
    "Functional" = "green",
    "Non-functional" = "red",
    "Unknown / Partial" = "orange"
  ),
  domain = wp_map$functional_status
)

# -----------------------------
# 3. Leaflet map
# -----------------------------
leaflet(wp_map) %>%
  addProviderTiles(providers$OpenStreetMap) %>%

  addCircleMarkers(
    lng = ~longitude,
    lat = ~latitude,

    color = ~status_palette(functional_status),
    fillColor = ~status_palette(functional_status),

    fillOpacity = 0.75,
    stroke = TRUE,
    weight = 1,

    radius = ~ifelse(is.na(pop_scaled), 4, pop_scaled / 6),

    popup = ~paste0(
      "<b>Water Point ID:</b> ", waterpoint_id, "<br>",
      "<b>Status:</b> ", functional_status, "<br>",
      "<b>User population:</b> ", ifelse(is.na(user_population), "NA", user_population), "<br>",
      "<b>Fill time (20L):</b> ", ifelse(is.na(fill_time_20l), "NA", fill_time_20l), "<br>",
      "<b>Repair days:</b> ", ifelse(is.na(repair_duration_days), "NA", repair_duration_days), "<br>",
      "<b>Latrine within 100m:</b> ", latrine_within_100m
    )
  ) %>%

  addLegend(
    position = "bottomright",
    pal = status_palette,
    values = ~functional_status,
    title = "Water Point Status"
  )

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 8 Commits
R		R
data-raw		data-raw
data		data
docs		docs
inst/extdata		inst/extdata
man		man
.Rbuildignore		.Rbuildignore
.gitignore		.gitignore
DESCRIPTION		DESCRIPTION
LICENSE.md		LICENSE.md
NAMESPACE		NAMESPACE
README.Rmd		README.Rmd
README.md		README.md
_pkgdown.yml		_pkgdown.yml
waterpointstatus.Rproj		waterpointstatus.Rproj

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