ABSTRACT
Among the changes brought by the reforms was the introduction of hydrological-based water management institutions in the form of catchment and sub-catchment councils. These replaced institutions that were based on administrative boundaries and were meant to bring organisations managing water resources closer to the water users. Catchment and subcatchment councils were also to act as stakeholder platforms. Given that these IWRM-based institutions were created to improve water resources management in the country, it can be argued that they represent the latest intervention in water resources management in Zimbabwe. However, as Long (2001) observes, although interventions seek to change how things are done, the same interventions are affected by the context in which they are implemented. This makes it imperative to understand the context in which the intervention is being implemented. The main objective of this chapter is to analyse practices in water resources management at the local level. The following research questions are asked to guide analysis: what drives practices in water resources managed at the local level? The sub-questions which the chapter further asks are: how is water accessed and water infrastructure maintained at the local level? What characterises water user dynamics at the local level, and what influences these dynamics? Answering these questions will shed light on how water resources are being managed at the local level in reality. That in turn will contribute towards understanding whether, or not, IWRM as an intervention in Zimbabwe’s water sector has affected local water management at the local level.
