ABSTRACT
Water is a dry subject, so to speak. This is particularly true in the context of the press's interest in refugee relief, where much of the focus is on the dead and dying. Actual solutions to the problems of drinking water and sanitation to a lay audience are clouded by the technical calculations of engineers. It is easier to observe the limitations of the Good Samaritan bureaucracy in the water sector than in other sectors. Water systems are large, complex, and expensive, and by their nature, demand careful engineering if they are to work as planned. As with other large and expensive engineering works, systematic rational planning is necessary to create complex water systems. It is easier to observe the limitations of the Good Samaritan bureaucracy in the water sector than in other sectors. This chapter explains how relaxing rationalized engineering assumptions in the areas of data requirements, procurement, populations, and so forth affected the water sector in Ngara.
