Abstract
Acting under Mission Assistance Objective 4: Improved water services for all in Lebanon, and in recognition of the serious pollution problem occurring in the Litani watershed, USAID/Lebanon designed a project aimed at reducing the direct discharge of sewage into the Litani River. The proposed project, called the Small Villages Wastewater Treatment Systems (SVWTS) project, identified municipalities and unions of municipalities in the West and North Bekaa regions. Camp, Dresser and McKee (CDM) was awarded the SVWTS Project under Contract #: 268-C-00-05-00066. The project was designed in two Phases. Phase I (October 2004-November 2005) was the facility design phase where alternative infrastructure configurations that met the design criteria were compared and a final design selected. Phase II (October 2005-August 2012) was the construction and commissioning phase and included an Advise & Assist stage designed to gradually transition the operation of the plants to the participating municipalities. The Contracting Officers Representative (COR) for the Small Villages Wastewater Treatment Systems project requested an end of project evaluation to be limited to Phase II of the project implementation, focusing mainly on issues of sustainability, and recommendations for future projects in the sector. The proposed suggested objectives of the evaluation were: (1) analyzing the extent of achievement of the program objectives of mitigation of pollution at the Litani River; (2) evaluating the outcomes and impact of the program; (3) documenting successes, challenges, and lessons learned; (4) providing recommendations for USAID on any possible enhancements of the current program, specifically enhancement of its sustainability; (5) providing recommendations for USAID for any future programs of the same or similar nature. (Excerpt, modified)