What we do

ROCKBlue Consultancy

ROCKBlue Consultancy is focused on solving the developing world’s biggest water and sanitation problems and we are uniquely positioned to do just that.

Tackling the global water crisis

Durable solutions to advance the future of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), today.

Our global roster of 140 industry specialists has the reach, experience, know-how, scale, resourcefulness and capabilities to be an effective partner... wherever and however our clients need it.

ROCKBlue is committed to helping you achieve your water and sanitation objectives with a broad range of solutions and service capabilities that can be applied to everything from utility operations to engineering and construction projects.

Specialists

ROCKBlue has a roster of 140 world-class water and sanitation specialists committed to tackling the world's most pressing WASH problems.

Utilities

Our core roster of technical, management and financial specialists have delivered solutions to more that 350 utilities in developing countries worldwide.

Professionals

ROCKBlue's Online Lecture Series (OLS) of webinars — our in-house knowledge center — provides access to a network of WASH professionals in 50 countries.

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Lives

ROCKBlue's nonprofit work has helped our water utility partners bring safely managed clean water and basic sanitation to more than 20 million people.

The water and sanitation industry is facing growing pressures in urban areas of developing nations as populations skyrocket. Everyone — local utilities to NGOs to multinational corporations — needs a partner with the expertise and capabilities to achieve their desired outcomes.

ROCKBlue's roster of specialists each have decades of experience in developing countries, and are recognized around the world for being the most capable and trusted team members in the water and sanitation space.

Our nonprofit low-overhead operating model means we pass along the cost savings to our clients in the form of lower fees than the private sector without sacrificing quality.

ROCKBlue is a proven reliable and effective partner with a track record of success working alongside water utilities, governments, municipalities, the private sector, NGOs and international financiers.

We understand and have the know-how to deliver on your specific needs to help you achieve your goals — from daily operations and maintenance to full lifecycle management, including emergency service interruptions, upgrades and construction projects.

Through strategic partnerships, ROCKBlue has built a powerful service and solutions ecosystem, providing access to valuable resources that drive transformation, encourage collaboration and deliver meaningful outcomes to clients.

Leveraging liquid assets

Rising to the challenges facing a changing world

Water is our planet's most abundant yet precious resource. But in our ever-shifting global landscape, the water and sanitation industry has never faced as many challenges, especially in the developing world.

By 2030, the total number of people living in cities and towns will increase by 1 billion, and developing countries will be home to 80 percent of the world's urban population. A massive amount of water is needed to meet this fast-growing demand. At the same time, utility operating margins are tighter than ever and the need for flexibility is more critical than ever.

These changes make it imperative to balance the challenge of increasing operational efficiency and reducing costs, while providing affordable, reliable and safely managed clean water and basic sanitation services.

ROCKBlue's roster of expert specialists deliver effective water and sanitation solutions, helping clients to provide better service with greater efficiency and improved reliability, all at a lower cost.

We are equipped to assist you with everything from core operations management, maintenance and financial planning to best-in-class upgrades, retrofits and new engineering and construction projects.

Partners, collaborators and affiliations

WHAT WE DO

Our services

ROCKBlue Consultancy's global water and sanitation team is made up of leading industry experts who rely on valuable lessons learned through hands-on local experience in developing countries and utilize our cross-organizational resources to help you solve your most difficult challenges. Our core competencies include:

Operations & Maintenance (O&M)
Water Resources Support
Facility Startup Services
Regulatory Reforms
Non-Revenue Water
Demand Management
Capacity Building
Human Resources
Business & Master Planning
Governance
Organization Management
Information Technology (IT)
Public Outreach & Coordination
Non-Sewered Sanitation Systems
PPP & Restructuring
Water Treatment
Water Storage & Pumping
Water Reuse System Planning
Inflow & Infiltration E
Wastewater Collection
Wastewater Treatment and Disposal
Environmental Studies
Site Assessments
Sustainability Planning
Hydraulic Studies & Modeling
Capacity & Efficiency Evaluations
Rate Studies
Metering
Billing & Collection
Accounting & Finance
Payroll Services
Finance Sourcing & Fundraising
Value Engineering
Cost Estimating
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Project Feasibility Studies
Construction Project Management
Construction Phase Services
Construction Monitoring

Select Success Story Briefs

ROCKBlue's roster of WASH specialists bring the same quality results achieved in our nonprofit wing to the consultancy.

ROCKBlue Provides Durable Operations Solutions

The challenge

Although the Kingdom of Lesotho, a small, mountainous country completely surrounded by South Africa, is a water-rich enclave, little of its freshwater supply reaches those with the most severe need. Making matters worse, the government-owned Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO) has faced challenges, including aging infrastructure creating supply issues, payment delinquencies creating cash flow problems, alack of agility in adopting new technology and capacity gaps in its management and operational personnel.

The solution

Since forming a partnership in 2016, ROCKBlue helped the water utility to overhaul its operations by adopting a holistic approach.

The outcomes

ROCKBlue partnered with the utility management for strategic planning and capacity building. This helped the utility in:

• Their development of proposals for funding infrastructure projects.

• Installation of bulk water meters at three critical distribution reservoirs to help combat non-revenue water (water lost to leakage or theft).

• The creation of district metering areas for quick water balance estimates

• Increasing production capacity through additional boreholes.

• Collecting 5% of its outstanding debt with 100% billing, while continuing service to its customers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ROCKBlue Helps Improve Utility Performance

The challenge

The Lilongwe Water Board (LWB), which provides service to 83% of the nearly one million people in and around Lilongwe City, Malawi, had a water production capability of 110,000 m3/day supplied from three water treatment plans and 23 boreholes, delivered through approximately 2,100 km of pipelines. Even so, supply was inadequate to meet increasing demand.

The solution

RockBlue partnered with LWB in 2019 with the goal of helping the utility achieve its goal of increasing water production, storage and transmission capacity, while improving financial performance.

The outcomes

ROCKBlue initially introduced AquaRating, an online self-assessment platform on utility performance, with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, to establish baseline performance across eight areas of utility operation.

We then set about helping LWB work toward its goals of extending service to 100% of the population, maintaining 24/7 supply of water and maximize revenues by improving its collection efficiency.

Even during the slowdown of the COVID pandemic, with ROCKBlue's support the utility still managed to add nearly 92,000 new household connections and increase revenues by 1.5 percent.

We also advised LWB on its Emergency Response Plan (ERP) during the financial challenges of the pandemic, helping LWB to prepare a detailed economic assessment of the impacts of the pandemic and to host a partners conference to solicit funding from international financing partners to support the ERP.

Who we are

Meet the Leadership Team

Meet the passionate leadership and experts that embody ROCKBlue's spirit of generosity, drive and innovation to deliver tangible results and lasting change for people and communities in developing countries.

Meet our team

Meet our experts

Our world-renowned roster of specialists have experience working in urban water and sanitation with hundreds of utilities and municipalities throughout the developing world.

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