 To satisfy requirements of quality, efficiency and cost recovery, PRAGUAS offers technical assistance and financial incentives to municipalities which are interested in delegating water supply and sanitation to autonomous operators, such as public or private utilities, cooperatives etc.Referring to coverage, between 2001 and 2006 PRAGUAS I equipped 252,000 persons with new supply systems and 127,000 people with on-site sanitation (i.e., approximately 5% and 3% of the Ecuadorian rural population of 4.7 million people).In small towns ("cabeceras cantonales"), where water service was interrupted, technical assistance was provided to improve the performance, separating service provision from direct provision by municipalities and increasing operative efficiency, to reach continuous sustainable service of good quality.