Water supply surveillance: a reference manual

This book presents the findings of a research project funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) project no: R6874, and the World Health Organization. It has been written for staff of environmental and public health authorities, water supply agencies and NGOs working in urban areas of developing countries. The project has developed guidelines on the implementation of water supply surveillance based on field experience in Uganda, Ghana and Bangladesh. The guidelines provide a methodology for including poverty and vulnerability into surveillance planning and show how priority groups can be targeted. The book also provides guidance on data collection and use of surveillance findings in improving water supplies and water handling practices as a way of reducing public health risks derived from poor water supply. It emphasises the need for partnerships with communities and identifies the way in which information can be shared and used by a range of organisations

Water quality surveillance: a practical guide

This guide is designed to help staff who undertake surveillance and monitoring of water supplies in developing countries. It provides simple information on how data may be collected and explains the use of equipment and inspection techniques. It also provides example forms that can be easily photocopied, guidance on how monitoring data can be used to improve water supplies and water handling, and how reporting of information can be used to initiate dialogue with communities. The guide was developed with support from the Department for International Development (DFID) (Project no: R6874), and the World Health Organization

Strategic approaches to urban sanitation

Strategic approaches to urban sanitatio

Water safety plans - Book 2: Supporting water safety management for urban piped water supplies in developing countries

Historically, global control of drinking water has relied upon infrequent testing of selected water quality parameters at specified points within a water supply. Weaknesses identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in this approach have resulted in a fundamental change noted in the revised, third edition of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, 2004. The change involves the development of quality assurance processes known as Water Safety Plans (WSPs) founded upon the HACCP principles used in the food industry. Water Safety Plans - Books 1 and 2, document state of the art research designed to complement the advances being made in the global water quality sector. Book 1 presents guidelines for implementing WSPs in developing countries. Book 2 gives further detail on supporting programmes. Together they provide essential reading for water utility managers, helping them to assess, identify and manage water quality risk in their piped water supplies, as well as individuals and organizations representing vulnerable groups and suggesting methods for improving monitoring and management of water quality in low socio-economic areas. Evidence for these books is drawn from three years of research undertaken in Uganda and India funded by the Department for International Development (DFID)

Water safety plans - Book 1: Planning water safety management for urban piped water supplies in developing countries

Historically, global control of drinking water has relied upon infrequent testing of selected water quality parameters at specified points within a water supply. Weaknesses identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in this approach have resulted in a fundamental change noted in the revised, third edition of the WHO Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality, 2004. The change involves the development of quality assurance processes known as Water Safety Plans (WSPs) founded upon the HACCP principles used in the food industry. Water Safety Plans - Books 1 and 2, document state of the art research designed to complement the advances being made in the global water quality sector. Book 1 presents guidelines for implementing WSPs in developing countries. Book 2 gives further detail on supporting programmes. Together they provide essential reading for water utility managers, helping them to assess, identify and manage water quality risk in their piped water supplies, as well as individuals and organizations representing vulnerable groups and suggesting methods for improving monitoring and management of water quality in low socio-economic areas. Evidence for these books is drawn from three years of research undertaken in Uganda and India funded by the Department for International Development (DFID)

Rapid assessment of drinking water quality: a handbook for implementation

Water is a basic human right as recently re-clarified in General Comment 15 of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The importance of water for health and development has been reflected in international policy initiatives since the International Decade for Water Supply and Sanitation Development (the 1980s). This was further emphasised by the Millennium Declaration Goal to halve the proportion of the World's population that lacks access to water supply and most recently the identification of water and sanitation as a highest priority issue by the Commission for Sustainable Development. Since the 1960s, WHO has periodically reported on the development of the access to safe drinking-water sources; this is now implemented as a joint programme of work with UNICEF through the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) for Water Supply and Sanitation. In recent reviews and evaluations the need for JMP to progressively address new and emerging priorities has been highlighted. As part of the ongoing plan of work of JMP, a major initiative to more comprehensively take account of water quality issues has been initiated. This handbook has been developed as a resource to support the systematic evaluation of drinking-water quality status at country and local levels. It is hoped that it will be useful to those interested in describing and understanding drinking-water quality status in the context of JMP at national/state levels and on a project basis

“Good dredging practices” : the place of traditional eco-livelihood knowledge

Livelihoods of most residents of rural communities in developing countries are often dependent on surface water resources. The use and management of this vital resource should be as much as possible equitable for sustainable development to be achieved at local levels in these countries. Inland river dredging is a water resources management strategy usually aimed at improving water courses for navigation, land reclamation and or mitigate flood in the dredged catchment. Dredging operations like most development projects have impacts that are often localised, and benefits that could be local, regional or national. “Good dredging practices”, GDP, in industrialised countries have been aimed at balancing national/regional economic benefits, technical feasibility and environmental protection. These practices rely heavily on the quality, and quantity of relevant base-line data available. In most developing countries there is a dearth of baseline data, and most often national/regional economic gains do not necessarily translate into local livelihood benefits. Hence, the basis of GDP should be extended to incorporate local livelihoods priorities, without ignoring the relevance of scientific data when it is available, the issue of technical feasibility, environmental sustainability and economic viability. This approach is relevant to the demand for equitable development in the developing world; could be used in conjunction with traditional eco-livelihoods knowledge (TELK) in developing or determining appropriate approaches for sustainable surface water resources management, as well as reducing environmental conflicts between stakeholders

Static risk mapping using a Geographic Information System

Water safety plans (WSPs) are risk management tools designed to assure the safety of drinking water. This paper outlines the development of a Geographic Information System (GIS) to assess and manage risk data which supports the development of the WSP. Findings presented in the paper are based on research undertaken by the Water. Engineering and Development Centre (WEDC) in collaboration with the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC) and Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda

Water usage studies in water quality surveillance

This paper will review the role of water usage studies in water quality surveillance programmes using an example from Kampala, Uganda

River use profile of the Central Niger Delta based on traditional eco-livelihood knowledge (TELK)

The Central Niger Delta is made up of a network of rivers and creeks that constitute the inland surface waters. These surface waters have historically influenced settlement patterns and are of diverse use to residents of the Central Niger Delta. Surface water like many ecological system are complex, whose complexity has been associated with seasonal variability. Traditional knowledge (TK), traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) and the traditional eco-livelihood knowledge (TELK) of residents of four rural communities in the Central Niger Delta have been explored in developing a river use profile of rural communities of the Central Niger Delta. A questionnaire survey has been carried out in four communities, two each from the Otuoke and Kolo Creeks. The result shows that river use varies across seasons and affected by: physico-chemical water quality and characteristics of surface water; the hydrological characteristics; the biological / ecological characteristics; cultural use and demand; need for development projects; and access to this vital resource. Fishing constitute one of the major livelihood source in the Central Niger Delta and the TELK of fishers in the sample communities have specifically been explored to understanding fishing patterns across seasons. The five seasons identified from this study are: flood season; flood recession season; dry season; early rainy season; and rainy season. Therefore, the thesis of this paper is that there is the need to balance the current usage of surface water in the developing world such as the Central Niger Delta with the demand for development as well as future use if development is to meet the criteria for equitable development. The river use profile could be a promising tool in planning for equitable development