scholarly journals Mobile crowd participation to root small-scale piped water supply systems in India and Bangladesh

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-151 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mink ◽  
B. A. Hoque ◽  
S. Khanam ◽  
D. Van Halem

Abstract In the arsenic-contaminated Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna Delta in India and Bangladesh, small-scale piped water supply seems a promising way to provide safe drinking water to households in the region. The use of smartphone applications can support monitoring of the system and enhance local engagement and empowerment. In this paper the scope for mobile crowd participation as a research and monitoring tool for piped water supply systems in Bihar, India and in Khulna and Chittagong, Bangladesh is investigated. In these areas, the use of smartphones and internet access are growing rapidly and smartphone applications would enable real-time water quality monitoring, payment of water bills, awareness creation, and a dialogue between the end-user and the water supplier. To identify the relevance and acceptability of piped water supply and smartphone monitoring, four surveys with potential end-users were conducted. Based on these surveys we conclude that in the investigated areas there is a desire for piped water systems, that households already own smartphones with internet access, and that there is an interest in smartphone monitoring. The enabling environment to deploy mobile crowd participation for piped water system monitoring stimulates further research towards an investigation of potential functionalities and the actual development of such an application.

Author(s):  
Yu.A. Novikova ◽  
I.O. Myasnikov ◽  
A.A. Kovshov ◽  
N.A. Tikhonova ◽  
N.S. Bashketova

Summary. Introduction: Drinking water is one of the most important environmental factors sustaining life and determining human health. The goal of the Russian Federal Clean Water Project is to improve drinking water quality through upgrading of water treatment and supply systems using advanced technologies, including those developed by the military-industrial complex. The most informative and reliable sources of information for assessing drinking water quality are the results of systematic laboratory testing obtained within the framework of socio-hygienic monitoring (SGM) and production control carried out by water supply organizations. The objective of our study was to formulate approaches to organizing quality monitoring programs for centralized cold water supply systems. Materials and methods: We reviewed programs and results of drinking water quality laboratory tests performed by Rospotrebnadzor bodies and institutions within the framework of SGM in 2017–2018. Results: We established that drinking water quality monitoring in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation differs significantly in the number of monitoring points (566 in the Krasnoyarsk Krai vs 10 in Sevastopol) and measured indicators, especially sanitary and chemical ones (53 inorganic and organic substances in the Kemerovo Region vs one indicator in the Amur Region). Discussion: For a more complete and objective assessment of drinking water quality in centralized cold water supply systems, monitoring points should be organized at all stages of water supply with account for the coverage of the maximum number of people supplied with water from a particular network. Thus, the number of points in the distribution network should depend, inter alia, on the size of population served. In urban settlements with up to 10,000 inhabitants, for example, at least 4 points should be organized while in the cities with more than 3,000,000 inhabitants at least 80 points are necessary. We developed minimum mandatory lists of indicators and approaches to selecting priority indices to be monitored at all stages of drinking water supply.


1993 ◽  
Vol 27 (9) ◽  
pp. 47-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. F. Nicholson

Life, health and hygiene all depend on access to a plentiful supply of safe drinking water. Piped water supplies in rural Egypt are insufficient to meet the demands of the existing population. This situation is worsening due to the rapid population growth and failure of existing water supply systems. There are already areas of the country with severe piped water shortages. If corrective action is not taken soon densely populated villages will become vulnerable to outbreaks of waterborne diseases. Immediate action is needed to reverse the deterioration of water supply systems and to improve the benefits gained from capital works investments in the sector. This paper promotes the concept that sustainable water systems in rural Egypt depends on a central government and local unit partnership. Also needed are consumer bodies to determine user needs; local units to be given powers to manage the revenue and expenditure accounts; and the central government to concentrate on setting policies and guidelines, and assisting with the implementation of major capital works.


Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 806
Author(s):  
Takuya Sakomoto ◽  
Mahmood Lutaaya ◽  
Edo Abraham

Intermittent water supply networks risk microbial and chemical contamination through multiple mechanisms. In particular, in the cities of developing countries, where intrusion through leaky pipes are more prevalent and the sanitation systems coverage is low, contaminated water can be a public health hazard. Although countries using intermittent water supply systems aim to change to continuous water supply systems—for example, Kampala city is targeting to change to continuous water supply by 2025 through an expansion and rehabilitation of the pipe infrastructure—it is unlikely that this transition will happen soon because of rapid urbanisation and economic feasibility challenges. Therefore, water utilities need to find ways to supply safe drinking water using existing systems until gradually changing to a continuous supply system. This study describes solutions for improving water quality in Mukono town in Uganda through a combination of water quality monitoring (e.g., identifying potential intrusion hotspots into the pipeline using field measurements) and interventions (e.g., booster chlorination). In addition to measuring and analyses of multiple chemical and microbial water quality parameters, we used EPANET 2.0 to simulate the water quality dynamics in the transport pipeline to assess the impact of interventions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-595
Author(s):  
Tim Foster ◽  
Emily Rand ◽  
Erie Sami ◽  
Brieana Dance ◽  
Jeremy Kohlitz ◽  
...  

Abstract Piped water systems are considered to provide the highest service level for drinking water supplies; however, global monitoring of safe water access pays little attention to the type of water source that piped systems draw upon, even if the water is not treated prior to distribution. This study sought to understand whether the source of water for untreated piped supplies influences the prevalence of diarrhoea among children in rural Vanuatu. The analysis was based on a dataset integrating a Demographic and Health Survey and a nationwide water supply inventory. After adjusting for a range of potential confounders, the results revealed a significant association between diarrhoea and the type of water source supplying a piped system. Compared with borehole-supplied piped systems, spring-fed piped systems were significantly associated with increased odds of diarrhoea (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 5.8, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–31, p = 0.040). No significant association between diarrhoea and piped systems drawing on surface water was observed. Increased odds of diarrhoea were significantly associated with water supply systems constructed prior to the year 2000 (AOR 4.9, 95% CI 1.9–13, p = 0.001). The results highlight the need for improvements in spring protection as well as ongoing maintenance and periodic renewal of water supply infrastructure. This article has been made Open Access thanks to the generous support of a global network of libraries as part of the Knowledge Unlatched Select initiative.


Water Policy ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Hanatani ◽  
Kana Fuse

Poor maintenance of water supply systems is a critical issue in sub-Saharan Africa. Using survey data on users of motorized piped water supply systems in rural southern Senegal, this paper examines what motivates resource users to contribute financially to the management of water supply system infrastructure by paying their water tariff. Results from logistic regression analysis indicate that users who prefer borehole water and are satisfied with the service provided are more likely than others to pay. In addition, those who trust that other users will pay are more likely themselves to pay than those who do not trust their peers. These findings suggest that assessing the needs of users and providing services tailored to those needs (e.g., quality, convenience) is recommended for future interventions. The incorporation of programs that promote peer trust should also be considered as future interventions to establish or strengthen resource management organization.


2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susanne Hyllestad ◽  
Vidar Lund ◽  
Karin Nygård ◽  
Preben Aavitsland ◽  
Line Vold

Abstract Water supply systems, in particular small-scale water supply systems, are vulnerable to adverse events that may jeopardise safe drinking water. The consequences of contamination events or the failure of daily operations may be severe, affecting many people. In Norway, a 24-hour crisis advisory service was established in 2017 to provide advice on national water supplies. Competent and expert advisors from water suppliers throughout the country assist other water suppliers and individuals who may be in need of advice during an adverse event. This paper describes the establishment of this service and experiences from the first three years of its operation. Since the launch of the service, water suppliers across Norway have consulted it approximately one to two times a month for advice, in particular about contamination events and near misses. The outcomes have helped to improve guidance on water hygiene issues at the national level.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 2921
Author(s):  
Nwe Nwe Zin ◽  
Shinobu Kazama ◽  
Satoshi Takizawa

In Yangon City, chlorination commenced in January 2020 to supply drinkable water; therefore, there is as yet no information on chlorine decay and DBP formation in the water supply system. This study aimed to find methods to optimize chlorine dosage in Yangon City. Onsite sampling and laboratory analyses of residual chlorine and trihalomethane (THM) formation, as well as water quality simulations, were conducted to find the chlorine decay and THM formation kinetics. Due to a high chlorine dose of 2 mg/L for both pre- and post-chlorination, disinfection was effective despite the low removal efficiency of turbidity. However, THMs were found in high levels in both treated and tap water due to the high THM formation potential of raw water. The re-contamination and/or transformation of dissolved organic matter were found in the distribution network by increases in specific ultraviolet absorption (SUVA) values and excitation-emission matrix (EEM) fluorophores, which brought about variations of THMs in the networks. The EPANET models were run assuming there to be no water leakages; it was found that the chlorine dose could be decreased to 0.8 mg/L to meet the guidelines for THMs and residual chlorine. The methods employed in this study could be also applied in other water supply systems in tropical developing countries with limited water quality monitoring data.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 65-76
Author(s):  
Chitra Bahadur Budhathoki

Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal is a landlocked country located in South Asia. Nepal has made its considerable efforts to improve the water supply and sanitation (WASH) situation in the country by formulating and enforcing a number of WASH policies, guidelines and acts for the last two decades. But WASH situation of Nepal has not been well documented so far. Aim of this article is to describe the situation of water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in Nepal by analyzing secondary data and information obtained from published and unpublished literature. About 97 of the total population have access to basics anitation facilities and 87 percent access to basic water supply facility. Sanitation coverage is95 percent in six Provinces and below 90 percent in Province no. 2 of Nepal. The momentum of sanitation coverage was accelerated immediately after internalization and implementation of the Sanitation and Hygiene Master Plan in 2011 and Nepal reaches at close to the elimination of open defecation. The gap between rich and poor in accessing to and using toilet facility has been narrowing down due to the nationwide sanitation campaigns. But there is disparity in accessing and using piped water between rich and poor. Only 25 percent of water supply systems are well functioning and 68 percent can supply water to water taps throughout year. One-fourth of the existing toilet facility across the country are poorly constructed that needs to be upgraded. The government should make consolidated and integrated efforts to reduce existing inequity in the WASH sector and enhance the sustainability of water supply and sanitation services.


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