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Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Index

Water Supply Technologies (WAT)


WAT – 1 Aboveground Sand Dams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
WAT – 2 Borehole Drilling Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
WAT – 3 Irrigation of Home Gardens Using Shallow Wells with Foot-Pumps . . . . . 11
WAT – 4 PlayPumps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
WAT – 5 Rooftop Rainwater Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Sanitation (SAN)
SAN – 1 ArborLoo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Hygiene Promotion and Education (HPE)


HPE – 1 Basic Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST)
Methodology Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Water Quality and Treatment (WQT)


WQT – 1 PUR Water Disinfection Packets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
WQT – 2 Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Strategies (STR)
STR – 1 Community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs Assessment
Questionnaire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
STR – 2 Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development
of a Multi-Year Assistance Program (MYAP) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

1
Since 1943, Catholic Relief Services has had the privilege of serving the poor and
disadvantaged overseas. Without regard to race, creed, or nationality, CRS provides
emergency relief in the wake of natural and manmade disasters. Through development
projects in fields such as education, peace and justice, agriculture, microfinance, health,
and HIV and AIDS, CRS works to uphold human dignity and promote better standards
of living. CRS also works throughout the United States to expand the knowledge and
action of Catholics and others interested in issues of international peace and justice. Our
programs and resources respond to the U.S. bishops’ call to live in solidarity—as one
human family—across borders, over oceans, and through differences in language, culture
and economic condition.

Catholic Relief Services


228 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201 USA

©2008 Catholic Relief Services—United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Written by: Dennis Warner, senior technical adviser, and Christopher Seremet, technical
adviser for water and sanitation, Catholic Relief Services

Graphic design by Jim Doyle


Cover photos: David Snyder, Sean Sprague

Publication of this document was made possible by the generous support of the American People through
the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Democracy, Conflict, and
Humanitarian Assistance’s Office of Food for Peace under the terms of Catholic Relief Services’ Institutional
Capacity Building Grant Award Number AFP-A-00-03-00015-00. The contents do not necessarily reflect
the views of USAID or the United States Government.

2
CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: Aboveground Sand Dams


Category: Water Supply Technologies / Innovative But Available
No. WAT – 1

Type of Practice
Provision of seasonal river water using an aboveground concrete dam to collect and store
this sediment-laden water in an aboveground reservoir. The dam structure traps the
sediment and water, which creates an artificial groundwater condition upstream of the
dam. The impounded water then recharges the natural groundwater through infiltration
and is extracted by using a pumping and piping system to deliver water to tap stands where
it can be collected

Purpose
The purpose of sand dams is to provide water for domestic uses, small home gardens,
larger community gardens in agroenterprise schemes, and livestock watering.

Background
Sand dams have been used for many years in Kenya. In addition, traditional water
harvesting at certain points along dry rivers has been widely practiced on a smaller scale in
arid/semi-arid lands (ASALS) with good results.

Due to limited and unreliable rainfall, most rivers are ephemeral with seasonal flows and
only experience heavy water run-off for short periods of time after a rain. During such
periods of high flow, large quantities of sand are transported downstream while other
deposits get trapped on the upstream sides of rock ledges along the stream. Such sand traps
form natural aquifers that are capable of providing clean adequate water if well harnessed.
The sand dam is an appropriate technology that exploits this water storage phenomenon.

During the dry periods, pastoralists and agropastoralists get water for themselves and
livestock by scooping into the sand beds of the dry streams at upstream sides of ledges that
cut across the channel. Water at such sites is usually clean for drinking but quite finite and
is quickly depleted. Sand dams are an artificial enhancement of this traditional practice
and puts extra water into these sand beds to recharge and store water.

Description
In Kenya, the Ndunguni sand dam is located in the Ndunguni Parish in the Embu District,
Kenya. The project was implemented by the Diocese of Embu with funding support

Aboveground Sand Dams 3


provided by CRS at a cost of 2.5 million Kenya Shilling (KSh) (Note: In 2007, 1 USD =
65 KSh). The project commenced in 2002 and construction ended in 2004. An outside
contractor was hired to construct the sand dam, which consists of reinforced concrete.
The structure was built onto firm rock and is 3.4 meters tall and about 50 meters long.

The Ndunguni sand dam was constructed across the stream channel at this specific site
due to the gently sloping land and its sandy and gravelly conditions that is seasonally dry
but experiences high sand and soil particle sediment during periods of high flow. Excess
water flows over the top of the dam to replenish aquifers downstream. A 3-inch galvanized
iron pipe was placed through the concrete structure to convey the stored water to a tap
stand located approximately 20 meters downstream of the dam and away from the high
water level of the stream. Water enters the pipe through a slotted pipe filter. A concrete
splash pad apron was constructed around the tap stand to convey wastewater away from
the tap stand and to provide for a dry area for people to take water.

A Water Committee was formed at the start of the project. They are responsible for
collecting water-user fees, maintaining the tap stand, and reporting any problems that
may arise to the Diocese Engineer.

Current Status
The Water Committee greeted us during the July 2007 site visit. At the time, vegetation
was growing on the upstream side of the sand dam. Water was overtopping the sand dam.
On both sides of the sand dam and downstream of its location, groundwater was seeping
out of the ground. The tap-stand area was covered in standing water, rendering the filling
of water containers difficult. Animals were not allowed to drink water directly from the
sand dam reservoir but were led to a site downstream of the structure. Conversations
with the CRS/Kenya Water Program Manager and the Diocesan Engineer revealed their
surprise at the amount of groundwater present at the site. Although they understood the
potential for groundwater storage as a result of the sand dam, neither expected to see the
results witnessed during this visit. Their previous visit to the site occurred in October
2006 when water was neither overtopping the dam nor seeping out of the ground. At
that time a meeting was held with the Water
Committee where the participants were actually
sitting on the sand dam structure, which is not
possible now. Three photos from the July 2007
site visit are below.

4 Aboveground Sand Dams


Community Benefits and Environmental Impacts
The following benefits to the Ndunguni community were achieved, or have the potential
to be achieved, through the use of the sand dam technology:
• Potable water supply for human and livestock consumption due to the filtering
effect of sand (regular testing of the water should be performed and other treatment
provided if necessary)
• Water supply for other domestic uses such as cooking, bathing, and clothes washing
• Environmentally friendly erosion control through tree and shrub planting and silt-
deposition management within the stream watershed
• Increase in the groundwater level through infiltration providing both soil and water
conservation benefits. Indigenous trees are able to quickly regenerate along the
streambanks, thereby attracting other biological resources such as grass materials
used for house construction promoting ecosystems susceptible to threats from
recurring droughts, and increasing wildlife populations
• Small-scale crop production through irrigation that was otherwise not possible

Disadvantages
The sand dam technology is labor and capital intensive, and most local communities
cannot implement it without external technical support and funding.

Operation and Maintenance


Once construction is complete further operation costs are negligible. The presence of
seeping groundwater requires the tap stand to be located either at a higher elevation or to
raise the tap-riser pipe and improve the concrete apron and drainage. Streambanks also
need to be protected against erosion from seeping groundwater as well as floodwater that
can cut around the dam. Protection can take the form of planting local groundcover vines
and grasses to prevent erosion as well as thorny trees and shrubs to prohibit animals from
entering the reservoir area.

Future Considerations
At present, people in the surrounding communities must travel to the sand dam to fill their
water containers and travel back to their homes with the filled containers. People transport
these containers on their heads, on their backs, or packed on bicycles and donkeys. The
nearest villages are approximately two kilometers away. With the increased groundwater
availability, a shallow well or borehole with a pumping system could be installed to pump
water to storage tanks located in closer proximity to the surrounding communities. From
these tanks, a piped distribution system with tap stands located closer to houses would
require less time and effort for villagers to obtain the potable water.

Also, the construction of small-scale community gardens should be investigated. Crops


grown in the gardens could be sold at local or regional markets or, if this is not feasible,
crops could be grown for local consumption. Three areas need to be investigated to
determine the feasibility of creating community gardens:

1. Hydrological Capacity
a. How much water is available for the various domestic, livestock, and agricultural/
agroenterprise uses?
b. How much water is required by the types of crops that could be grown in this
area?
Aboveground Sand Dams 5
2. Markets
a. What types of crops are bought and sold in the local and regional markets?
b. What are the prices people are paying for the same crops?
3. Technology
a. Are the irrigation system components sustainable, especially regarding spare parts?

Further considerations include the need to stabilize the surrounding soil, especially in
areas where there is seeping groundwater. A 30-meter “no activity” buffer zone should
be enforced around the sand dam reservoir area to limit the amount of run-off sediment,
such as fine soil particles, that could enter the reservoir and reduce the capacity of reservoir
volume and slow the rate of water through the reservoir.

Conclusions
Sand dams are a viable option where geologic and hydrologic conditions are appropriate for
capturing water for multiple purposes. Sand dams intercept the seasonal flow of water and
sediment in streams, thereby raising groundwater levels behind the structure. A clean and
reliable water source can be provided to surrounding communities by the construction of a
permanent system for water collection, transmission, and distribution. Groundwater can
be further exploited for watering livestock as well as agricultural or possible agroenterprise
initiatives. Other benefits include improving the health of the immediate ecosystem.
Sand dam technology is labor and capital intensive and most local communities cannot
implement it without external technical support and funding.

Resources Needed
• Contractors to construct sand dams and boreholes
• Cement
• Sand and gravel (preferably locally supplied)
• Hydrological information on availability of streamflow and rainwater

Outcomes Expected
Community water supply system that utilizes more abundant groundwater to positively
impact livelihoods.

Adaptations Required
• Water committee responsible for routine maintenance of the dam, surrounding area
and tap stands

Additional References
Smith, M., & Shaw, R.J. (1991). Technical Brief No. 24: Groundwater Dams. The Worth
of Water: Technical Briefs on Health, Water and Sanitation, IT Publications, pp. 97–100.
Technical Brief: Sand Dams—Feasible Rain Water Harvesting Technology For Arid and
Semi Arid Lands, Practical Action Eastern Africa, www.practicalaction.org.

Date Prepared: 9/19/07

6 Aboveground Sand Dams


CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: Borehole Drilling Equipment


Category: Water Supply Technologies—Conventional
No. WAT – 2

Type of Practice
Equipment used to drill boreholes for the extraction of groundwater. The borehole is lined
with casing/piping to create a well and then installed with a pumping system to extract
the groundwater.

Purpose
The purpose of borehole drilling is to gain access to groundwater for domestic and other
uses when surface water or rainwater sources are unavailable, insufficient, or of poor
quality.

Background
In many areas of the world where CRS operates,
such as the arid/semi-arid regions of East Africa,
water is a scarce resource. Surface water is usually
found only during the rainy season and it tends
to be short-lived. Women and children often
have to travel many kilometers to access water
and then return their filled containers to their
households. The most feasible technology that
can provide water to people for domestic purposes
and to sustain livestock and agricultural activities
is groundwater exploitation. Boreholes are used
to access groundwater and can be installed closer
to people’s homes, which may reduce the time and
energy spent in collecting water and increase the
volume used.

Currently, there are CRS drilling programs in EARO, LACRO, SARO, and WARO. Only
the program in Sudan is operated by the CRS country program; the others are operated by
partners or contractors within the country.

Because groundwater is often of better quality than surface waters, it needs little or no
treatment. Most groundwater contains no suspended matter and practically no bacteria.
Microbial contamination, originating from human and animal activity (i.e., sanitation,

Borehole Drilling Equipment 7


agricultural practices), is greatly reduced with the installation of a cased borehole and a
sealed wellhead and pump system in the borehole. This system is now less susceptible to
ground surface contamination. However, the natural presence of chemical contaminates
in the ground can be of concern. The three chemical
contaminants of particular concern due to their
immediate health impact as specified by WHO are
arsenic, fluoride (that can occur naturally), and nitrate/
nitrite (from excessive use of fertilizers or from the
leaching of wastewater or other organic wastes into
groundwater). Excess exposure to arsenic in drinking
water may result in a significant risk of cancer and
skin lesions. High levels of fluoride in drinking water
can lead to mottling of teeth and, in severe cases,
crippling skeletal fluorosis. Nitrate and nitrite in drinking water has been associated with
methaemoglobinaemia (“blue-baby syndrome”), especially in bottle-fed babies, which
prohibits the transport of oxygen in the bloodstream around the body.

Description
There are numerous borehole drilling and well-installation methods available. Some
example methods include various types of percussion (“down the hole,” DTH) , rotary
drilling, reverse circulation rotary drilling, jetting, and earth auger boring.

This document focuses on the direct rotary drilling method because it is the most widely
used drilling method of CRS and its partners. In direct rotary drilling, the borehole is
drilled by applying force to a rotating bit against the ground formation to break up the
formation and these cuttings are then removed by the continuous circulation of a drilling
fluid as the bit penetrates the formation. The bit is attached to the lower end of a string of
drill pipe, which transmits the rotating action from the rig to the bit. In the direct rotary
system, drilling fluid is pumped down through the drill pipe and out through the ports or
jets in the bit; the fluid then flows upward in the annular space between the hole and drill
pipe, carrying the cuttings in suspension to the surface. (Johnson, 1986)

Depending on the physical and chemical conditions found in the borehole, drilling fluids
serve the primary functions of:
• Removing cuttings during drilling
• Stabilizing the borehole walls and preventing expansion of swelling clays
• Cleaning and cooling the drill bit and lubricating the drill string
• Sealing the borehole wall to control fluid loss
• Allowing cuttings to drop out into the settling pit after they have exited the borehole
to prevent recirculation
• Collecting additional geophysical information about the borehole
• Suspending cuttings in the borehole when the drilling fluid is not being circulated

There are two main types of drilling fluids used to construct water wells: air based, which
can be dry air only or have a small amount of water and/or surfactant added to make mist
or foam to help control dust; and water based, which can consist of clean, fresh water or
be mixed with clay or polymeric additives to make “mud.” Air and foam are normally
used for a single pass through the borehole while muds are recirculated. A disadvantage
of using any of the air-based or water-based fluids is that when drilling is stopped these

8 Borehole Drilling Equipment


fluids cannot keep the cuttings in suspension, which allows the cuttings to settle to the
bottom of the borehole. The use of a drilling mud keeps the cuttings in suspension.
However, the drilling mud must have enough consistency so the cuttings will settle out
of suspension in a settling pit outside of the borehole before the mud is reintroduced
into the borehole.

Rotary drill rigs are comprised of various equipment and tools mounted on a carrier
truck. The following is a list of the major components of a rotary drill rig:
• Carrier truck
• Drill rig, consisting of an engine (to power the drill rig), rotary head (to turn/
rotate the drill string), drawworks (used for lifting drilling components at the
drilling site), tower (to position/align the drill string), hydraulic break-out
wrench (for turning one drill pipe section relative to another drill pipe section
to disengage the drill pipe sections), outriggers (used to stabilize and level a
drill rig that is operating on uneven terrain), fuel tank, electric system, control
console, and night lights
• Drill string, consisting of drill pipes/rods (imparts the turning motion to the
bit, provides a conduit for the drilling fluid), drill collars (adds weight to the
bit, keeps the hole straight), and the drill bit
• Drill bits of various sizes, shapes, and composition to be used depending on the
ground formation
• Air compressor—provides air for air-rotary drilling; it can also be used to supply
air for drilling large diameter holes using the foam method
• Mud pump—provides circulation of drilling fluid (“mud”) during drilling
operations
• Water injection system—injects water and foam into the drilling system
discharge line during certain drilling operations
• Electric injection lubricator—provides lubrication into the air discharge line to
lubricate down-the-hole drilling tools
• Auxiliary hoist
• Accessories, tools, spare parts

Depending on the size of the drilling equipment and carrier


truck, other support vehicles may be needed to transport the
drill pipes and collars and the drilling team.

Resources Needed
• Truck-mounted rotary drilling rig, including accessories
and spare parts, as noted above
• Truck for carrying drill pipes and casings
• Water tanker
• Clay or polymeric additives for making drilling mud
• Pick-up truck for transporting drilling manager and crew
• Sand and gravel (preferably locally supplied)
• Geophysical investigations to obtain hydrogeological information on best
drilling location and availability of groundwater

Borehole Drilling Equipment 9


Outcomes Expected
Deep tube wells that penetrate the groundwater table into productive aquifers.

Adaptations Required
• Water committee responsible for operation and maintenance of the completed
borehole

Additional References
Elson, R.J., & Shaw, R.J., Technical Brief No. 43: Simple Drilling Methods. Running
Water: More Technical Briefs on Health, Water and Sanitation, pp. 41–44, 1999.
Atlas Copco, Waterwell Technical Training Manual, 4th Edition, 2005.
www.atlascopco.com
Driscoll, Fletcher G., Groundwater and Wells, Johnson Filtration Systems Inc., 1986.
WHO, Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, Volume 1, 3rd Edition, 2004.
WHO/Robens Institute, University of Surrey, UK, Fact Sheet 2.3: Boreholes and Tubewells.
Cholera and other Epidemic Diarrhoeal Diseases Control: Fact Sheets on Environmental
Sanitation.

Date Prepared: 11/2/07

10 Borehole Drilling Equipment


CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: Irrigation of Home Gardens Using Shallow Wells with Foot-Pumps


Category: Water Supply Technologies / Irrigation
No. WAT – 3

Type of Practice
Provision of irrigation water to home gardens. The water is drawn from adjacent shallow
hand-dug wells with the aid of foot-powered treadle pumps.

Purpose
The purpose is to provide irrigation water to small home gardens during the dry season
when normal cultivation of fields is not possible.

Background
In Niger, the dry season effectively brings land cultivation to a halt because of the lack of
water. To assist villagers to cultivate vegetables during the dry season, CRS/Niger used
its DAP for FY2001–FY2005 to construct or rehabilitate 400 hand-dug water wells as a
source of irrigation water for small gardens.
The wells are fitted with a locally made
foot-powered (treadle) pump that allows
relatively easy lifting of water into buckets,
which are then carried to the adjacent
gardens. In 2005, CRS/Niger submitted
a proposal to OFDA to construct 100
wells with foot-powered pumps for the
irrigation of off-season vegetables in
drought-stricken regions of Niger.

Description
The wells average 6 meters in depth, 1.5 meters in diameter, and are reinforced with cast
in-place concrete well rings. The foot-powered treadle pumps are locally made. The basic
design of the pump originated in Bangladesh and had World Bank support in its early
years. The introduction of the pumps to the project area
has led to the development of a self-sustaining, private
sector, pump-manufacturing activity. In Tchibiri Village
in the Doutchi Region of Niger, a local mechanic, with
CRS assistance, has begun a village-level industry of
pump fabrication. He provides both pumps and services

Irrigation of Home Gardens Using Shallow Wells with Foot-Pumps 11


to communities on a self-sustaining basis. The cost of the pump is FCFA 40,000 to
80,000 ($90–$180), depending on size, which includes installation. Over the past seven
years, the mechanic has sold 443 locally manufactured pumps to communities. Simple
repairs to the pumps are provided free by the mechanic and his staff, but major repairs
must be paid for by the villagers.

In the CRS/Niger program, one shallow well and pump serves four (or more) garden
plots. The maintenance of these wells and pumps is the responsibility of villagers working
the adjacent gardens. In implementing
the project, CRS provided the pump
and the construction tools and materials
for the wells.

CRS/Niger also provided seeds and tools


for the gardens and trained a volunteer
Animateur to assist the villagers with
the agricultural issues. The project
was administered through a village
development committee that, in principle, had 50% women members. These gardens
allow the local people to cultivate vegetables (generally poivrons) during the dry season
when otherwise no crops can be grown.

Resources Needed
• Foot-powered treadle pump (preferably locally manufactured)
• Laborers to construct the shallow well (preferably from the households that will use
the well)
• Cement
• Sand and gravel (preferably locally supplied)
• Hydrogeological information on availability of groundwater

Outcomes Expected
Shallow well with foot-powered pump capable of supplying irrigation water in the dry
season to a small cluster of home garden plots.

Adaptations Required
• Establishment of local fabrication of the pump.
• Pump manufacturer must provide maintenance services for major repairs.
• Households must set out garden plots around well sites.
• Households must agree to sharing water and costs of repairs.

Additional References
Elson, R.J., & Shaw, R.J. (1993). Technical Brief
No. 35: Low-Lift Irrigation Pumps. Waterlines:
Journal of Appropriate Technologies for Water
Supply and Sanitation, 11 (3), 15–18. (Available
in CRS Watsan Technical Reference CD.)

Date Prepared: 8/25/05

12 Irrigation of Home Gardens Using Shallow Wells with Foot-Pumps


CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: PlayPumps
Category: Water Supply Technologies—Innovative but Available
No. WAT – 4

Type of Practice
Provision of water to villages, schools, and clinics from a merry-go-round-driven pump
that draws water from a borehole well located under its spinning axis.

Purpose
The purpose of PlayPumps is to provide water to villages, schools, and clinics.

Background
The idea for the PlayPump arose in 1989 when a child’s roundabout, or merry-go-round,
attached to a water pump was seen at an agricultural fair outside of Johannesburg, South
Africa. As it turned, water was pumped from beneath the ground onto a field. This simple
pump was being displayed by an engineer and professional borehole-driller, who dreamed
of designing a tool that would both delight and help the rural children who often gathered
to watch his drilling machinery at work, children who had boundless
energy and few outlets for play.

From this simple pump came the idea to develop a more complex
water system. A large-capacity water storage tank and four billboard
spaces (one on each side of the square tank) for both advertising
and public education messages was added to the pumping system.
Thus, the merry-go-round system that pumps water now includes
advertising billboards that can be used to raise revenue to support
the system. This simple pump provided an innovative, sustainable,
child-friendly answer to one of the region’s most pressing problems:
the need for more clean drinking water.

The concept was licensed from its inventor and Roundabout Outdoor,
a company with a social mission dedicated to the new PlayPump®
water system, was launched. Its innovative business model uses
donations to underwrite the merry-go-round pump head, with its
sealed water storage tank, water tap stand, concrete water spillage runoff, and borehole, as
well as advertising revenue to fund maintenance, thereby guaranteeing sustainability.

Play Pumps 13
The first two pump installations occurred in 1994 in South Africa’s Masinga District, the
most remote area of KwaZulu-Natal Province. Umgeni Water Company sponsored the
manufacture and installation of the pump and Colgate-Palmolive advertised toothpaste
on the storage tank’s boards. By 1997, almost nine years after the pump was discovered
and the system created, 20 PlayPump systems had been installed in South Africa, with 50
more systems planned.

Roundabout Outdoor and the PlayPump system gained recognition when, in 1999,
President Nelson Mandela attended the ceremonial opening of a new school with a new
PlayPump system. More recognition came in early 2000 when Roundabout Outdoor
won the prestigious World Bank Development Marketplace Award for its ability to deliver
both water and powerful HIV/AIDS prevention messages. The funds and the visibility
of the award enabled the PlayPump system to upscale at a much faster rate. Roundabout
Outdoor created a South African NGO to facilitate partnerships with corporations,
foundations, governments, and individuals. That organization is now called PlayPumps
International and is incorporated as a U.S. nonprofit organization.

To date (2007), more than 900 PlayPump systems have been installed in South Africa,
Mozambique, Swaziland, and Zambia.

Description
PlayPumps refers to a water-pumping system whereby children play on a merry-go-round
set over a borehole. When the merry-go-round spins on its vertical axis, water is pumped
from the borehole into a 2,500 liter elevated steel water storage tank, from which it flows
by gravity to one or more water taps in the courtyard and household of nearby homes or
schools, community areas, and clinics.

The water storage tank provides an opportunity to advertise in outlying communities. All
four sides of the tank can be leased as billboards, with two sides for consumer advertising
and the other two sides for health and educational messages. The revenue generated by
this unique model is used for pump maintenance.

Despite the wide publicity received by PlayPumps and the widespread installation of these
units throughout southern Africa, there appear to be limitations as to the effectiveness of
the PlayPump as a means of lifting water from the ground and making it available at low
cost to the surrounding community. Several of the concerns are:

1. Capacity of the system. According to the PlayPump website, one PlayPump is capable
of producing 1,400 liters of water per hour from a borehole depth of 40 meters
while rotating at 16 revolutions per minute. Over a 12-hour day of pumping, this
delivery rate equates to 16,800 liters of water, enough water for 840 people at 20
liters per person per day. To achieve this level of supply over a 12-hour period, the
PlayPump will need to revolve 11,520 times.

2. Cost of the system. System cost is approximately $9,000 and does not include the
drilling and finishing of a borehole (if needed). Unless an existing borehole is
available, a newly drilled borehole may cost an additional $10,000.

14 Play Pumps
3. Functioning of the system. The capacity figures in item 1 are based on the assumption
that children will play continuously on the merry-go-round for 12 hours. If it is
assumed that students will operate the merry-go-round for only 2 hours per day (an
hour during recess and an hour after school), then the system will provide 2,800
liters of water, enough to serve 140 people at 20 liters per person per day. At this
rate, the 2,500-liter storage tank would fill if there are no withdrawals of water
during the day. It will contain less water depending on the rate of water usage by
the community.

The website also indicates that the system can function using a borehole with a
depth of 40 to 100 meters. Performance data for deeper boreholes is unavailable,
but the pumping rate can be assumed to be much less than that of a 40-meter-deep
borehole. These limitations are affected by the type of pump used and the ability
of the students to rotate the merry-go-round at a rate sufficient to raise the water
in the borehole.

4. Maintenance of the system. Further information is needed on the operations and


maintenance history of currently installed PlayPumps.

Resources Needed
• Borehole, either pre-existing (and in operable condition) or newly drilled.
• Merry-go-round-driven pumping system
• Elevated storage tank, piping, and tap stands
• Technical manpower for installation and maintenance
• Advertisers

Outcomes Expected
Merry-go-round-driven pump capable of supplying water to villages, schools, and clinics.
In addition to providing access to drinking water, other benefits to the community are:
• Exposure to positive social messages such as HIV/AIDS prevention and hygiene
education
• Improved hygiene and sanitation in schools
• Valued play equipment

Adaptations Required
• Establishment of local fabrication of the pump.
• Pump manufacturer must provide maintenance services for major repairs.
• Households can set out garden plots around well sites.
• Households must agree to sharing water and cost of repairs.

Additional References
www.playpumps.org

Date Prepared: 12/04/07

Play Pumps 15
16
CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: Rooftop Rainwater Collection


Category: Water Supply
No. WAT – 5

Type of Practice
Provision of rainwater for primary or supplementary domestic water uses. Rainwater is
collected from an impermeable rooftop area and conveyed to a storage tank.

Purpose
The purpose of rooftop rainwater collection is to provide water to homes and villages as
the primary source of domestic water use or to supplement an existing water source.

Background
Rainwater collection is appropriate in those parts of the world that experience heavy,
intense storms followed by prolonged periods of little or no rainfall. This scenario is true
for many of the countries where CRS operates. At a minimum, rainwater collection should
be investigated for those villages in mountainous areas that are located high above their
existing spring or river sources. In such cases, rainwater collection systems could be sized
to accommodate consumptive water uses while the existing sources could be continued to
be used for other water-use purposes (i.e., clothes washing, bathing, gardens, livestock).

The three main pieces of information required to design a rainwater collection system are
the availability of rainwater, the area of the collection surfaces, and the anticipated water
demand. The design of a rainwater collection system involves comparing the cumulative
monthly supply (i.e., rainfall) to the cumulative monthly water demand. The supply is
determined by the amount of rainfall expected, the size of the collection area, and a factor
of the efficiency of the catchment area to collect the rainfall. It is advisable to use average
monthly rainfall data from at least the previous 20 years for two reasons: (1) the amount
of monthly data, as opposed to daily data, is much more manageable for analysis, and (2)
a minimum of the previous 20 years worth of data will reflect the current climatic and
seasonal variations that can be anticipated during the design life of the system.

If the rainwater is to be used for domestic purposes, the factors required to determine the
water demand are the size of the population to be served by this supply and the amount
of water required by the population each day, which is usually reported as liters per person
per day. If the supply is to be used for domestic crop production, then the demand can be
calculated by the number of containers used to water the garden per day and the volume
of each container used.
Rooftop Rainwater Collection 17
Once the supply and demand data have been collected, the required volume of the storage
tank can be determined. The storage volume is the maximum difference between the
cumulative monthly supply and cumulative demand
over an annual period. (An example calculation
sheet is attached to this document. To ensure that
the water needs of the community are met, at no
point during the year should the cumulative total
rainwater supplied be less than the cumulative total
water demand. If the cumulative water demand
of the community to be served is determined to
be greater than the cumulative total rainwater
available then the size of the catchment area needs
to be increased. Although this adjustment may be required, one needs to consider the
amount of rainfall available as well. If too little rainfall is available, the size of the required
catchment area will be too large, and thus costly and impractical, to construct.

Some key points about designing a rainwater collection system, as referenced on the
example calculation sheet located at the end of this chapter, are:
• Columns 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6—When designing a rainwater collection system, the
calculations should start on the first month following the dry season when the
historical average monthly supply is larger than the monthly water demand. In
the example table, May is the first month when the historical monthly rainfall
average (67 mm) equates to a monthly supply of 32,696 L, which is greater than the
monthly water demand of 27,000 L. A review of the rainfall data indicates that the
dry season is from November to April.
• Columns 5 and 7—The cumulative monthly supply is always larger than the
cumulative monthly demand. If this is not true, then the community will run out
of water.
• Column 8—The required storage is equal to the largest difference between the
cumulative monthly supply and the cumulative monthly demand. In the example,
the required storage volume is 133,544 L, or 134 cubic meters.
• Column 9—In addition to the rainfall amounts, the values in the System
Parameters table determine to what degree a rainwater collection system is
appropriate for a community. The initial unknown value driving the design is the
available collection area.
• The per person water demand value of 5 L/day is to account for drinking and
cooking purposes only.
• The population size is the number of people who will directly benefit from using
this system.
• The efficiency factor of 0.8 is an acceptable value for the assumed corrugated
iron roofing used in the example. (Pacey and Cullis, 1986)
• The collection area size is the horizontal rooftop area measured by multiplying the
length times the width of the roof area, not the building wall area. Also, the pitch
of the roof is not of concern because it is assumed that the rain falls straight down.

In the attached example, it is assumed that the rainfall data, population size, and water
demand are known values. In order for the system to be successful as per above, a minimum
collection area of 610 square meters (sqm) is required. Ideally, this collection area would
be located on one preexisting building. However, if the total collection area required is

18 Rooftop Rainwater Collection


scattered over several buildings, then individual storage tanks need to be placed at each
location, each sized proportionately to the size of the individual roof area to the total roof
area. If a larger rooftop collection area is available on one building then either (1) more
rainwater will be available for the population (i.e., a larger per person usage rate can be
used or more land area can be watered, depending on the system’s design), or (2) a smaller
storage volume is required at the same water-usage rate.

Description
Rainwater collection systems consist of three main components:
• Building roof area—This area is constructed of an impermeable material, typically
corrugated iron or fiberglass sheeting. Appropriate roof areas are usually found on
churches, school buildings, community centers, health clinics, and businesses. If the
existing roof area is of poor quality then a new roof will need to be installed, or if
there is no impermeable roof available then a structure will need to be constructed.
• Storage container—A storage container is required when rainfall amounts during
certain times of the year, such as the dry season, do not meet the water demands of
the community. Storage containers are typically constructed of ferrocement, plastic
(HDPE), or galvanized iron.
• Conveyance system—This system is used for transporting the collected water from
the rooftop to the storage container and consists of gutters, a “first flush” device, and
a downspout. These components are typically made of PVC but galvanized iron is
also used. The “first flush” device allows the first rainfall amount collected on the
roof (20–25 liters) to be discharged from the system. This water is usually polluted
by the accumulation of dust, leaves, and droppings from birds and other animals on
the roof surface and in the gutters since the previous rainfall.

Disinfection of the collected water is required if it is to be used for consumption.

Resources Needed
• Building roof area constructed of an impermeable material, such as corrugated iron
sheeting
• Conveyance system that includes gutters and downspouts, typically PVC or
galvanized iron, and a first-flush mechanism
• Storage tank, typically constructed of ferrocement, plastic (HDPE), or galvanized
iron
• Historical monthly rainfall data, preferably from the previous 20 years
• If water is to be used for consumption purposes, some type of water treatment is
required

Outcomes Expected
New water source for domestic or home garden needs or to supplement an existing
domestic water supply.

Adaptations Required
• Ground collection areas can be used to collect rainwater in a system of concrete or
asphalt open areas that are curbed and gently sloped to a point of exit leading to a
storage container. Such a storage is typically constructed below ground, and water
is extracted by means of a pump.

Rooftop Rainwater Collection 19


Additional References
Ball, S., Technical Brief No. 11: Rainwater Harvesting. The Worth of Water: Technical
Briefs on Health, Water and Sanitation, IT Publications, 1991, pp. 45–48.
Fact Sheet 2.6 Rainwater Harvesting, Cholera and other Epidemic Diarrhoeal Diseases
Control: Fact Sheets on Environmental Sanitation, Robens Institute, University of Surrey
and WHO.
Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, 3rd ed., Vol. 1, WHO, 2004.
(Available in CRS Watsan Technical Reference CD.)

Date Prepared: 10/24/07

Rainwater Catchment Calculations


Month Days 20-year Avg Avg Cumulative Monthly Cumulative Required
in Monthly Monthly Monthly Water Monthly Water
Month Rainfall Supply Supply Demand Demand Storage
(mm) (mm) (L) (L) (L) (L)
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9)
May 31 67 32,696 32,696 27,900 27,900 4,796 Demand = 5 L/cap/day
Jun 30 112 54,656 87,352 27,000 54,900 32,452 Population = 180
Jul 31 82 40,016 127,368 27,900 82,800 44,568 Efficiency = 0.8
Aug 31 102 49,776 177,144 27,900 110,700 66,444 Catchment area = 610sqm
Sep 30 164 80,032 257,176 27,000 137,700 119,476
Oct 31 86 41,968 299,144 27,900 165,600 133,544
Nov 30 31 15,128 314,272 27,000 192,600 121,672
Dec 31 2 976 315,248 27,900 220,500 94,748
Jan 31 0 0 315,248 27,900 248,400 66,848
Feb 28 1 488 315,736 25,200 273,600 42,136
Mar 31 6 2,928 318,664 27,900 301,500 17,164 Should be close to zero
Apr 30 20 9,760 328,424 27,000 328,500 -76
TOTAL 673 Required Storage= 133,544 L
134 m3
INPUT:
Start with first month of rain season, using the three-letter abbreviation
Corresponding 20-year average monthly rainfall amount in millimeters
As appropriate
Input the Total Available Catchment Area and adjust Population to determine the
population the catchment area can support, or Input Population total and adjust
Catchment Area to determine what is required

20 Rooftop Rainwater Collection


CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: ArborLoo
Category: Sanitation
No. SAN – 1

Type of Practice
Management of human excreta through ecological sanitation.

Purpose
The purpose of ecological sanitation is twofold: first and foremost to provide better
sanitation infrastructure to more people at less cost, and secondly to improve food security
through recycling human excreta for agricultural fertilizer.

Background
A 2004 evaluation of CRS Ethiopia’s emergency water and sanitation program revealed
serious deficiencies in the implementation of sanitation. Sanitation coverage in projects
was nominal, no more than demonstration level. The cost of latrines being promoted
exceeded what rural Ethiopian households could afford, even though that cost had been
reduced in recent years from $150 to $60 per toilet by shifting the design standard from
ventilated improved pit (VIP) latrines to conventional simple pit latrines. In many areas
soil conditions were unsuitable for these latrines, which usually call for a pit of 3 meters
depth to last on average about 10 years. Soils were often rocky and difficult to dig or
too sandy, so that a pit would collapse after only a few months of use. And there was
a high percentage of female-headed households without a male labor source to assist in
construction. These conditions called for a drastic change in approach to sanitation.

From 2004 to mid-2008, CRS Ethiopia partners assisted over 32,000 households in
rural Ethiopia to build ArborLoos, one of several “eco-san”-type toilets. The cost of the
ArborLoo is mainly in the slab, currently about $5 to $8. The design uses a shallow pit
and simple privacy structure, which households can dig and construct on their own, and
there are no other costs. The pit is intended to eventually become the site for a fruit tree,
and in Ethiopia many households have now as many as 4 or 5 tree seedlings growing in the
ArborLoo sites in their compounds.

CRS partners also promote urine harvesting (collecting household members’ urine in
a jerry can or jar) as a source of fertilizer for small gardens. Trials to date indicate that
fertilizing garden plots increased crop production 200% to 400% over unfertilized
control plots.

ArborLoo 21
The success of ecological sanitation has opened the eyes of all stakeholders, including
communities and government staff, and provides hope for meeting the sanitation challenge
in Ethiopia. Communities are promoting ecological sanitation with enthusiasm, which has
not happened with other sanitation alternatives. Decision makers now consider ecological
sanitation an option to meet the Millenium Development Goals. At the European Union
Water Initiative Multi-Stakeholder Forum in October 2006 in Addis Ababa, ecological
sanitation was recommended as a main sanitation option for Ethiopia, and this was clearly
stated in the MOU signed by the Ministries of Water Resources, Health and Education at
the conclusion of the forum.
Arborloo in use

Tree planted
Description on used pit New pit dug
within ring beam
The ArborLoo is a very shallow pit that is designed to be, eventually,
a site for a fruit tree. Designed by Peter Morgan of Zimbabwe Pit
filling up
especially for African conditions, the toilet is the simplest of all
ecotoilets. A pit about 80 centimeters deep and 60 centimeters
The Arborloo moves on a never ending journey leaving behind a series of
in circumference is dug, and dry leaves are added to the bottom. fertile pits filled with human excreta, soil, wood ash, leaves etc. which provide
a suitable planting medium for trees.
A simple concrete slab is placed over the opening. After each Protect young tree
use, a cup of a soil/wood ash mixture is added to encourage soil from attack by goats
Water regularly
Young tree on
Arborloo pit
composting, reduce smell, and discourage insect breeding. A Mulch layer

very simple superstructure can be added for privacy. Layer of good topsoil

Layer of excreta, soil,


wood ash, leaves etc.

Base layer of leaves

Drawing by Peter Morgan

Photos by Mayling Simpson-Hebert, CRS EARO

This toilet is used by a household for one


year and then the slab is removed, the pit
is topped up with good topsoil, and a fruit
tree seedling or other crop is planted in the
topsoil. As the roots grow downward into
the pit, the seedling takes up rich nutrients,
which result in a very healthy tree that
Photo by Bekele Abaire, CRS Ethiopia produces in abundance. In Ethiopia local
farmers have elected to make the pits
smaller and use a toilet site for only about 4 months, so that they can speed up the planting
of seedlings.

22 ArborLoo
Resources Needed
• Shallow pit latrine
• Trained staff and a budget for producing slabs and educating farmers. In Ethiopia,
the slabs are produced at a cost of only US$5 each. It is essential to connect the
sanitation project with agricultural practices and local agronomists. Ecological
sanitation is a system and needs a systems approach—that is, having teams of
sanitarians, agronomists, health workers, and water supply engineers all involved
and understanding the approach as a package. Ideally these toilets should be part
of larger water and sanitation programs that include facilities for handwashing and
hygiene education.

Outcomes Expected
Food security through planting food crop in post-pit latrine location.

Adaptations Required
• Households construct their own ArborLoo toilets
• Local fabrication or access to simple concrete squatting slabs

Additional References
www.ecosanres.org
www.aquamor.tripod.com
“Ecological Sanitation,” Winblad and Simpson-Hebert, 2004
“Toilets that make compost,” Morgan, Stockholm Environment Institute, 2007. Reprinted
by TALC, 2008.
Date Prepared: 10/15/08

ArborLoo 23
24
CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: Basic Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation


(PHAST) Methodology Guide
Category: Hygiene Promotion and Education
No. HPE – 1

Type of Practice
A participatory approach for the control of diarrheal disease.

Purpose
Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST) is both an educational
and a community planning tool. It is designed to promote hygiene behaviors, sanitation
improvements, and community management of water and sanitation facilities using
specifically developed participatory techniques. PHAST helps people feel more confident
about themselves and their ability to take action and make improvements in their
communities. Feelings of empowerment and personal growth are as important as the
physical changes, such as cleaning up the environment or building latrines.

PHAST is unique because the underlying basis for the approach is that no
lasting change in people’s behavior will occur without understanding and
believing. To summarize the approach, specific participatory activities
were developed for community groups to discover for themselves the
fecal-oral contamination routes of disease. They then analyze their own
hygiene behaviors in the light of this information and plan how to block
the contamination routes.

Background
The PHAST methodology is a joint program of the World Health Organization (WHO)
and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)/World Bank Water and Sanitation
Program. It began with a pilot study in four African countries in 1993 to test the use of
participatory methods for promoting hygiene behaviors, sanitation improvements, and
community management of water and sanitation facilities. The participatory process leads
to programs that are much more likely to be successful than those that impose solutions
on communities.

Description
The methodology has seven steps. The first five help take the community group through
the process of developing a plan to prevent diarrheal diseases by improving water supply,

PHAST Methodology Guide 25


hygiene behaviors, and sanitation. The sixth and seventh steps involve monitoring and
evaluation. The seven steps are:
Step 1: Problem identification
Step 2: Problem analysis
Step 3: Planning for solutions
Step 4: Selecting options
Step 5: Planning for new facilities and behavior change
Step 6: Planning for monitoring and evaluation
Step 7: Participatory evaluation

Each step contains between one and four activities. The information gained from these
activities is used to work out whether the plan has been successful. Most of the activities
require the use of drawings or a chart, called “tools,” to help facilitate the discussion.

PHAST has proven that people, regardless of age, gender, social and economic status, or
educational background are capable of analyzing their situation and solving their own
problems. PHAST does not teach per se but rather creates the conditions, through good
facilitation, sound questions, and visual aids/materials, for effective
community-based learning and planning. PHAST does not only
stimulate local decision-making around health, but also increases
community participation in the implementation of sector initiatives and
the sustainability of a project (e.g. Operation and Maintenance issues).

Resources Needed
• Previous PHAST training for the community facilitators
• PHAST Toolkit

Outcomes Expected
A community enabled to work out what they want to do (especially related to water
supply, sanitation and hygiene), how it should be implemented, how it should be paid for
and how they can sustain it in the future.

Adaptations Required
• Participation by community, especially women, in PHAST process

Additional References
www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/hygiene/envsan/phastep/en/
Self-esteem, Associative strengths, Resourcefulness, Action-planning, and Responsibility
(SARAR).
Tools for community participation: a manual for training trainers in participatory
techniques, by Lyra Srinivasan.
The PHAST initiative: Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation. A new
approach to working with communities.
(Available in CRS Water Supply and Sanitation Technical Reference Library CD.)

Date Prepared: 6/6/08

26 PHAST Methodology Guide


CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: PUR Water Disinfection Packets


Category: Water Quality and Treatment
No. WQT – 1

Type of Practice
Provision of potable water through use of PUR packet where non-potable water exists.
Nonpotable water is made potable by mixing the PUR packet contents with nonpotable
water, mixing for a prescribed amount of time, and then decanting the clean potable water
from the mixing container.

Purpose
The purpose of PUR is to disinfect nonpotable water in emergency situations.

Background
Chlorine bleach is one of the more widely available disinfectants in the developing world.
However, people have difficulty gauging how much is needed to treat a given amount
of water without creating an unpleasant taste or harmful concentrations. Although the
chlorine bleach approach continues to be used in many parts of the world, it does not
remove suspended material from the water, leaving users with water that is microbe-free
but that can still look dirty. Procter & Gamble (P&G) researchers tackled the challenge
with flocculants: agents that promote molecular aggregation and can cause colloids or
loose particles in a liquid to amass in clumps that sink to the bottom. In the mid-1990s,
P&G, the leading manufacturer of bleach in many of the affected countries, entered
into a formal Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) that focused on how drinking water could be better treated at
the point of use.

By combining the flocculants with large-particle calcium hypochlorite—essentially,


powdered bleach—the result was PUR, a proprietary formulation that can be described as
reverse engineering the municipal water-treatment process. PUR now occupies a place at
the forefront of P&G’s Children’s Safe Drinking Water Program, a nonprofit venture for
the consumer-products company that manufactures the packets.

P&G’s leaders strongly back the charitable project. Like other major U.S. companies
with international interests, P&G sees long-range business benefits in charitable projects
in developing countries, what some call strategic philanthropy.” Companies that work to
improve health and education overseas can also improve their images in foreign countries

PUR Water Disinfection Packets 27


and among consumers at home. They can reap benefits to employee morale and recruiting.
Plus, they can lay the groundwork in future markets.

Description
PUR is a water purifier in powder form that combines a flocculant, which separates
particles and organisms from water, and a disinfectant that kills microbes after 30 minutes.
The small packet of powder is added to a large container holding 10 liters of polluted
water and stirred constantly. Within a matter of seconds, any floating material will start to
flocculate into clumps that sink to the bottom. In no more than five minutes, the water
is clear. The water is then filtered through a cloth to remove the debris, if necessary, and
allowed to sit for 20 minutes to become completely disinfected. The water is now clear
and safe for drinking.

The main active ingredients of PUR are calcium hypochlorite (bleach) and ferric sulfate.
The first kills a wide range of deadly pathogens, while ferric sulfate is a particle binder:
it binds to particles of soil and disease-causing pathogens that aren’t killed by the bleach.
The packets can kill the water-borne pathogens that cause cholera, typhoid, and dysentery,
for example, and remove some toxic metals like lead, arsenic, and mercury, as well as
dangerous pesticides like DDT and PCB. PUR does not reduce the salinity of water.

The PUR packets are very efficient: a single packet can decontaminate 10 liters, or 2½
gallons, of drinking water. In randomized controlled trials conducted by the U.S. Center
for Disease Control, the chemical packets reduced the incidence of diarrhea by 50%.

PUR is intended to be a cost-effective way of treating contaminated water. Unlike large


stationary purification systems, PUR packets are small and portable, enabling them to
be easily used in remote locations and emergency situations. This portability makes
them promising for boosting water safety after natural disasters, like earthquakes, floods,
and hurricanes, which can compromise water quality quite suddenly. In addition to its
humanitarian value in disaster relief, the product is also being marketed as a household
commodity in many other parts of the world where large portions of the population lack
reliable water treatment.

PUR is not approved for use in the United States yet. PUR has been used throughout
Africa, Asia, and Central America. On the open market, packets sell for around US$0.10
apiece. Population Services International (PSI) oversees the advertising and selling of PUR
in different regions.

28 PUR Water Disinfection Packets


Resources Needed
• 10 liters of non-potable water
• 1 PUR packet
• Mixing container with stirrer
• Straining cloth
• Clean receiving container

Outcomes Expected
Potable water where only nonpotable water exists.

From the PSI website: PUR-treated water meets World Health Organization standards for
potable water. PUR is very effective in removing bacteria (99.99999% removal), viruses
(99.99%), and parasitic cysts like giardia and cryptosporidium (99.9%). PUR has limited
effects on chemical contaminants, but it does remove arsenic and DDT. Because of its
efficacy in removing sediments and parasites from water, PUR is often targeted to people
living with HIV/AIDS and to those drinking muddy water.

Adaptations Required
• Initial demonstrations to show people how to use PUR

Additional References
www.psi.org/our_programs/products/pur.html
www.csdw.org/index.shtml

Date Prepared: 10/16/07

PUR Water Disinfection Packets 29


30
CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: Solar Water Disinfection (SODIS)


Category: Water Quality & Treatment
No. WQT – 2

Type of Practice
Purification of drinking water through solar disinfection of water in clear plastic (PET)
bottles with a volume of up to three liters. By exposing these water bottles in the full sun
for a minimum of six hours, the ultraviolet solar radiation of the sunlight will kill the
diarrhoea-causing bacteria and viruses in the water. A synergy of radiation and heat occurs
to disinfect the water if the water temperature increases above 50°C (120°F) and remains
at this temperature for at least one hour.

Purpose
The purpose of solar disinfection is to provide household-level water made potable and
safe to drink by a simple and inexpensive process.

Background
The solar disinfection process has been extensively tested and shown to be effective for
microbiological disinfection of drinking
water. However, it neither purifies water
contaminated with chemicals (arsenic,
fluoride, nitrates) nor makes saline water
potable.

For emergency purposes solar disinfection


can be used to produce small quantities of
potable drinking water for camps and rural
villages where boiling, chlorination, or other
forms of water treatment are not possible.
Solar disinfection is particularly applicable
to household treatment of drinking water. It requires only a supply of empty plastic water
bottles and some initial instruction on how to prepare and re-use the bottles.

Description
The following points outline the solar disinfection process at the household level:

1. Obtain clear plastic water bottles with caps of a volume of up to 3 liters.

Solar Water Disinfection 31


2. Fill plastic bottles with clear water. If the water is murky or contains suspended
sediments reduce the turbidity first through sedimentation (let the water stand for
some time and decant it), filtration or flocculation/sedimentation using crushed
seed of Moringa oleifera or Alum.

3. Set bottles on their sides in direct sunlight for a full day. Water will be safe to drink
after one day of exposure to sunlight.

4. Maintain a sufficient supply of bottles so that a minimum of


1.0 liter of disinfected drinking water per person (including
children) is available per day in the household. For example,
a five-person household requires 10 one-liter bottles, or 5
bottles in the process of being disinfected and another 5
bottles inside the house with water from the previous day.

Resources Needed
• Clean water that is low in turbidity
• A supply of clear plastic (PET) bottles
• Full sunshine for 6 hours

Outcomes Expected
Microbiologically safe drinking water at the household level.

Adaptations Required
• If cloudy, a minimum of 12 hours of exposure time is required.

Additional References
www.sodis.ch

Date Prepared: 9/19/07

32 Solar Water Disinfection


CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: Community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs


Assessment Questionnaire
Category: Strategies
No. STR – 1

Type of Practice
Participatory approach to understand the water, sanitation, and hygiene systems and
practices of a rural community.

Purpose
The purpose of the questionnaire works on two levels: (1) to collect qualitative and
quantitative information regarding the water and sanitation facilities and conditions,
and (2) to assess the knowledge and practices of the community required to develop
improvement activities of these systems and practices.

Background
The questionnaire was developed
in response to the CRS/DRC
request for water and sanitation
intervention assistance during
their FY09-FY13 MYAP proposal
development. Originally developed
in English, the questionnaire was
translated into French for the
MYAP effort, but applied to the
communities in the local language of South Kivu Province. The questions were asked by
a team of Rural Development Technicians to targeted community groups.

Description
The questionnaire collects various qualitative and quantitative data about water, sanitation,
and hygiene that can be used to formulate intervention strategies. Its questions about
water, sanitation, and hygiene are categorized as follows:
• Water sources
• Water transport
• Water storage
• Water uses
• Water treatment
• Sanitation—Latrines

Community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs Assessment Questionnaire 33


• Sanitation—Community hygiene
• Sanitation—Community health
• Hygiene promotion
• Community involvement

The questionnaire is located on the next page.

Resources Needed
• The attached questionnaire to this document
• Community health workers fluent in the language used by the targeted community
and educated in the general practices and issues of water, sanitation, and hygiene
activities

Outcomes Expected
Collected information used to develop approaches to improve water, sanitation, and
hygiene services in the targeted communities.

Adaptations Required
• It may be necessary to modify the questionnaire based on cultural practices of the
targeted community.
• It may be necessary to translate the questionnaire into the language of the targeted
community.

Date Prepared: 9/19/07

34 Community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs Assessment Questionnaire


Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Questionnaire
CRS WATSAN Assessment

Location: ___________________________________________________________
Date: ______________________________________________________________
Name of Facilitator: ___________________________________________________
Organization of Facilitator: _____________________________________________

No. Question/Topic Description


Water Sources
1 What are the main sources of water for Describe the three main sources.
the community? Which are used for drinking?
• Open well
• Well with hand pump
• Well with motorized pump
• Traditional water hole
• Spring
• Stream or lake
• Water reservoir
• Rainwater collection
• Other
• Don’t know
2 What is the distance between the main Describe the distance in meters
water sources and the community? or kilometers or one-way
walking time for each of the
main water sources.
3 How reliable are these main water Describe the causes of unreliable
sources? sources
• Water is available all year
• Water is available except in the dry
season
• Water is available only when it rains
• Other
• Don’t know
4 What potential new sources are possible Describe the main potential new
for a community water supply? sources
• No new sources possible
• Well/borehole
• Traditional water hole
• Spring
• Stream or lake
• Water reservoir
• Rainwater collection
• Other
• Don’t know
5 How many people take their drinking Use either number of people or
water from each of the sources listed percent of the community
above?
• The entire community
• Most of the community
• Only a few households
• Don’t know

Community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs Assessment Questionnaire 35


6 What is the condition of the land around
the main water sources?
• Forested
• Grassland with some trees
• Cultivated land
• Barren land
• Mountainous
• Rolling hills
• Flat
• Other
• Don’t know
7 What is the quality of water in the main Describe any problems with the
sources? quality of the water.
• Safe for drinking
• Not safe but is being used for
drinking and other purposes
• Not used except in emergencies
• Other
• Don’t know
8 What is the cause of pollution in the Describe the causes of water
water sources? pollution in the three main
• Water is not polluted sources
• Human excreta and trash
• Animal excreta
• Agricultural activities
• Erosion/deforestation
• Drainage from mines and factories
• Minerals in the underground water
• Other villages
• Other
• Don’t know
9 Who is responsible for maintaining the Describe the duties and
operation of the water sources? frequency of maintenance.
• No one
• Community water operator
• Community volunteers
• Other
• Don’t know
Water Transport
10 How is water transported from the source Describe the three main methods
to the household? of transporting water to the
• Carry water on head or back households.
• Bicycle
• Animal
• Pipeline, gravity
• Pipeline, pumping
• Open channel
• Other
• Don’t know
11 Who is responsible for transporting water Describe the roles of the main
to the households? transporters of water.
• Women
• Young girls
• Boys
• Men
• Other
• Don’t know

36 Community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs Assessment Questionnaire


12 How many return trips per day does each Describe the water containers
household make to the water sources? used.
• None
• 1 to 2
• 3 to 5
• 6 to 10
• More than 10
• Other
• Don’t know
13 Are there any problems with transporting Describe the three main
water to the household? problems with transporting water
• No problems to the household.
• Seasonal (rainy/dry season)
• Seasonal (planting/harvesting season)
• Land or water source ownership
• Conflict and lack of security
• Other
• Don’t know
Water Storage
14 How does the community store its water? Describe the three main methods
• No water storage occurs of storing water in the household,
• Community water storage tank giving capacity (cubic meters or
• Household water storage tanks liters) of each storage system.
• Small containers inside the
households
• Open pond or reservoir
• Open well
• Other
• Don’t know
15 Who is responsible for maintaining the Describe the duties, methods
water storage facilities? and frequency of water storage
• No one maintenance.
• Women of household
• Community water operator
• Community volunteers
• Other
• Don’t know
Water Uses
16 What are the main uses of water at the For an average household,
household? describe the total average
• Drinking number of liters per day used at
• Cooking the household.
• House cleaning
• Bathing
• Clothes washing
• Animals
• Home gardens
• Food/beer processing
• Brick making
• Handicrafts
• Other
• Don’t know

Community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs Assessment Questionnaire 37


17 How many liters per day does the Provide an estimate of average
average household use in each of the household population and
above uses? average daily water use for each
of the above uses.
18 Which of the main water uses does the Describe the most important
community want to increase? water needs in the community.
19 Are there any special water and How can the water and sanitation
sanitation needs in the community? systems meet these special
• No special needs needs?
• Health centre
• School
• Market
• Home based care of PLWHA
• Orphans and vulnerable children
• Elderly
• Other
• Don’t know
Water Treatment
20 Does the community do anything to Describe the type and frequency
improve the quality of safety of the water of water treatment activities.
at the source, during transport or during
storage?
• No treatment activities given
• Improve the watershed
• Fence the water source
• Filter the water
• Add chemicals to the water
• Other
• Don’t know
21 Do individual households do anything to Describe the type and frequency
improve the quality or safety of the water of water treatment activities in
in the household? the household.
• No treatment
• Cooling
• Boiling
• Filtering
• Add chemicals
• Solar disinfection
• Other
• Don’t know
Sanitation—Latrines
22 What are the main methods of excreta Describe the three main methods
disposal in the community? of excreta disposal
• Improved (sanitary) pit latrine
• Unimproved (unsanitary) pit latrine
• Disposal in sacs or containers
• Defecation area in the brush
• Temporary shallow pits
• No special method
• Other
• Don’t know

38 Community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs Assessment Questionnaire


23 What are the main problems in having a Describe the three main
household latrine? problems.
• No problems
• Cost of materials
• Lack of knowledge
• Difficult to keep clean
• Soil or groundwater problems
• Other
• Don’t know
Sanitation—Community Hygiene
24 Are there any hygiene or environmental Describe the main problems in
sanitation problems in the community? the community.
• No problems
• Household wastes/garbage
• Drainage
• Vector control
• General community cleanliness
• Other
• Don’t know
Sanitation—Community Health
25 Are there any illnesses caused by water
and sanitation in the community?
• Diarrhea
• Malaria
• Skin diseases
• Eye diseases
• Worms
• Bilharzia
• Other
• Don’t know
Hygiene Promotion
26 How often are water, sanitation or Describe the types of
hygiene presentations given in the presentations given in the
community? community.
• Never
• Only once
• Yearly
• Every six months
• Monthly
• Weekly
• Other
• Don’t know

Community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs Assessment Questionnaire 39


Community Involvement
27 What can the community contribute to a Describe the types and amount of
water and sanitation project? support to be contributed.
• Nothing
• Unskilled labor
• Skilled labor
• Local materials
• Cash
• Support to outside technical advisors
• Other
• Don’t know
28 What are the responsibilities of the Describe the effectiveness of the
community water and sanitation committee
committee?
• No committee exists
• Responsibilities not defined
• Control operation of water system
• Collect user fees
• Purchase spare parts
• Employ system operator
• Other
• Don’t know

40 Community Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Needs Assessment Questionnaire


CRS Best Practices in Water and Sanitation

Title: Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the


Development of a Multi-Year Assistance Program (MYAP)
Category: Strategies
No. STR – 2

Type of Practice
Water and sanitation strategy guidance during the Multi-Year Assistance Program (MYAP)
development. This discussion includes examples of the water and sanitation development
issues observed during the FY08 CRS/DRC MYAP proposal preparation.

Purpose
The purpose of this document is to provide water and sanitation component strategy
guidance to CRS non-technical staff during the development of a MYAP.

Background
A Multi-Year Assistance Program (MYAP) is a Title II program. Title II programs focus on
global food insecurity, specifically adopting a single Strategic Objective (SO)—Food insecurity
in vulnerable populations reduced. Title II programs are administered by the Office of Food
For Peace (FFP) at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). A
MYAP is approved to operate for more than one year (usually three to five years in duration).
It can be funded with a combination of Title II emergency and non-emergency resources, or
only non-emergency resources over the life of the activity. MYAP resources focus on a select
number of priority countries, proposals for which are submitted to FFP on an annual basis.

CRS’ definition of food security is similar to that of USAID’s:


• When all people at all times, have the necessary physical and economic access to sufficient
food and water to meet their dietary needs necessary for a productive and healthy life today,
and the good health to use that food properly, without undermining future food security.

Furthermore, the food security problem can be defined in one or more of the following
ways:
• Chronic food insecurity: Inadequate access to sufficient food and/or water, or poor
health, on a continuous basis.
• Seasonal food insecurity: Inadequate access to sufficient food and/or water, or
poor health, during a certain time of year.
• Temporary food insecurity: Inadequate access to sufficient food and/or water, or
poor health, immediately following a manmade or natural disaster.

Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development of a MYAP 41


There are three priority water and sanitation development issues that should be addressed
in the MYAP: (1) levels of water and sanitation technology, (2) community participation
and hygiene education, and (3) environmental degradation and climate change. These
issues are discussed in the following sections.

Levels of Technology
The typical communities considered for inclusion in an MYAP have many common
characteristics, including widespread poverty, difficult access to and availability of adequate
quantities of safe household water supplies, low levels of household water use, unsanitary
latrines, absence of domestic water-use facilities (handwashing points, showers/bathing
enclosures, clothes washing slabs), non-existent
water sanitation committees, lack of awareness of
technological options for water and sanitation services,
and weak local government support. The clearest
indicator of inadequate water supply services is an
extremely low level of per capita water consumption at
the household. In the South Kivu Province, DRC, all
of the assessment communities reported average water
use rates of 8 to 12 liters/person/day. This is far below
the minimum level of 20 liters/person/day considered
essential for basic public health. Moreover, the
current low levels of water use of the household provide no additional water for agricultural
production or other livelihood activities that can mitigate shocks to food security.

All of these common negative characteristics are constraints on the provision of sustainable
water and sanitation services intended to strengthen food security. At the same time, these
constraints define the range, applicability, and acceptability of technologies for water-
sanitation facilities that are most appropriate for the CRS/DRC MYAP Project in South
Kivu Province.

For the CRS/DRC MYAP Project, several types of technologies, both physical (hardware)
and behavioral (software), were suggested as most appropriate in all areas where the
assessment was conducted. Water and sanitation technologies in the MYAP should be
drawn from the following list:

1. Technologies should be simple, low cost, and easy to maintain, including the
following:
• Simple protected springs (people must come to the spring for water)
• Protected springs with gravity piped water systems terminating in tap stands/borne
fontaines (people can take their water from the tap stands/borne fontaines)
• Dug wells (generally to a maximum depth of 20 meters) with a well cover and a
hand pump (necessary to protect the well from external contamination)
• Rainwater collection from roofs (preferably new corrugated metal roofs) using
simple gutters that channel water to adjacent water storage tanks
• Water storage tanks (can be 1,000 to 100,000 liters capacity and constructed of
plastic, concrete, burnt brick and/or stone masonry)
• Household water storage (can be in plastic 20-liter jerry cans/bidons, clay vessels,
natural gourds, or other materials that can be kept clean and sanitary)
• Village water treatment (can be chlorine-based chemical dosing)

42 Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development of a MYAP


• Household water treatment (can be solar disinfection, simple filters, or chlorine
solution additions)
• Home garden irrigation (use foot pump/treadle pump to lift water from a nearby
source)
• School latrines (made of materials that can be easily cleaned, with concrete or
plastic slab, and separate latrines for boys and girls)
• Household latrines (use locally-made concrete slab or SanPlat slab that can be
re-used when latrine is full)
• Household water devices (bathing enclosures, clothes washing slabs, handwashing
points)
• Participatory methodologies (especially PHAST—Participatory Hygiene and
Sanitation Transformation)
• Ecological sanitation (especially the ArborLoo latrine and urine-separating
latrine slabs)

2. Priority for community-level activities should be given to the rehabilitation of former


(but nonfunctioning) water systems when it can be shown that rehabilitation is less
costly and equally effective in comparison to the construction of new facilities.

3. All technologies should be the expressed choice of the target population. This may
require considerable (six months or more) prior community sensitization, awareness
raising, hygiene promotion, and technical demonstrations.

4. The choice of technology should have a clear relationship to the improvement of


food security, such as time savings, improved health, livelihoods, and environmental
protection.

5. The choice of technology must be based on the capacity of the community and
individual households to take responsibility for the maintenance and continued
operation of the resulting facilities.

Community Participation and Hygiene Education


The establishment of sustainable water and sanitation facilities and services requires
full involvement of the community from the beginning of project planning through
implementation and finally long-term operation. In South Kivu, the communities appear
to be poorly organized to carry out sustainable development activities, which may be
the result of the disruption caused by years of war and civil conflict that led to massive
population movements and the widespread destruction of civil infrastructure, especially
water supply systems. It appears that communities visited by the assessment team have
not yet returned to a normal, settled pattern whereby all households are fully integrated
into a range of communal activities. The process of returning to normalcy undoubtedly is
occurring, but it probably will require an indeterminate period to reach completion.

Because of the special challenge of sensitizing the population to the development


opportunities before them and of the need to mobilize community acceptance and
support for MYAP activities, CRS and its partners will have to give special attention to
the promotion of community involvement. In the water-sanitation domain, the most
effective approach is the PHAST method for community participation. It is widely used
throughout CRS and by many other international and national development agencies.

Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development of a MYAP 43


The developer of this method, Dr. Mayling Simpson-Hebert, CRS/EARO RTA for water
and sanitation, has prepared useful guides and other documentary materials for use at the
community level. The great advantage of PHAST is that it combines both the participatory
involvement of the target population with an effective promotion of sanitation, hygiene,
and proper water use. Further information is available from CRS/HQ or CRS/EARO.

It has been found from experience that the process of strengthening participatory community
efforts on water-sanitation activities usually requires a considerable amount of time and
effort prior to the construction of water and sanitation facilities. In EARO, guidelines
have been developed that suggest a period of six months to a year may be necessary to fully
sensitize and mobilize a new community for water-sanitation improvements. In South
Kivu, the preparatory period may be less than 6 to 12 months, but should be a part of the
development process. There is general agreement among the field personnel of CRS and
its partners that community water and sanitation committees should be established and
trained before actual construction of facilities is initiated. This conclusion requires the
CRS/DRC MYAP Project to give special attention to the animateurs and other technical
personnel responsible for the initial promotional and educational activities in the project
communities.

Environmental Degradation and Climate Change


It is readily apparent that many changes are occurring in the natural environment of
South Kivu. Most of these changes are manmade and the majority are having not only
negative consequences for the future
of the province but are occurring at an
accelerating rate. As time passes, these
changes will further interact with each
other, causing even greater problems.
A quick review of some of the more
obvious environmental issues is
revealed in the following discussions.

Despite the fact that the climate and


rainfall regime is conducive to lush
forest cover, there are no major forested areas in the province. Discussions with local
personnel reveal that most of the highlands in South Kivu were heavily forested as recently
as the 1950s. Today, most hills and mountainous areas are bare of trees save for scattered
clumps of woodlands. The process of deforestation has probably been the result of:
• Population growth
• Expansion of cultivated areas
• New house construction
• Forest cutting for:
– Commercial timber
– House building materials
– Fuel for domestic purposes
– Charcoal production
– Production of burnt bricks (briques cuits)
• Population movements caused by war (IDPs)
• Activities by militia groups during the wars

44 Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development of a MYAP


The absence of effective government regulation and control over forests and land use is
especially noticeable (cultivation on steep slopes, expansion of fields into marginal areas)
as is the uncontrolled cutting of trees for the numerous purposes noted above. As the
forests progressively disappear, people will find it increasingly difficult to find fuel for their
cooking fires and fodder for their animals.

Another aspect of deforestation is the affect on stream flows and groundwater levels.
Without trees to intercept and capture rainfall for infiltration into the soil, rainwater
quickly runs off denuded hills into the lower watercourses, causing progressively severe
removal of topsoil from hillsides and erosion of gullies in the streambeds. The soil picked
up on the hillsides flows into the streams, choking them with sediments and degrading
the quality of water for human consumption. There appear to be no organized attempts to
mitigate these problems by reducing soil erosion through contour planting, leaving buffer
vegetation strips, or land terracing.

The process of soil erosion and degradation of streamflows is particularly evident in areas
where mining is occurring, and especially where crude methods of streambed excavation
and water washing of gravels and sand is carried out. In these areas, most notably in the
highland areas of the Haut Plateau, severe bank erosion is endangering adjacent roads and
valley slopes.

The overall trend of deforestation, soil erosion, gully formation, and sediment transport is
resulting (or eventually will) in a decline of groundwater levels in the hills and mountains
and a consequent reduction of flows from streams and springs. Local people have already
noticed decreased flows from some formerly good springs. The continued diminution of
stream and spring flows will place increasing hardships on communities and on the water
facilities built to serve them.

In addition to the above, some evidence is beginning to appear in the scientific domain
that extensive deforestation, as has occurred in South Kivu, results in climate change as a
result of changes in the previous levels of evaporation, transpiration, and solar insolation
(radiation). These changes can affect annual rainfall patterns, which cause them to shift to
more severe and short-term rains that result in even more erosion and land degradation on
the bare hillsides. All of these changes can pose enormous challenges to local populations
already living on the edge of survival.

Although the CRS/DRC MYAP is not a project focused on the natural environment, it
does have the opportunity to raise awareness of the above issues and their consequences. It
should be possible to introduce activities that support sustainable land-use management.
In EARO and LACRO, CRS is giving increasing attention to the watershed as the basic
framework for organizing water resources development. It is suggested that CRS/DRC
consider ways such ideas and related actions can be incorporated into the MYAP.

Description
In terms of water and sanitation activities, the overall objective of the MYAP is to improve
food security of vulnerable populations in the project areas through the expansion of water
supply, sanitation, and hygiene-promotion services that support greater access to food and
health care, greater availability of food stocks and productive livelihood activities, and
greater utilization of food nutrients as a result of improved health care.

Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development of a MYAP 45


The overall objective will be achieved through meeting each of these four objective areas:
• Access
• Availability
• Utilization
• Resilience

Each of the four objective areas is described in the following sections.

Objective 1 (access): To provide greater opportunities for households—especially women


and young girls—to participate in educational, food production, and other livelihood
activities by reducing constraints to essential water and sanitation services.

Objective 2 (availability): To support increased food production through the provision


of adequate, reliable, and accessible quantities of water.

Objective 3 (utilization): To encourage improved public health and nutrition through


the provision of water and sanitation services that result in a reduction of water-related
diseases arising from polluted drinking water, inadequate household and community
sanitation, poor personal hygiene, and unsanitary behavioral practices.

Objective 4 (resilience): To strengthen the capacity of communities to resist water-related


shocks to their food supply by establishing sustainable and resilient water and sanitation
facilities and services.

Resources Needed
Background information is usually collected by conducting various needs
assessments in the targeted communities prior to the development of the
MYAP. The assessments are used to determine the level of food insecurity
and the causes of this insecurity, develop cause-effect problem trees to help
identify the key strategic sectors that would best bolster the food security
of the targeted communities and to collect qualitative and quantitative
data in each strategic sector.

Anticipated project inputs from CRS, its partners, and participating


communities that result once MYAP has been approved and projects have
been defined include:

Typical Material Inputs


• Construction materials (cement, sand, gravel, steel reinforcement,
lumber, pipes, fittings)
• Tools (hand tools, electrical generators, winches, pulleys)
• Vehicles (pickup trucks, motorcycles, bicycles)
• Supplies (fuel, spare parts, office supplies)
• Equipment (computers, telephones, cameras)

Typical Technical Assistance


• CRS/Bukavu supervision and support
• CRS Partners staff involvement

46 Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development of a MYAP


• Participation by other stakeholders (local government, zonal health bureaus, local
church parishes, other NGOs, and international organizations)

Outcomes Expected
Expected outcomes of the CRS/MYAP include:

Sensitization and Training


• Formation of water sanitation committees
• Acceptance of participatory methods for community action (PHAST—Participatory
Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation)
• Hygiene education targeting women in households (water disinfection and storage,
household waste management, personal hygiene)
• Training of water sanitation committees in management, system repairs, cost
recovery, monitoring, and record keeping
• Awareness of the importance of community involvement, participatory actions,
hygienic behaviors, water sanitation committee management, routine maintenance
and repair, system monitoring, and community financial support.

Physical Outputs
• Protected springs with or without gravity flow pipelines
• Water storage tanks (1,000 to 100,000 liter capacity)
• Tap stands/borne fontaines (water taps distributing water from pipelines)
• Shallow dug wells with covers and hand pumps
• Sanitary latrines with durable and easy-to-clean slabs (sanplats)
• Additional sanitation facilities (handwashing points, bathing enclosures, clothes
washing slabs, trash disposal pits)
• Household-level water disinfection (solar disinfection, filtration, chlorine dosing)
• Improved land and water management (forests, springs, rivers, cultivated fields,
household compounds)

Examples of expected beneficial consequences of the CRS/MYAP related to each of the


project objectives include:

Objective 1 (access): To provide greater opportunities for households—especially women


and young girls—to participate in educational, food production, and other livelihood
activities by reducing constraints to essential water and sanitation services.

Greater access to adequate quantities of safe (and potable) water and to sanitary latrines
will result in:

Time savings (for women and young girls who carry water to the household)
• Greater agricultural production/home gardening
• Improved child care
• Strengthened economic activities (food preparation, beer brewing, handicrafts,
brick making)
• Girls attend school more regularly

Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development of a MYAP 47


Improved health (through better quality and quantity of water at the household and use
of sanitary latrines)
• Availability of safe drinking water
• More frequent bathing
• More frequent laundering of clothes
• Improved domestic cleanliness and household sanitation
• Prevention of fecal contamination of household environment

Greater economic production (through use of water on livelihood activities)


• Irrigation water for home gardens
• Animal husbandry (cows, goats, sheep, chickens) at the household
• Manufacture of handicrafts, bricks, household utensils

Improved social status (through improved personal hygiene)


• Children bathe before attending school
• Young girls have proper (and private) latrines during menses
• Women with a household latrine do not have to defecate in the fields
• Women with a household latrine can avoid walking to insecure and violence-prone
defecation fields

Objective 2 (availability): To support increased food production through the provision


of adequate, reliable, and accessible quantities of water.

Greater availability of water for food production will result in:


• Increased irrigation of food crops, especially in home gardens
• Increased size of home gardens
• Greater variety of food crops in home gardens
• More animal husbandry (cow, goats, sheep, chickens) at the household
• Establishment of seed nurseries
• Creation of fish ponds

Objective 3 (utilization): To encourage improved public health and nutrition through


the provision of water and sanitation services that result in a reduction of water-related
diseases arising from polluted drinking water, inadequate household and community
sanitation, poor personal hygiene, and unsanitary behavioral practices.

Greater utilization of water-sanitation facilities and services for improving public health
and nutrition will result in:

Improved health
• Interruption of numerous fecal-oral transmission routes of pathogenic organisms,
especially
– Reduction of water-borne diseases (cholera, typhoid, dysentery)
– Reduction of water-washed diseases (skin infections related to lack of cleanliness)
– Reduction of water-related diseases (helminths, schistosomiasis, dracunculiasis)
– Reduction of water-based disease vectors (malaria, dengue, onchocerciasis)
• Improved sanitary environments around water taps, latrines, showers/bathing
enclosures, clothes washing slabs
• Reduced transmission of illnesses among children at schools

48 Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development of a MYAP


Improved nutrition
• Increased absorption of nutrients when eating food
• Greater variety of food types (fruits, vegetables, meat)

Objective 4 (resilience): To strengthen the capacity of communities to


resist water-related shocks to their food supply by establishing sustainable
and resilient water and sanitation facilities and services.

Greater resilience of water-sanitation facilities to resist (and buffer) shocks


to the community food supply will result in:

• Greater sustainability of water and sanitation services over the long term
• Strengthened community sense of ownership and responsibility toward their water
sanitation facilities
• Continued availability of water during droughts
• Greater community solidarity during periods of political or ethnic conflict
• Enhanced awareness of growing environmental problems (deforestation, soil
erosion, river pollution, groundwater decline, climate change)

A possible brief outline of the strategic water and sanitation framework for the
implementation of water and sanitation activities in the MYAP is as follows:

Year 1
Planning Phase (months 0 to 6)
• Carry out a water and sanitation needs assessment in each project health zone.
• Formulate priorities of water and sanitation development for all health centers in
the project health zones.
• Prepare initial implementation plan (with zonal and health center budgets).
• Recruit, train, and equip the project technical support team.
• Carry out initial planning, design, and implementation of two or three relatively
straightforward infrastructure activities as a means of developing effective
coordination in the CRS technical team.

Initial Implementation Phase (months 7 to 12)


• Prepare technical designs for initial implementation activities.
• Carry out field implementation activities (including community sensitization,
hygiene promotion, and participatory community involvement).
• Develop and incorporate project approaches for community participation, hygiene
promotion, technical and material support, monitoring, and sustainability.

Year 2
Full Implementation Phase (months 13 to 24)
Operate as a fully integrated component within the CRS MYAP Program, with emphasis
upon the contributions of improved water, sanitation, and hygiene services to the access,
availability, and utilization aspects of food security as defined in USAID/FFP guidelines.

Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development of a MYAP 49


Within the food security guidelines, the water and sanitation component of the CRS
MYAP program will emphasize:
• Community involvement
• Expansion of water sanitation services
• Technical soundness
• Sustainability of water sanitation systems
• Intersectoral linkages (health, agriculture, governance, and peacebuilding)
• Environmental protection

Year 3
Continuation of Full Implementation Phase (months 25 to 36)

Evaluation Phase (months 31 to 36)

Adaptations Required:
• Not applicable

Additional References
• P.L. 480 Title II Program Policies And Proposal Guidelines—Fiscal Year 2008—Draft,
Office of Food For Peace, USAID, August 8, 2007
• Strategic Plan 2006—2010, Office of Food For Peace, USAID, May 2005.

Date Prepared: 10/11/07

50 Formulation of Water and Sanitation Strategies for the Development of a MYAP


228 W. Lexington Street
Baltimore, MD 21201-3413 USA
Tel: 410.625.2220 • www.crs.org

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