When water is scarce: the perception of water quality and effects on the vulnerable

2013 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamdiyah Alhassan ◽  
Paul Adjei Kwakwa
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Women And Children

The world has over 1 billion people without access to safe drinking water and it is expected that the number of people living in water-stressed or water-scarce places will increase to 3.4 billion by 2025 and one cannot ignore the effect such a situation will have on the vulnerable groups. The current study among other things examines household water insecurity and assesses its impact on vulnerable groups especially women and children in Dungu, a rural community in the northern region of Ghana. Relying on 125 respondents sampled, the findings show that the main source of drinking water in the community, a dam, fails to fulfil the household water security situation with respect to quantity, quality, reliability and accessibility. Because of the unwholesome nature of the water, the majority of the respondents treat water by using cloth filtering, boiling and the use of alum. Contentiously, the insecurity of water in the community has numerous negative effects ranging from health to economic effects on women and children who have to walk for 2 km in search of water and this could be reduced with the availability of a good quality water source close to home.

scholarly journals Do low-cost ceramic water filters improve water security in rural South Africa?

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Lange ◽  
Tineke Materne ◽  
Jörg Grüner
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Source ◽  
High Water ◽  
Repeated Loading ◽  
Negative Effects

Abstract. This study examines the performance of a low-cost ceramic candle filter system (CCFS) for point of use (POU) drinking water treatment in the village of Hobeni, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. A stepwise laboratory test documented the negative effects of repeated loading and ambient field temperatures. Moreover, CCFS were distributed in Hobeni and a survey was carried out among their users. The performance of 51 CCFS was evaluated by dip slides and related to human factors. Already after two thirds of their specified lifetime, none of the distributed CCFS produced water without distinct contamination and more than one third even deteriorated hygienic water quality. Besides the water source (springs were preferable compared to river or rain water), a high water throughput was the dominant reason for poor CCFS performance. These findings suggest that not every CCFS type per se guarantees improved drinking water security and that the efficiency of low-cost systems should continuously be monitored. For this purpose, dip slides were found to be a cost-efficient alternative to standard laboratory tests. They consistently underestimated microbial counts but can be used by laypersons and hence by the users themselves to assess critical contamination of their filter systems.

scholarly journals Do low-cost ceramic water filters improve water security in rural South Africa?

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Lange ◽  
Tineke Materne ◽  
Jörg Grüner
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Drinking Water ◽  
Produced Water ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Drinking Water Treatment ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Source ◽  
High Water ◽  
Repeated Loading ◽  
Negative Effects

Abstract. This study examined the performance of a low-cost ceramic candle filter system (CCFS) for point of use (POU) drinking water treatment in the village of Hobeni, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. CCFSs were distributed in Hobeni and a survey was carried out among their users. The performance of 51 CCFSs was evaluated by dip slides and related to human factors. Already after two-thirds of their specified lifetime, none of the distributed CCFSs produced water without distinct contamination, and more than one-third even deteriorated in hygienic water quality. Besides the water source (springs were preferable compared to river or rain water), a high water throughput was the dominant reason for poor CCFS performance. A stepwise laboratory test documented the negative effects of repeated loading and ambient field temperatures. These findings suggest that not every CCFS type per se guarantees improved drinking water security and that the efficiency of low-cost systems should continuously be monitored. For this purpose, dip slides were found to be a cost-efficient alternative to standard laboratory tests. They consistently underestimated microbial counts but can be used by laypersons and hence by the users themselves to assess critical contamination of their filter systems.

scholarly journals Arthropod Communities in Urban Agricultural Production Systems under Different Irrigation Sources in the Northern Region of Ghana

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 488
Author(s):  
Louis Amprako ◽  
Kathrin Stenchly ◽  
Martin Wiehle ◽  
George Nyarko ◽  
Andreas Buerkert
Keyword(s):  
Management Practices ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Economic Effects ◽  
Feeding Guilds ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Arthropod Communities ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Species Accumulation Curves

Urban and peri-urban agricultural (UPA) production systems in West African countries do not only mitigate food and financial insecurity, they may also foster biodiversity of arthropods and partly compensate for structural losses of natural environments. However, management practices in UPA systems like irrigation may also contribute to disturbances in arthropod ecology. To fill knowledge gaps in the relationships between UPA management and arthropod populations, we compared arthropods species across different irrigation sources in Tamale. During a 72-h sampling period, 14,226 arthropods were caught with pitfall traps and pan traps from 36 fields. These specimens comprised 13 orders, 103 families, 264 genera, and 329 taxa (243 identified species, 86 unidentified species) and categorized into five feeding guilds (carnivores, decomposers, herbivores, omnivores, and pollinators). Species richness, species accumulation curves, and diversity functions (richness, evenness, and dispersion) were calculated to characterize the arthropod community. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was applied to examine structural similarity of arthropod communities among sites. To account for the effects of soil-related data, we furthermore applied a redundancy analysis. Arthropods grouped according to the irrigation water source, whereby the dipterans were most dominant under wastewater conditions. Here, particularly the eye gnat, Hippelates pusio, a disease-causing vector for humans, accounted for the dipterans. The occurrence of three alien ant species suggested community shifts through invasive species, while the occurrence of seven ant species (at least one ant species occurred under each water source) that form mutualistic relationships with aphids highlighted future risks of aphid pest outbreak. Future studies on these taxa should specifically target their ecological and economic effects and potential countermeasures.

Handwashing and water security in the context of a pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David M. Hannah ◽  
Iseult Lynch ◽  
Feng Mao ◽  
Joshua D. Miller ◽  
Sera L. Young ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hand Hygiene ◽  
Behavioural Change ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Security Issues ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Sanitation And Hygiene ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Sustainable Development Goal 6

<p>The COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call for water security issues. It makes us acutely aware how crucial access, and ability, for adequate hand hygiene are for reducing transmission risks of communicable diseases. An estimated 40% of households globally lack access to basic handwashing facilities. A recent cross-cultural study of household water insecurity experiences (HWISE) found that nearly one in four of 6,637 randomly sampled households across 23 sites in 20 low- and middle-income countries. Similar water, sanitation and hygiene problems impact on poorer families in high-income nations too.</p><p>We explore the challenge of hand hygiene in a changing water world and reflect on the importance of making rapid progress towards “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” (UN Sustainable Development Goal 6). We contest that urgent action on water security is essential to better prepare societies for the future, including global health crises. Drawing on the latest evidence, we provide recommendations on how to increase handwashing, and improve human health and wellbeing more broadly, by reducing water insecurity. Across our world, policymakers must focus on: investment in water infrastructure, water independent alternatives, and behavioural change and knowledge promotion. Moreover, we must prioritise holistic, evidence-based solutions that address 3 facets of water (in)security: availability, quality & accessibility.</p>

scholarly journals The pain of water: a household perspective of water insecurity and inequity in the Kathmandu Valley

Water Policy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (S1) ◽  
pp. 130-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivia C. Molden ◽  
Anoj Khanal ◽  
Nita Pradhan
Keyword(s):  
Expert Knowledge ◽  
Monsoon Season ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Geographic Area ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Kathmandu Valley ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Policy Responses ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Household Members

Abstract This paper draws on participatory research with 47 household water managers over the dry, pre-monsoon, and monsoon season, alongside expert knowledge of water management in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley. Doing so, it presents the perspectives of water managers to highlight three dimensions of water security that existing approaches often overlook. First, experiences of water security vary greatly between households over the year, even within a relatively small geographic area. Second, social connections and landownership play an important role in mediating these experiences. Third, coping with poor water supply places a burden on certain household members. This paper argues that addressing water inequities and insecurities demands research, development and policy responses to look beyond the main pipe network and engage with the variety of ways in which households secure water.

scholarly journals Urban household water resilience and source selection in Nepal pre- and post-disaster

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 435-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sadhana Shrestha ◽  
Yoko Aihara ◽  
Arun P. Bhattarai ◽  
Niranjan Bista ◽  
Naoki Kondo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Water System ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Water Source ◽  
Water Sources ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Piped Water ◽  
2015 Gorkha Earthquake ◽  
Household Water ◽  
Before And After

Abstract Urban areas in low- and middle-income countries are under chronic water stress, and multiple water source use (MWSU) is common. A detailed study on MWSU is necessary for strengthening water security and enhancing household water resilience to natural disasters which is defined as the ability of a household water system that is exposed to a disaster to resist, accommodate, and recover efficiently in a short time. Surveys were conducted in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, before and after the 2015 Gorkha earthquake. A classification of resilient and non-resilient households was based on respondents' perception scores of their water systems before the earthquake and one month after. Around 80% of households used two to three water sources, and 70% of households were classified as water resilient. Three characteristics of a water resilient household were: (i) use of greater number of water sources, (ii) use of multiple reliable water sources such as piped water, groundwater, and (iii) use of effective adaptive strategies such as water storage in a bigger container. Since the study showed the practice of MWSU enhanced the resilience, protection and management of local water sources (well, spring, stone spouts) by initiatives of local government or communities or both is recommended.

How Do Rural Ethiopians Rate the Severity of Water Insecurity Scale Items? Implications for Water Insecurity Measurement and Interventions

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-106
Author(s):  
Yihenew Tesfaye ◽  
Kenneth Maes ◽  
Roza Abesha ◽  
Sera Young ◽  
Jedidiah S. Snyder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Urban Residence ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Scale Item ◽  
Measurement Evaluation ◽  
Subjective Perceptions ◽  
Household Water ◽  
The Mean ◽  
The Relationship

Recently developed scales aim to advance understanding of household water insecurity and inform interventions to address this critical global problem. The relative severity of items included in household water insecurity scales has been established as an inverse of the proportion of the population that reports experiencing the item. Here, we assess subjective perceptions of scale item severity among people who experience household water insecurity. In 2017, we surveyed 259 women in Amhara, Ethiopia, assessing both experiences of water insecurity and perceptions of item severity using a pictorial scale. The mean subjective severity of most items was at the high end of our pictorial scale. Subjective severity of items was not associated with whether or not a participant experienced the item in the last thirty days, with a participant’s summary household water insecurity score, or with rural versus peri-urban residence, but was consistently associated with community of residence. Item severity as defined by the proportion of the population experiencing the item aligned with average perceptions of item severity, with one exception: drinking water that might not be safe. We discuss these findings’ implications for water insecurity measurement, evaluation of interventions, and studies of the relationship between water insecurity and psychological distress.

The effects of drinking water service fragmentation on drought-related water security

Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 368 (6488) ◽  
pp. 274-277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan Mullin
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
Water Security ◽  
The United States ◽  
Water Systems ◽  
Drought Vulnerability ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Community Water Systems ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Community Water ◽  
Water Provision

Drought is a critical stressor that contributes to water insecurity. In the United States, an important pathway by which drought affects households’ access to clean, reliable drinking water for basic needs is through the organization and activities of community water systems. Research on the local political economy of drinking water provision reveals the constraints on community water systems that affect their performance when confronting drought hazards. Fragmentation in responsibility for drinking water contributes to disparities in drought vulnerability, preparation, and response across households and across communities. The nature and extent of these disparities require further investigation to identify strategies for expanding water security in the face of drought and other water hazards.

scholarly journals Understanding Local Water Collaboration for the Potential to Enhance Community Source Water Protection at Chippewas of the Thames First Nation

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalya Garrod
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Source Water ◽  
Water Protection ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Source Water Protection ◽  
Local Water ◽  
Community Source

First Nations in Canada are disproportionately affected by chronic drinking water insecurity (Bakker, 2012). Aboriginal Affair and Northern Development Canada conducted an assessment of First Nations water and wastewater systems in 2001 and found significant risk to the quality and safety of drinking water on three- quarters of all systems (Johns and Rasmussen, 2008). Neegan Burnside (2011) classified four differentrisks that affect drinking water systems for First Nations, which include, no source water protection plan,deterioration of water quality over time, risk of contamination, and insufficient capacity to meet futurerequirements. This study found that the two highest risks were risk of source water contamination and thelack of a community source water protection plan (Neegan Burnside, 2011). Water security, sustainableaccess on a watershed basis to adequate quantities of water of acceptable quality to ensure human andecosystem health (Bakker, 2012), therefore requires source water protection and collaboration amongwater actors. Collaboration is defined as the pooling of resources by multiple stakeholders to solveproblems, which includes a balance of power among actors, mutually agreed upon objectives, is perceived as legitimate, and includes a wide variety of stakeholders (Ashlie, 2019; Van Der Porten, 2013; Spencer etal., 2016; Black & McBean, 2017).

Understanding Local Water Collaboration for the Potential to Enhance Community Source Water Protection at Chippewas of the Thames First Name

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalya Garrod
Keyword(s):  
Drinking Water ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Water Security ◽  
Source Water ◽  
Water Protection ◽  
Water Insecurity ◽  
Source Water Protection ◽  
Local Water ◽  
Community Source

First Nations in Canada are disproportionately affected by chronic drinking water insecurity (Bakker, 2012). Aboriginal Affair and Northern Development Canada conducted an assessment of First Nations water and wastewater systems in 2001 and found significant risk to the quality and safety of drinking water on three- quarters of all systems (Johns and Rasmussen, 2008). Neegan Burnside (2011) classified four differentrisks that affect drinking water systems for First Nations, which include, no source water protection plan,deterioration of water quality over time, risk of contamination, and insufficient capacity to meet futurerequirements. This study found that the two highest risks were risk of source water contamination and thelack of a community source water protection plan (Neegan Burnside, 2011). Water security, sustainableaccess on a watershed basis to adequate quantities of water of acceptable quality to ensure human andecosystem health (Bakker, 2012), therefore requires source water protection and collaboration amongwater actors. Collaboration is defined as the pooling of resources by multiple stakeholders to solveproblems, which includes a balance of power among actors, mutually agreed upon objectives, is perceived as legitimate, and includes a wide variety of stakeholders (Ashlie, 2019; Van Der Porten, 2013; Spencer etal., 2016; Black & McBean, 2017).

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