RWSN Newsletter - October ENGLISH
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Kerstin Danert
Oct 26, 2012, 4:05:55 AM10/26/12
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Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN)
NEWSLETTER - October 2012
DOWNLOAD THE MORE READABLE PDF version from http://tinyurl.com/bvs8set
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[Description: carter002]A Word from the Chair ===================
It lies not far beneath our feet in most parts of the world. With some notable exceptions it is generally wholesome and potable. It exists in vast but not infinite quantities. It moves rather slowly. In favourable situations it is replenished regularly, while elsewhere it is not renewed at all. It is often misunderstood, frequently over-exploited, too often carelessly polluted and mismanaged. It is out of sight, out of mind, and yet vital to the survival of many of us on planet earth. It is groundwater.
According to the most recent JMP statistics, 2.3 billion people (one third of the global population) obtain their drinking water directly from groundwater (in the form of springs, hand-dug wells and boreholes), and it is reasonable to assume that at least another 1.7 billion people (one quarter of the world’s population) representing 40% of those who enjoy piped water are also supplied from groundwater. Of the 780 million not yet served, the majority of these predominantly rural people will need to be supplied from groundwater. Groundwater matters to the human race. We misunderstand or mismanage groundwater at our peril.
The dispersed nature of groundwater, and the generally large quantities in natural storage in aquifers make it particularly suitable for serving rural communities in times of uncertainty about the climate and the natural environment.
All of us who are involved in rural water supply in any capacity need to strive to understand groundwater better – how it exists and moves naturally; how it can be safely and wisely exploited; and how to monitor and manage it responsibly for our own and future generations. This Network puts a strong emphasis on groundwater and its cost-effective and sustainable exploitation and management. If it is not already your specialism, I urge you to learn more about and cherish the groundwater beneath your feet and the feet of those you serve.
Professor Richard Carter
Director, Richard Carter & Associates
Chair of the Rural Water Supply Network
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Pour les francophones - Si vous souhaitez recevoir le bulletin trimestriel en français, veuillez nous écrire un e-mail à ruralwater @ skat.ch intitulé Bulletin Trimestriel en français. Nous sommes graduellement en phase d’introduire un réseau bilingue (français et anglais).
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HEADLINES
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Accelerating Self Supply e-discussion starts 5th November
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Conventional water supplies do reach millions of people, but still there are many unreached, e.g. in remote rural areas and there are some, who want an improved level of service with a water source closer to their homes. Households invest substantial amount of funds in their own water supplies and through incremental steps, many finally reached up to a level which is defined as an improved water source. Accelerating Self Supply is about promoting and supporting Self Supply through provision of an enabling environment. Self Supply is not a blue print, it needs a context specific assessment, implementation and monitoring, but for many regions it can be a complementary approach for providing water supply services. However only in some countries Self Supply is endorsed officially as one of the water supply strategy pillars. What is the relevance of Self Supply in the region you live in? What could be the potential? What is needed to realize this potential? We want to hear your experiences and ideas!
RWSN will host a three-week e-discussion on the realities of accelerating self supply from the 5th to 23th November 2012. It will cover the entire scope of topics, including technical, legal, institutional and financial aspects.
We are looking for a very wide participation from the national governments, local governments, private sector, NGOs, other networks and funding organizations including international organisations so please let people know about this.
The e-discussion is open to anyone who registers on http://dgroups.org/RWSN/selfsupply
If you have problems joining, please contact bertha.camacho @ skat.ch
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New publications: RWSN/IFAD Series on Rural Water Supply
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The Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have, with support from SDC, prepared a series of five publications which bring together the key aspects of rural water supply programming. Each volume is a stand-alone document, but as a set, they cover the programme cycle from understanding the issues right through to implementation and reporting. [cid:image0...@01CDB2D9.6854FCE0]
* Volume 1: People, Politics, the Environment and Rural Water Supplies reflects on rural development, politics, environmental sustainability and how these relate to rural water supply services.
* Volume 2: A Virtuous Cycle for Rural Water Supplies presents a variety of support and implementation aspects, from sector coordination to mapping and more, that can contribute towards sustainable rural water service delivery.
* Volume 3: Guidelines and tools for Rural Water Supplies provides a structured annotated directory of over 40 useful guidelines and toolkits on rural water supplies.
* Volume 4: Finding information on rural water supplies is an overview of current information sources with respect to access to water supply sources, the national context, the natural environment and finance.
* Volume 5: National Monitoring of Rural Water Supplies documents experiences of national performance measurement for rural water supplies in Uganda and provides guidance for those interested in establishing such a process
There is also a new volume in the Cost Effective Boreholes series, supported by UNICEF, on ‘Supervising Water Well Drilling’ (ready for download) and another, ‘Procurement and Contract Management of Drilled Well Construction’ will be available mid-November.
All are downloadable from: http://tinyurl.com/c4tlhr7
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‘No Water, No Pay’ drilling contracts under scrutiny
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During September and October, RWSN hosted a lively e-discussion on cost effective boreholes and one of the hot topics that emerged was around ‘no water, no pay’ contracts – should drillers be paid for dry holes? The general consensus was that risks should be shared between the driller and the client but that there is no excuse for not doing proper hydrogeological investigations and having thorough drilling supervision.
Nearly 40 people from over 20 countries took part in the lively and detailed discussion. A synthesis of the discussion will be available on Dgroups and on the RWSN website very soon.
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Website Update
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More sections of the new RWSN website have been completed, of particular interest are:
* Handpump Overview: http://tinyurl.com/c3s5jhy
* Manual Drilling: http://tinyurl.com/cv5ry36
* Manual Drilling Training videos by Water4 Foundation http://tinyurl.com/d8p2dj5 and EnterpriseWorks/Practica/UNICEF: http://tinyurl.com/cc4yn8p
The handpump and manual drilling sections have been connected with Akvopedia’s Water Portal http://tinyurl.com/ydv5c3v and we will be working on further integration to make it easier for practitioners to find the right information.
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THEME NEWS
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Equity and Inclusion in Rural Water Supply Theme Co-ordinator: Louisa Gosling, WaterAid (LouisaGosling @ wateraid.org, Joseph Pearce )
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Water Point Mapping
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The RWSN Mapping group has been launched and boasts over 300 members from across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. We have 27 discussion threads with lively debate, where WASH practitioners, academics, policy makers and all interested parties are discussing everything mapping, including data collection methodologies, relevant indicators for measurement, cost of mapping, analysis technologies, and unique identification of water sources. There is also a library where several recent water point mapping publications and case studies have been uploaded, including reports from recent studies in Zambia and DRC, as well as the excellent Finding Information in Rural Water Supplies RWSN publication. Join here: http://dgroups.org/rwsn/mapping We are hoping to soon begin a structured discussion around a number of key themes within water point mapping. These will form the basis of a publication synthesising the experiences and lessons from across the RWSN mapping community – a publication authored by 300 people! So please get involved. We look forward to learning from you!
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Update on equity and inclusion in global monitoring of water supply
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The heat is on: the equity and non-discrimination working group has written up its recommendations for ensuring that post 2015 goals and targets properly reflect the importance of focusing on providing water and sanitation to the most marginalised and excluded groups in order to achieve universal coverage for water supply. On output was a two pager with bullet point recommendations for the equality checklist – with a focus on marginalised groups means paying attention to geographic inequality, to specific groups who are marginalised in different countries because of their caste, religion, ethnicity or lifestyle, and to people who are discriminated against in households and communities because of gender, disability, age or illness. Discussion documents from this are available here: http://tinyurl.com/ctgeoou
Keep up to date with the latest developments in Equity and Inclusion, and network with likeminded practitioners at: http://dgroups.org/RWSN/equity
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Accelerating Self Supply (ACCESS)
Theme Co-ordinator: André Olschewski, Skat (andre.olschewski @ skat.ch<mailto:andre.ol...@skat.ch>)
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Self Supply e-discussion – 5th – 23rd November
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E-discussions have proven to be a very inspiring and fruitful media to trigger discussion and exchange between practitioners in the field of rural water supply. In the period between 5.11.2012 and 23.11.2012 a moderated e-discussion will be launched by RWSN with focus on Accelerating Self Supply. The goal is to discuss urgent issues, to foster the network and to identify ways to further develop cooperation and exchange in this emerging topic. If you are interested to join and participate please log in through the RWSN Dgroup community. http://dgroups.org/RWSN/selfsupply
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Increasing support on all levels
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Self Supply as a service delivery model gets more and more accepted and supported in the sector. According to GLAAS there is growing evidence, that substantial financial means are invested by private actors and households in their water supplies. Where self supply is feasible and reasonable further promotion of self supply should capitalise from synergies from combined activities in the area of multiple uses (MUS) and CLTS. On the technology level relevant improvements have been achieved which will help to further promote Self Supply, e.g. in the field of reducing costs for low cost water filters on household level.
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The hidden resource: Experiences from Self Supply in Ethiopia
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A comprehensive report has been published recently by S. Sutton, J. Butterworth and L. Mekonta on experiences and challenges in accelerating self supply in Ethiopia. As one of the many interesting aspects covered the authors present results on water quality in wells of different level of protection. The publication advocates for a more differentiated analysis of water quality and level of improvements of water sources. Additionally the issue of combined use of water for supporting the acceleration self supply is stressed. http://tinyurl.com/c444xm7
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Keep up to date with the latest developments in Accelerating Self Supply, and network with likeminded practitioners at: http://dgroups.org/RWSN/selfsupply
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Sustainable Groundwater Development
Theme Co-ordinators: Kerstin Danert and Sean Furey, Skat (kerstin.danert @ skat.ch<mailto:kerstin.danert%20@%20skat.ch>, sean.furey @ skat.ch<mailto:sean....@skat.ch>)
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Cost of Practice for Cost Effective Boreholes – now in French! / Code de bonnes pratiques pour la réalisation de forages - Version française !
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Can be downloaded from: http://tinyurl.com/bqvq6hw
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Cost Effective Boreholes Webinar: 11th December 2012
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Following the successful e-discussion and publication of ‘Supervising Water Well Drilling’ field note http://tinyurl.com/d9x4lsa , RWSN and UNICEF will be hosting a webinar on professionalising water well drilling. Announcements will be made via http://dgroups.org/RWSN/groundwater
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Is the handpump dead?
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RWSN began as the Handpump Technology Network 20 years ago and today millions of handpumps are in use around the world today (and sadly many out of use). We have started a review of where the handpump is now and what needs to be done in future. Many old problems still exist, but new questions have also arisen, such as should solar pumping become the new mainstay of rural water services? So far the debate has shown that the handpump is alive and kicking but more work is needed to keep it a relevant technology for rural water services. http://dgroups.org/rwsn/handpump_services
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India Mark II: now in 3-D
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Andrew Miller, an RWSN member in the USA, has produced a set of fantastic 3 dimensional Computer Aid Design (CAD) files of the India Mark II. The files can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/csqmdjt which can be viewed using software than can be downloaded for free.
Keep up to date with the latest developments in Sustainable Groundwater Development, including discussions on handpump technologies and cost effective boreholes, and network with likeminded practitioners at: http://dgroups.org/RWSN/groundwater
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Management and Support for Rural Water Supply Theme Co-ordinators: Patrick Moriarty, Stef Smits, Marieke Adank, IRC (Moriarty @ irc.nl , smits @ irc.nl, adank @ irc.nl ), Julia Boulenouar (J.Boulenouar @ aguaconsult.co.uk)
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Manage & Support Workshop generates momentum
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On 2 & 3 of October, 26 RWSN practitioners from 12 countries came to The Hague, and more joined online, to listen and discuss to issues and experience of maintaining and extending rural water services. Presentations gave perspectives from Senegal, Kenya, Ghana, Ukraine, Madagascar, Brazil, Colombia and South Africa. From the discussions the following way forward was proposed:
* Agree on group’s vision and mission,
* Agree on list of topics for discussion with the wider group
* Identify “leaders” for each topic = Identify a core group committed to providing input in the working group,
* Identify key activities and agree collectively,
* Establish a workplan for year 1,
* Increase group membership (outreach strategy),
* Develop ToRs for the group.
You can find the presentations and workshop report here: http://tinyurl.com/cans4qe
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Management & Support E-discussion: 3 – 14 December 2012 Following on from the initial workshop a number of ideas and focus areas have been identified. In this short e-discussion, the first week will discuss the vision and objectives of the working group for Management & Support for Rural Water Supplies. The second week will look at specific activities from which project ideas and collaborations can come. The approach is to be as inclusive as possible, so if you weren’t able to make it to the workshop in the Hague you can still get involved. Register at http://dgroups.org/RWSN/managementsupport or contact Julia at J.Boulenouar @ aguaconsult.co.uk
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WASHCost Campaign
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IRC have launched an online campaign “the real cost of Sustainable WASH services” to promote the WASHCost’s life-cycle costs approach which calculates the long-term costs of lasting Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Services. For more details visit: www.irc.nl/page/75023<http://www.irc.nl/page/75023>
Further information: http://tinyurl.com/d6batsk
Keep up to date with the latest developments in Management and Support, and network with likeminded practitioners at: http://next.dgroups.org/RWSN/managementsupport
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RWSN Online
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1. Find your way around
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We have produced two maps to help guide you around the new RWSN website and the various RWSN online platforms, including http://tinyurl.com/c2ducks. If you are still having problems then the new “Help!” page has a video tour of the website: http://www.rural-water-supply.net/en/websitehelp
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2. Update your profile
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As of writing this, RWSN has just over 2300 registered members from 93 countries on Dgroups – if you haven’t already, please check you profile and update your details and let us know where you are from. This information is very useful so that people with the same interest in the same country or region can connect more easily.
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3. Join the debates
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Our expanded online network means that more and more of you are sharing ideas and experiences, which is fantastic – please keep it up! Here are just gives a flavour of what has been discussed recently (and where):
* WASH and disability mapping study – Call for Information (Dgroups – Equity & Inclusion)
* Query about Solar Pumping (Dgroups – Sustainable Groundwater Development)
* WASH Inclusion in Constitution of Liberia (Dgroups – Water Point Mapping)
* Why physical unique identifiers on water points will improve sustainable services (Dgroups – Water Point Mapping)
* Mapping and analysis – Swaziland Case (Dgroups – Water Point Mapping)
* Crowdsourced mapping – Uganda (Dgroups – Water Point Mapping)
* Burkina Faso – Looking for alternative low cost drilling techniques for potable water (Dgroups – Hand Drilling Cluster Group)
* The government of India is advocating for 'drinking water security planning' to ensure required quantity and quality of water throughout the year. Are there any thoughts and experiences on this? (LinkedIn – RWSN Group)
* Does anyone know cases where water supply sources - open wells, tubes wells, ponds etc have been insured for failure? (LinkedIn – RWSN Group)
* Water point mapping is an important tool for the future and now the code for FLOW has been made open-source (LinkedIn – RWSN Group)
Thank you to everyone who has put in their time, enthusiasm and knowledge.
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4. Write a blog post (rwsnblog.wordpress.com<http://rwsnblog.wordpress.com/> )
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Blog posts are short articles that typically present an opinion or a topic, in this case related to rural water supply. It is a way of starting a debate or raising awareness of a particular issue. Since its launch the RWSN blog has attracted a large audience from all over the world and as well as original pieces we have republished relevant articles from other bloggers. It is a great way to keep up to date with some of the latest thinking in sector. Recent highlights have included:
* “Why physical unique identifiers on water points will improve sustainable services” by Susan Davis, Improve International
* “Realities of water well drilling in Africa: e-discussion highlights so far”
* “How did you wash up doing WASH?” by Sean Furey, Skat
* “RWSN Discusses Water Point Mapping” by Elizabeth Kleemeier
We also want to hear from your experiences of trying to implement projects or policies wherever you are, already we’ve been promised articles from Uganda and Zimbabwe so look out for those.
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Events
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Water and Health 2012,
29 October – 2 November, University of North Carolina, USA
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For those attending this year’s ‘Water and Health’ Conference, you may want to meet with other RWSN members at the monitoring and sustainability side events on Monday 29th October (http://tinyurl.com/cgg3ufp). The Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage Network are also holding their annual meeting (http://waterinstitute.unc.edu/hwts)
Sean, from the RWSN Secretariat will be attending the conference so if you have any issues about the network then please find him.
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2013: Year of International of Water Co-operation
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2013 will be the UN-Water year of Water Co-operation and the objective will be: “to raise awareness, both on the potential for increased cooperation, and on the challenges facing water management in light of the increase in demand for water access, allocation and services. The Year will highlight the history of successful water cooperation initiatives, as well as identify burning issues on water education, water diplomacy, transboundary water management, financing cooperation, national/international legal frameworks, and the linkages with the Millennium Development Goals.”
www.unwater.org/watercooperation2013/<http://www.unwater.org/watercooperation2013/>
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Symposium 2013: monitoring sustainable WASH service delivery,
9 to 11 April 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Monitoring is critical for protecting the big infrastructure investments made over the last 10 years. Not only to know whether water systems are functioning, but also whether the systems are providing the water quantity and quality as agreed in norms and standards and whether they are providing reliable, affordable and accessible water services to all. The symposium is for the whole sector to discuss the many initiatives taken, at local, national, global UN and project level. http://www.irc.nl/page/72969
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Other events of interest
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§ 8 November 2012 : The ‘Water is Life: Amazzi Bulamu’ Project‘: “How can we make a difference - routes to progress” : Dublin, Ireland : RSVP Sonya Grimley sonya.grimley @ dkit.ie www.waterislife.ie<http://www.waterislife.ie>
§ 13-15 November 2012 : Water Safety Conference : Kampala, Uganda http://tinyurl.com/cdhdo8u
§ 29 November 2012 : Water Resources Quality (WRQ): Addressing geogenic arsenic and fluoride contamination : Eawag, Dübendorf, Switzerland : Contact Dr Annette Johnson (Annette.Johnson @ eawag.ch)
§ 15-17 January 2013 : The International Water Summit: Promoting water sustainability in arid regions : Abu Dhabi : www.iwsabudhabi.com<http://www.iwsabudhabi.com>
§ 5-7 February 2013 : GeoGen 2013 - Towards sustainable water supply in developing countries: The challenges of geogenic contaminants and mitigation measures : Addis Ababa, Ethiopia : www.eawag.ch/geogen2013<http://www.eawag.ch/geogen2013>
§ 18-23 March 2013 : Water Week Latinoamérica : Viña del Mar, Chile : Call for papers deadline: 9 November: www.waterweekla.com<http://www.waterweekla.com>
§ 1-6 September 2013 : World Water Week : Stockholm, Sweden : Theme - Water Cooperation - Building Partnerships : www.worldwaterweek.org<http://www.worldwaterweek.org>
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RECENT EVENT: 2nd UN-Water GLAAS Evaluation Meeting in Bern 2-3 October 2012
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The UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-water (GLAAS) monitors the inputs, and processes and their outputs (e.g. policies, investments, human resources) that influence the provision and sustainability of drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems and services. Following publication of a proof-of-concept report in 2008, GLAAS published two full reports in 2010 and 2012 – the latter covering 74 countries and 24 external support agencies. GLAAS is generally acknowledged as having gained itself a specific niche within the global WASH monitoring landscape.
The conclusions about GLAAS from its recent evaluation meeting were:
1) It is a low cost and high quality global monitoring product and process.
2) It allows us to unify forces to lobby for a water goal in the Post 2015 goals.
3) Water Quality should be included in the future water goals and reported by JMP and GLAAS.
4) We should strengthen alignment with national monitoring systems.
5) We need to improve link with others global, regional and national monitoring systems.
6) The presence of new actors (from emerging states) should be reinforced in the future.
For more details contact Bruce Gordon at the World Health Organisation.
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New Research, Publications and Websites
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* A Hidden Resource: Household-led rural water supply in Ethiopia (Sally Sutton, John Butterworth, Lemessa Mekonta) http://tinyurl.com/bmzkgo6
* A Well Construction Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA): For Water Supply Well Guidelines for use in Developing Countries (Jaynie Whinnery) http://tinyurl.com/cdk28ux
§ Biosand Filter Project Implementation materials: an illustrated bio-sand filter construction manual, a package of materials on constructing molds, instructions on conducting sand analysis and three case studies on bio-sand filters. Visit the site<http://www.cawst.org/en/resources/pubs/training-materials/category/12-biosand-filter-project-implementation>
* Community Management of Water Services Approaches, Innovations from Lango & Rwenzori regions (Jane Nabunnya, Lydia Mirembe, Peter Magara, Martin Watsisi, and Robert Otim) http://tinyurl.com/cwhvv4m
* Gobernanza y sostenibilidad de los sistemas de agua potable y saneamiento rurales en Colombia (Stef Smits, Shirley Paola Tamayo, Vanessa Ibarra, Johnny Rojas, Alberto Benavidez y Valérie Bey) http://www.irc.nl/page/73764
* NGOs in the Ugandan Water and Sanitation Sector: Performance Report for FY 2011/12, UWASNET http://tinyurl.com/coqtybe
* Water Supply Well Guidelines For Use In Developing Countries (2nd Edition, Oct 2012) (Stephen Scheider) http://tinyurl.com/cdk28ux
* Working Paper 7 - Assessing hygiene cost-effectiveness: a methodology (Amélie Dubé, Peter Burr, Alana Potter and Maarten van de Reep) http://www.washcost.info/page/2341
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FUNDING AND PRIZES
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The First Stone Family Foundation Prize: Announcement due 1st November
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The Foundation launched the Stone Prize for innovation and entrepreneurship in water in February of this year. They received over 175 applications from almost 40 countries and will be announcing the prize-winner on 1 November 2012: http://www.thesff.com/
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2013 STARS Impact Awards - Deadline: 12 November
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STARS offers Impact Awards to charities in Africa-Middle East and Asia-Pacific working with children in the areas of Health, Education, Protection and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene).To find out how to apply visit: www.starsfoundation.org.uk/apply/<http://www.starsfoundation.org.uk/apply/>
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REQUESTS for help
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Laurra Olmsted Executive Director of UniWater Education has asked us to pass on the following request:
“UniWater Education is currently assembling the curriculum for a new MSc program in Water Resources for Developing Countries. It consists of 12 modules of applied hydrogeology including the fundamentals of hydrogeoloy, applied basic hydrogeology, groundwater and geotechnics, hydrochemistry, groundwater geophysics, quantified hydrogeology, well hydraulics, groundwater contamination, integrated resource management, borehole drilling and completions, borehole geophysics and field school. It is intended that this program will be offered to sub-Saharan Africa universities in a bid to train more Africans to solve African water problems thereby reducing the dependence of Africans on foreign aid and expertise. Curricula can be uploaded quickly using the link on our website at www.UniWaterEd.org<http://www.UniWaterEd.org>”
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Membership and Subscription
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RWSN is free to join and now we have an online registration system! Please see the joining instructions at the end.
IMPORTANT! The RWSN emailed newsletter will be phased out at the end of 2012. From now on, the quarterly RWSN newsletter and other announcements will be sent via Dgroups.
If you don’t want to join Dgroups then please send us your current email address (to rural...@skat.ch<mailto:rural...@skat.ch> and we will continue to send the newsletter to you by email directly. However, you need to opt in to this service.
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Unsubscribe
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If you do not wish to continue to receive this newsletter, please let us know by sending an email to rural...@skat.ch<mailto:rural...@skat.ch> with the heading unsubscribe. After December 2012, RWSN will no longer be using this email list therefore if you haven’t registered on Dgroups you will not receive any further correspondence after that time.
__________
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NEWSLETTER - October 2012
DOWNLOAD THE MORE READABLE PDF version from http://tinyurl.com/bvs8set
===================
[Description: carter002]A Word from the Chair ===================
It lies not far beneath our feet in most parts of the world. With some notable exceptions it is generally wholesome and potable. It exists in vast but not infinite quantities. It moves rather slowly. In favourable situations it is replenished regularly, while elsewhere it is not renewed at all. It is often misunderstood, frequently over-exploited, too often carelessly polluted and mismanaged. It is out of sight, out of mind, and yet vital to the survival of many of us on planet earth. It is groundwater.
According to the most recent JMP statistics, 2.3 billion people (one third of the global population) obtain their drinking water directly from groundwater (in the form of springs, hand-dug wells and boreholes), and it is reasonable to assume that at least another 1.7 billion people (one quarter of the world’s population) representing 40% of those who enjoy piped water are also supplied from groundwater. Of the 780 million not yet served, the majority of these predominantly rural people will need to be supplied from groundwater. Groundwater matters to the human race. We misunderstand or mismanage groundwater at our peril.
The dispersed nature of groundwater, and the generally large quantities in natural storage in aquifers make it particularly suitable for serving rural communities in times of uncertainty about the climate and the natural environment.
All of us who are involved in rural water supply in any capacity need to strive to understand groundwater better – how it exists and moves naturally; how it can be safely and wisely exploited; and how to monitor and manage it responsibly for our own and future generations. This Network puts a strong emphasis on groundwater and its cost-effective and sustainable exploitation and management. If it is not already your specialism, I urge you to learn more about and cherish the groundwater beneath your feet and the feet of those you serve.
Professor Richard Carter
Director, Richard Carter & Associates
Chair of the Rural Water Supply Network
===================
Pour les francophones - Si vous souhaitez recevoir le bulletin trimestriel en français, veuillez nous écrire un e-mail à ruralwater @ skat.ch intitulé Bulletin Trimestriel en français. Nous sommes graduellement en phase d’introduire un réseau bilingue (français et anglais).
===================
===================
HEADLINES
===================
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Accelerating Self Supply e-discussion starts 5th November
------------------
Conventional water supplies do reach millions of people, but still there are many unreached, e.g. in remote rural areas and there are some, who want an improved level of service with a water source closer to their homes. Households invest substantial amount of funds in their own water supplies and through incremental steps, many finally reached up to a level which is defined as an improved water source. Accelerating Self Supply is about promoting and supporting Self Supply through provision of an enabling environment. Self Supply is not a blue print, it needs a context specific assessment, implementation and monitoring, but for many regions it can be a complementary approach for providing water supply services. However only in some countries Self Supply is endorsed officially as one of the water supply strategy pillars. What is the relevance of Self Supply in the region you live in? What could be the potential? What is needed to realize this potential? We want to hear your experiences and ideas!
RWSN will host a three-week e-discussion on the realities of accelerating self supply from the 5th to 23th November 2012. It will cover the entire scope of topics, including technical, legal, institutional and financial aspects.
We are looking for a very wide participation from the national governments, local governments, private sector, NGOs, other networks and funding organizations including international organisations so please let people know about this.
The e-discussion is open to anyone who registers on http://dgroups.org/RWSN/selfsupply
If you have problems joining, please contact bertha.camacho @ skat.ch
------------------
New publications: RWSN/IFAD Series on Rural Water Supply
------------------
The Rural Water Supply Network (RWSN) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have, with support from SDC, prepared a series of five publications which bring together the key aspects of rural water supply programming. Each volume is a stand-alone document, but as a set, they cover the programme cycle from understanding the issues right through to implementation and reporting. [cid:image0...@01CDB2D9.6854FCE0]
* Volume 1: People, Politics, the Environment and Rural Water Supplies reflects on rural development, politics, environmental sustainability and how these relate to rural water supply services.
* Volume 2: A Virtuous Cycle for Rural Water Supplies presents a variety of support and implementation aspects, from sector coordination to mapping and more, that can contribute towards sustainable rural water service delivery.
* Volume 3: Guidelines and tools for Rural Water Supplies provides a structured annotated directory of over 40 useful guidelines and toolkits on rural water supplies.
* Volume 4: Finding information on rural water supplies is an overview of current information sources with respect to access to water supply sources, the national context, the natural environment and finance.
* Volume 5: National Monitoring of Rural Water Supplies documents experiences of national performance measurement for rural water supplies in Uganda and provides guidance for those interested in establishing such a process
There is also a new volume in the Cost Effective Boreholes series, supported by UNICEF, on ‘Supervising Water Well Drilling’ (ready for download) and another, ‘Procurement and Contract Management of Drilled Well Construction’ will be available mid-November.
All are downloadable from: http://tinyurl.com/c4tlhr7
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‘No Water, No Pay’ drilling contracts under scrutiny
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During September and October, RWSN hosted a lively e-discussion on cost effective boreholes and one of the hot topics that emerged was around ‘no water, no pay’ contracts – should drillers be paid for dry holes? The general consensus was that risks should be shared between the driller and the client but that there is no excuse for not doing proper hydrogeological investigations and having thorough drilling supervision.
Nearly 40 people from over 20 countries took part in the lively and detailed discussion. A synthesis of the discussion will be available on Dgroups and on the RWSN website very soon.
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Website Update
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More sections of the new RWSN website have been completed, of particular interest are:
* Handpump Overview: http://tinyurl.com/c3s5jhy
* Manual Drilling: http://tinyurl.com/cv5ry36
* Manual Drilling Training videos by Water4 Foundation http://tinyurl.com/d8p2dj5 and EnterpriseWorks/Practica/UNICEF: http://tinyurl.com/cc4yn8p
The handpump and manual drilling sections have been connected with Akvopedia’s Water Portal http://tinyurl.com/ydv5c3v and we will be working on further integration to make it easier for practitioners to find the right information.
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THEME NEWS
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Equity and Inclusion in Rural Water Supply Theme Co-ordinator: Louisa Gosling, WaterAid (LouisaGosling @ wateraid.org, Joseph Pearce )
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Water Point Mapping
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The RWSN Mapping group has been launched and boasts over 300 members from across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. We have 27 discussion threads with lively debate, where WASH practitioners, academics, policy makers and all interested parties are discussing everything mapping, including data collection methodologies, relevant indicators for measurement, cost of mapping, analysis technologies, and unique identification of water sources. There is also a library where several recent water point mapping publications and case studies have been uploaded, including reports from recent studies in Zambia and DRC, as well as the excellent Finding Information in Rural Water Supplies RWSN publication. Join here: http://dgroups.org/rwsn/mapping We are hoping to soon begin a structured discussion around a number of key themes within water point mapping. These will form the basis of a publication synthesising the experiences and lessons from across the RWSN mapping community – a publication authored by 300 people! So please get involved. We look forward to learning from you!
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Update on equity and inclusion in global monitoring of water supply
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The heat is on: the equity and non-discrimination working group has written up its recommendations for ensuring that post 2015 goals and targets properly reflect the importance of focusing on providing water and sanitation to the most marginalised and excluded groups in order to achieve universal coverage for water supply. On output was a two pager with bullet point recommendations for the equality checklist – with a focus on marginalised groups means paying attention to geographic inequality, to specific groups who are marginalised in different countries because of their caste, religion, ethnicity or lifestyle, and to people who are discriminated against in households and communities because of gender, disability, age or illness. Discussion documents from this are available here: http://tinyurl.com/ctgeoou
Keep up to date with the latest developments in Equity and Inclusion, and network with likeminded practitioners at: http://dgroups.org/RWSN/equity
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Accelerating Self Supply (ACCESS)
Theme Co-ordinator: André Olschewski, Skat (andre.olschewski @ skat.ch<mailto:andre.ol...@skat.ch>)
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Self Supply e-discussion – 5th – 23rd November
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E-discussions have proven to be a very inspiring and fruitful media to trigger discussion and exchange between practitioners in the field of rural water supply. In the period between 5.11.2012 and 23.11.2012 a moderated e-discussion will be launched by RWSN with focus on Accelerating Self Supply. The goal is to discuss urgent issues, to foster the network and to identify ways to further develop cooperation and exchange in this emerging topic. If you are interested to join and participate please log in through the RWSN Dgroup community. http://dgroups.org/RWSN/selfsupply
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Increasing support on all levels
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Self Supply as a service delivery model gets more and more accepted and supported in the sector. According to GLAAS there is growing evidence, that substantial financial means are invested by private actors and households in their water supplies. Where self supply is feasible and reasonable further promotion of self supply should capitalise from synergies from combined activities in the area of multiple uses (MUS) and CLTS. On the technology level relevant improvements have been achieved which will help to further promote Self Supply, e.g. in the field of reducing costs for low cost water filters on household level.
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The hidden resource: Experiences from Self Supply in Ethiopia
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A comprehensive report has been published recently by S. Sutton, J. Butterworth and L. Mekonta on experiences and challenges in accelerating self supply in Ethiopia. As one of the many interesting aspects covered the authors present results on water quality in wells of different level of protection. The publication advocates for a more differentiated analysis of water quality and level of improvements of water sources. Additionally the issue of combined use of water for supporting the acceleration self supply is stressed. http://tinyurl.com/c444xm7
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Keep up to date with the latest developments in Accelerating Self Supply, and network with likeminded practitioners at: http://dgroups.org/RWSN/selfsupply
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Sustainable Groundwater Development
Theme Co-ordinators: Kerstin Danert and Sean Furey, Skat (kerstin.danert @ skat.ch<mailto:kerstin.danert%20@%20skat.ch>, sean.furey @ skat.ch<mailto:sean....@skat.ch>)
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Cost of Practice for Cost Effective Boreholes – now in French! / Code de bonnes pratiques pour la réalisation de forages - Version française !
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Can be downloaded from: http://tinyurl.com/bqvq6hw
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Cost Effective Boreholes Webinar: 11th December 2012
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Following the successful e-discussion and publication of ‘Supervising Water Well Drilling’ field note http://tinyurl.com/d9x4lsa , RWSN and UNICEF will be hosting a webinar on professionalising water well drilling. Announcements will be made via http://dgroups.org/RWSN/groundwater
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Is the handpump dead?
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RWSN began as the Handpump Technology Network 20 years ago and today millions of handpumps are in use around the world today (and sadly many out of use). We have started a review of where the handpump is now and what needs to be done in future. Many old problems still exist, but new questions have also arisen, such as should solar pumping become the new mainstay of rural water services? So far the debate has shown that the handpump is alive and kicking but more work is needed to keep it a relevant technology for rural water services. http://dgroups.org/rwsn/handpump_services
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India Mark II: now in 3-D
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Andrew Miller, an RWSN member in the USA, has produced a set of fantastic 3 dimensional Computer Aid Design (CAD) files of the India Mark II. The files can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/csqmdjt which can be viewed using software than can be downloaded for free.
Keep up to date with the latest developments in Sustainable Groundwater Development, including discussions on handpump technologies and cost effective boreholes, and network with likeminded practitioners at: http://dgroups.org/RWSN/groundwater
=============
Management and Support for Rural Water Supply Theme Co-ordinators: Patrick Moriarty, Stef Smits, Marieke Adank, IRC (Moriarty @ irc.nl , smits @ irc.nl, adank @ irc.nl ), Julia Boulenouar (J.Boulenouar @ aguaconsult.co.uk)
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Manage & Support Workshop generates momentum
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On 2 & 3 of October, 26 RWSN practitioners from 12 countries came to The Hague, and more joined online, to listen and discuss to issues and experience of maintaining and extending rural water services. Presentations gave perspectives from Senegal, Kenya, Ghana, Ukraine, Madagascar, Brazil, Colombia and South Africa. From the discussions the following way forward was proposed:
* Agree on group’s vision and mission,
* Agree on list of topics for discussion with the wider group
* Identify “leaders” for each topic = Identify a core group committed to providing input in the working group,
* Identify key activities and agree collectively,
* Establish a workplan for year 1,
* Increase group membership (outreach strategy),
* Develop ToRs for the group.
You can find the presentations and workshop report here: http://tinyurl.com/cans4qe
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Management & Support E-discussion: 3 – 14 December 2012 Following on from the initial workshop a number of ideas and focus areas have been identified. In this short e-discussion, the first week will discuss the vision and objectives of the working group for Management & Support for Rural Water Supplies. The second week will look at specific activities from which project ideas and collaborations can come. The approach is to be as inclusive as possible, so if you weren’t able to make it to the workshop in the Hague you can still get involved. Register at http://dgroups.org/RWSN/managementsupport or contact Julia at J.Boulenouar @ aguaconsult.co.uk
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WASHCost Campaign
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IRC have launched an online campaign “the real cost of Sustainable WASH services” to promote the WASHCost’s life-cycle costs approach which calculates the long-term costs of lasting Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Services. For more details visit: www.irc.nl/page/75023<http://www.irc.nl/page/75023>
Further information: http://tinyurl.com/d6batsk
Keep up to date with the latest developments in Management and Support, and network with likeminded practitioners at: http://next.dgroups.org/RWSN/managementsupport
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RWSN Online
===================
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1. Find your way around
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We have produced two maps to help guide you around the new RWSN website and the various RWSN online platforms, including http://tinyurl.com/c2ducks. If you are still having problems then the new “Help!” page has a video tour of the website: http://www.rural-water-supply.net/en/websitehelp
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2. Update your profile
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As of writing this, RWSN has just over 2300 registered members from 93 countries on Dgroups – if you haven’t already, please check you profile and update your details and let us know where you are from. This information is very useful so that people with the same interest in the same country or region can connect more easily.
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3. Join the debates
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Our expanded online network means that more and more of you are sharing ideas and experiences, which is fantastic – please keep it up! Here are just gives a flavour of what has been discussed recently (and where):
* WASH and disability mapping study – Call for Information (Dgroups – Equity & Inclusion)
* Query about Solar Pumping (Dgroups – Sustainable Groundwater Development)
* WASH Inclusion in Constitution of Liberia (Dgroups – Water Point Mapping)
* Why physical unique identifiers on water points will improve sustainable services (Dgroups – Water Point Mapping)
* Mapping and analysis – Swaziland Case (Dgroups – Water Point Mapping)
* Crowdsourced mapping – Uganda (Dgroups – Water Point Mapping)
* Burkina Faso – Looking for alternative low cost drilling techniques for potable water (Dgroups – Hand Drilling Cluster Group)
* The government of India is advocating for 'drinking water security planning' to ensure required quantity and quality of water throughout the year. Are there any thoughts and experiences on this? (LinkedIn – RWSN Group)
* Does anyone know cases where water supply sources - open wells, tubes wells, ponds etc have been insured for failure? (LinkedIn – RWSN Group)
* Water point mapping is an important tool for the future and now the code for FLOW has been made open-source (LinkedIn – RWSN Group)
Thank you to everyone who has put in their time, enthusiasm and knowledge.
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4. Write a blog post (rwsnblog.wordpress.com<http://rwsnblog.wordpress.com/> )
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Blog posts are short articles that typically present an opinion or a topic, in this case related to rural water supply. It is a way of starting a debate or raising awareness of a particular issue. Since its launch the RWSN blog has attracted a large audience from all over the world and as well as original pieces we have republished relevant articles from other bloggers. It is a great way to keep up to date with some of the latest thinking in sector. Recent highlights have included:
* “Why physical unique identifiers on water points will improve sustainable services” by Susan Davis, Improve International
* “Realities of water well drilling in Africa: e-discussion highlights so far”
* “How did you wash up doing WASH?” by Sean Furey, Skat
* “RWSN Discusses Water Point Mapping” by Elizabeth Kleemeier
We also want to hear from your experiences of trying to implement projects or policies wherever you are, already we’ve been promised articles from Uganda and Zimbabwe so look out for those.
===================
Events
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Water and Health 2012,
29 October – 2 November, University of North Carolina, USA
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For those attending this year’s ‘Water and Health’ Conference, you may want to meet with other RWSN members at the monitoring and sustainability side events on Monday 29th October (http://tinyurl.com/cgg3ufp). The Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage Network are also holding their annual meeting (http://waterinstitute.unc.edu/hwts)
Sean, from the RWSN Secretariat will be attending the conference so if you have any issues about the network then please find him.
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2013: Year of International of Water Co-operation
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2013 will be the UN-Water year of Water Co-operation and the objective will be: “to raise awareness, both on the potential for increased cooperation, and on the challenges facing water management in light of the increase in demand for water access, allocation and services. The Year will highlight the history of successful water cooperation initiatives, as well as identify burning issues on water education, water diplomacy, transboundary water management, financing cooperation, national/international legal frameworks, and the linkages with the Millennium Development Goals.”
www.unwater.org/watercooperation2013/<http://www.unwater.org/watercooperation2013/>
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Symposium 2013: monitoring sustainable WASH service delivery,
9 to 11 April 2013, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
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Monitoring is critical for protecting the big infrastructure investments made over the last 10 years. Not only to know whether water systems are functioning, but also whether the systems are providing the water quantity and quality as agreed in norms and standards and whether they are providing reliable, affordable and accessible water services to all. The symposium is for the whole sector to discuss the many initiatives taken, at local, national, global UN and project level. http://www.irc.nl/page/72969
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Other events of interest
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§ 8 November 2012 : The ‘Water is Life: Amazzi Bulamu’ Project‘: “How can we make a difference - routes to progress” : Dublin, Ireland : RSVP Sonya Grimley sonya.grimley @ dkit.ie www.waterislife.ie<http://www.waterislife.ie>
§ 13-15 November 2012 : Water Safety Conference : Kampala, Uganda http://tinyurl.com/cdhdo8u
§ 29 November 2012 : Water Resources Quality (WRQ): Addressing geogenic arsenic and fluoride contamination : Eawag, Dübendorf, Switzerland : Contact Dr Annette Johnson (Annette.Johnson @ eawag.ch)
§ 15-17 January 2013 : The International Water Summit: Promoting water sustainability in arid regions : Abu Dhabi : www.iwsabudhabi.com<http://www.iwsabudhabi.com>
§ 5-7 February 2013 : GeoGen 2013 - Towards sustainable water supply in developing countries: The challenges of geogenic contaminants and mitigation measures : Addis Ababa, Ethiopia : www.eawag.ch/geogen2013<http://www.eawag.ch/geogen2013>
§ 18-23 March 2013 : Water Week Latinoamérica : Viña del Mar, Chile : Call for papers deadline: 9 November: www.waterweekla.com<http://www.waterweekla.com>
§ 1-6 September 2013 : World Water Week : Stockholm, Sweden : Theme - Water Cooperation - Building Partnerships : www.worldwaterweek.org<http://www.worldwaterweek.org>
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RECENT EVENT: 2nd UN-Water GLAAS Evaluation Meeting in Bern 2-3 October 2012
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The UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-water (GLAAS) monitors the inputs, and processes and their outputs (e.g. policies, investments, human resources) that influence the provision and sustainability of drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems and services. Following publication of a proof-of-concept report in 2008, GLAAS published two full reports in 2010 and 2012 – the latter covering 74 countries and 24 external support agencies. GLAAS is generally acknowledged as having gained itself a specific niche within the global WASH monitoring landscape.
The conclusions about GLAAS from its recent evaluation meeting were:
1) It is a low cost and high quality global monitoring product and process.
2) It allows us to unify forces to lobby for a water goal in the Post 2015 goals.
3) Water Quality should be included in the future water goals and reported by JMP and GLAAS.
4) We should strengthen alignment with national monitoring systems.
5) We need to improve link with others global, regional and national monitoring systems.
6) The presence of new actors (from emerging states) should be reinforced in the future.
For more details contact Bruce Gordon at the World Health Organisation.
===================
New Research, Publications and Websites
===================
* A Hidden Resource: Household-led rural water supply in Ethiopia (Sally Sutton, John Butterworth, Lemessa Mekonta) http://tinyurl.com/bmzkgo6
* A Well Construction Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA): For Water Supply Well Guidelines for use in Developing Countries (Jaynie Whinnery) http://tinyurl.com/cdk28ux
§ Biosand Filter Project Implementation materials: an illustrated bio-sand filter construction manual, a package of materials on constructing molds, instructions on conducting sand analysis and three case studies on bio-sand filters. Visit the site<http://www.cawst.org/en/resources/pubs/training-materials/category/12-biosand-filter-project-implementation>
* Community Management of Water Services Approaches, Innovations from Lango & Rwenzori regions (Jane Nabunnya, Lydia Mirembe, Peter Magara, Martin Watsisi, and Robert Otim) http://tinyurl.com/cwhvv4m
* Gobernanza y sostenibilidad de los sistemas de agua potable y saneamiento rurales en Colombia (Stef Smits, Shirley Paola Tamayo, Vanessa Ibarra, Johnny Rojas, Alberto Benavidez y Valérie Bey) http://www.irc.nl/page/73764
* NGOs in the Ugandan Water and Sanitation Sector: Performance Report for FY 2011/12, UWASNET http://tinyurl.com/coqtybe
* Water Supply Well Guidelines For Use In Developing Countries (2nd Edition, Oct 2012) (Stephen Scheider) http://tinyurl.com/cdk28ux
* Working Paper 7 - Assessing hygiene cost-effectiveness: a methodology (Amélie Dubé, Peter Burr, Alana Potter and Maarten van de Reep) http://www.washcost.info/page/2341
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FUNDING AND PRIZES
===================
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The First Stone Family Foundation Prize: Announcement due 1st November
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The Foundation launched the Stone Prize for innovation and entrepreneurship in water in February of this year. They received over 175 applications from almost 40 countries and will be announcing the prize-winner on 1 November 2012: http://www.thesff.com/
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2013 STARS Impact Awards - Deadline: 12 November
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STARS offers Impact Awards to charities in Africa-Middle East and Asia-Pacific working with children in the areas of Health, Education, Protection and WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene).To find out how to apply visit: www.starsfoundation.org.uk/apply/<http://www.starsfoundation.org.uk/apply/>
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REQUESTS for help
===================
Laurra Olmsted Executive Director of UniWater Education has asked us to pass on the following request:
“UniWater Education is currently assembling the curriculum for a new MSc program in Water Resources for Developing Countries. It consists of 12 modules of applied hydrogeology including the fundamentals of hydrogeoloy, applied basic hydrogeology, groundwater and geotechnics, hydrochemistry, groundwater geophysics, quantified hydrogeology, well hydraulics, groundwater contamination, integrated resource management, borehole drilling and completions, borehole geophysics and field school. It is intended that this program will be offered to sub-Saharan Africa universities in a bid to train more Africans to solve African water problems thereby reducing the dependence of Africans on foreign aid and expertise. Curricula can be uploaded quickly using the link on our website at www.UniWaterEd.org<http://www.UniWaterEd.org>”
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Membership and Subscription
===================
RWSN is free to join and now we have an online registration system! Please see the joining instructions at the end.
IMPORTANT! The RWSN emailed newsletter will be phased out at the end of 2012. From now on, the quarterly RWSN newsletter and other announcements will be sent via Dgroups.
If you don’t want to join Dgroups then please send us your current email address (to rural...@skat.ch<mailto:rural...@skat.ch> and we will continue to send the newsletter to you by email directly. However, you need to opt in to this service.
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Unsubscribe
===================
If you do not wish to continue to receive this newsletter, please let us know by sending an email to rural...@skat.ch<mailto:rural...@skat.ch> with the heading unsubscribe. After December 2012, RWSN will no longer be using this email list therefore if you haven’t registered on Dgroups you will not receive any further correspondence after that time.
__________
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