Household Water Newsletter Issue 55
Anthonj, Carmen
Dear Colleagues,
Hope you are all doing well.
Thank you to all of you who submitted announcements, requests and publications for this issue of our HWTS newsletter.
Highlights of this newsletter include
§ Dr. Aaron Salzberg Announced as the New Director at The Water Institute at UNC
§ Registration for UNC Water and Health Conference: Where Science Meets Policy is open
§ WaSH Policy Research Digest Issue #11, June 2019: Multiple Water Source Use
Please feel free to get in touch with me if you would like to share something with the Network. As usual, we welcome material such as recent publications, presentations, events, resources, calls for papers/proposals, etc. If you are seeking assistance with your program planning, you are also welcome to put a request out to the community. Or you may be a researcher and would like to share your research question with others or seek input or contacts for your work.
You may review the guidelines and submit your contribution here: https://hwts.web.unc.edu/newsletter-contributions/.
Best regards,
Carmen Anthonj
Dr. Carmen Anthonj
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
carmen....@unc.edu, 919.966.7644
Save the Dates:
2019 Water & Health Conference, October 7-11 in Chapel Hill, NC, USA
Household Water Newsletter, Issue 55
July 2019
Work and Funding Opportunities
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REQUESTS
The Water Institute Announces Dr. Aaron Salzberg as the New Director
An international leader in global water policy, peace and security, Aaron Salzberg, PhD, has been selected to be the Don and Jennifer Holzworth Distinguished Professor and director of The Water Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Salzberg joins the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering as a long-established leader in water policy. As director of The Water Institute at UNC, Salzberg aims to change the way the world works on water through scientific discovery, technical innovation and policy leadership. Salzberg’s primary goal is to merge policy and practice and focus the Water Institute on advancing real-world solutions to the most pressing water and sanitation challenges. He also will help to inspire the next set of policy leaders, practitioners and researchers who will lead the world toward a more water secure future. Salzberg succeeds Jamie Bartram, the inaugural Water Institute director, who launched the Water Institute in 2010 to “provide global academic leadership for economically, environmentally, socially and technically sustainable management of water, sanitation and hygiene for equitable health and human development” and who retired from UNC in June. Please find the full announcement here.
Dr. Aaron Salzberg, Director of The Water Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
UNC Water and Health Conference: Where Science Meets Policy - Record Number of Abstracts and Side Event Proposals Submitted this Year. Online Registration
The 2019 UNC Water and Health Conference: Where Science Meets Policy will take place in Chapel Hill, USA from 7th – 11th October, 2019. The conference, organized by the Water Institute at UNC explores drinking water supply, sanitation, hygiene and water resources in both the developing and developed worlds with a strong public health emphasis. This year, a record number of abstracts and side event proposals were submitted. The conference focuses on humanitarian WaSH, WaSH financing and markets, climate variability and water security, evidence based WaSH and WaSH and environmental health. Early Bird Registration Deadline is July 10th, 2019. Conference registration, speakers and schedule details can be found on the conference website.
World Vision WaSH in Healthcare Facilities Commitments at the WaSH in Healthcare Facilities Stakeholder Commitments Gathering: Ensuring Clean Health Care Facilities
World Vision and partners commit to providing basic water, sanitation, and hygiene service in 800 rural health care facilities serving an estimated 7.2 million people at a cost of approximately $100 million between 2019 and 2021. The work will be done in 35 countries where World Vision focuses our WASH efforts with a special focus on Ghana, India, Malawi, Mali, Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Key partners of this commitment will include charity: water, Grundfos, the CDC, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, the Dornsife Family, Golf Fore Africa, Midmark Corporation, Robert and Laura Abernathy, the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Wells Bring Hope. For more information please contact Dr. Greg Allgood, Vice President, World Vision US at gall...@worldvision.org. More information can also be found here. The full commitment is attached to this newsletter.
Special Issue on IOT and Analytics for Development in Sustainability
Monitoring and managing distributed water, sanitation, agricultural, and energy resources and services in remote and/or low-income regions are increasingly important as population pressures and climate change impact the reliability of these resources. The Special Issue on "Internet of Things, Remote Sensing and Analytics to Support Distributed Monitoring and Management of Water, Sanitation, Agricultural and Energy Resources in Remote and Low Income Regions" in Sustainability aims to present and review emerging methods and technologies including “internet of things” sensor systems, cellular-based data collection, remote sensing, machine learning, and other analytical tools designed to support the remote monitoring and management of water, sanitation, agricultural, and energy resources in remote and/or low-income regions. Deadline for manuscript submissions: 29 February 2020. For more information please contact the Guest Editor of this issue, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evan Thomas of the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder at eth...@colorado.edu. More information can also be found here.
VERGNET HYDRO Odial Solutions Group - Togo: A Solar-Based Technical Feat to Open Access to Drinking Water to 2,000 Rural People
The Togolese Ministry for Water, Rural Equipment and Village Water Systems announced that it has awarded a solar-powered water supply and installation contract to the joint-venture composed of the companies Vergnet Hydro and ECM (Lomé, Togo), aiming at providing more than 2,000 rural people from the Région des Savanes (Northern Togo) with drinking water. The project consists of installing solar-powered drinking water supply systems in different villages. This project also has an important social dimension. The introduction of the new equipment aims at reducing the geographical marginalization in these villages while relieving the many challenges they are facing.
Rural people drawing water from a standpipe, lately installed by ECM as part of the BORNEFONDEN project in the Région des Plateaux, similar to those which are going to be installed in the context of the current project (photo credit: ECM).
Point-of-Use (PoU) Treatment Systems: A Viable Alternative to ensure Safe Drinking Water in Isolated, Hilly Regions, and Rural Communities of Northeast States in India
North Eastern India has a unique water supply problem since most of the household are on hill tops; consequently, providing potable water on the hills remains a challenge. Government interventions have not been sustainable. The community depends on traditional springs, where water sources are susceptible to microbial contamination. Tata Trusts has PoU water treatment systems as low-cost, scalable, and effective solution to provide access to safe drinking water in this hilly region. For more information please contact Rajat Pati, Area Manager of Tata Trusts at rp...@tatatrusts.org.
HWTS Network on Twitter
We are intensifying our HWTS twitter activities and share interesting events, publications, trainings, webinars, infographics, stories, job opportunities and much more every week. We welcome all members’ contributions. Our twitter username is @household_water. We will post urgent information on twitter, so, check in periodically with us on twitter. We look forward to hearing from you, learning more about what you’re doing and what’s going on, and sharing stories with you!
WEBINARS, COURSES , AND EVENTS
Low-Cost Sanitation Course for Rural Households – August 13th – 15th 2019, Mzuzu, Malawi
The Mzuzu University Centre of Excellence in Water and Sanitation (Malawi) invites stakeholders to a three day course on low-cost sanitation. The focus of this course will be low-cost sanitation in support of ending open defecation in rural areas. A practical exercise will be included to build a corbelled latrine and sanitation marketing principles. For registration please contact mzuni...@gmail.com.
BushProof Technical Training in Water Infrastructure – September 2nd – 7th 2019, Antananarivo, Madagascar
The BushProof Technical Training in Water Infrastructure is a broad, intense 6-day course with a heavy practical bias, providing an opportunity to learn through both theoretical and hands-on practical sessions. The training is addressed to both those who need more technical input for their work, as well as for those in management who find they have become more and more involved in water and/or sanitation programmes, but lack the basic technical and theoretical background. The training covers subjects such as drilling and well design, water treatment methodologies including jar tests, and pipe design for both gravity and pumped systems. For more information please contact Eric Fewster, Training facilitator at ericf...@bushproof.com. More information can also be found here.
Conference: What is the Future of Water in Public Health? December 12th, 2019 at University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
This one-day conference for students, health researchers and water professionals serves to share the latest advances in health-related water topics and network with others in the field. Topics will cover microbiology, chemical contamination, and engineering measures, and will include a mix of keynote sessions, abstract sessions and poster sessions. More information can be found here.
WORK AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
For WASH sector job listings, please refer to the Relief Web Jobs site, or Josh’s
Water Jobs site. If you wish to share an education, job, or funding opportunity with the Network, please tell us by email at carmen....@unc.edu or hhw...@who.int.
PUBLICATIONS
WaSH Policy Research Digest Issue #11: Multiple Water Source Use
The WaSH Policy Research Digest is issued quarterly by The Water Institute at UNC and comprises a review of a recent article or report, and a short literature review on a WaSH topic. It provides objective, concise, and timely information to advise WaSH policy development. The June Issue of the Digest examines the use of multiple water sources by households in two small island developing states; a phenomenon that can contribute to resilience, especially to climate-related change. The accompanying literature review adds insight into the extent to which multiple source use occurs globally, and the risks and advantages associated with it. Find the publication here and attached to this newsletter. To subscribe to the Digest and to get updates on related webinars, please go here.
Faster and safer: Research Priorities in Water and Health
The SDGs reiterated the need for safe water and healthy lives across the globe. A meeting of experts, students, and practitioners set the stage for development of an inclusive and evidence-based research agenda on water and health. Perceived research priorities as well as underlying drivers and adaptation needs were gathered. Under a common driver of public health protection, primary research priorities included the socio economy of water, risk assessment and management, and improved monitoring methods and intelligence. Adaptations stemming from these drivers included translating existing knowledge to providing safe and timely services to support the diversity of human water needs. The resulting comprehensive agenda of topics at the forefront of water and health research can frame and inform collective efforts of water and health researchers over the coming decades, contributing to improved water services, public health, and socioeconomic outcomes. Find this paper by Setty et al. here.
Leaving No One Behind: Evaluating Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Vulnerable and Marginalized Groups
This paper examines the UNECE/WHO-Europe ‘Equitable Access Scorecard’ for assessing the access to WASH services by vulnerable and marginalized groups. It analyses strengths and limitations as a tool for revealing the needs of these groups in accessing WASH services; and proposes an extended variant of the score-card that addresses these limitations. Local-level case studies from Peru and Spain are used. The score-card diagnosis is found to be particularly useful for collecting information on the level of access of the different vulnerable and marginalized groups, as well as the specific public policies and funding mechanisms in place that address and support their needs. However, it should be complemented with specific assessments of all five normative dimensions of the human rights to water and sanitation (access, availability, quality, acceptability and affordability) in order to have a better understanding of the concerns for service delivery for the different vulnerable and marginalized groups. Find this paper by Ezbakhe et al. here.
Understanding the Effect of Socio-Economic Characteristics and Psychosocial Factors on Household Water Treatment Practices in Rural Nepal Using Bayesian Belief Networks
This paper presents a novel approach to assess the usage of household water treatment (HWT), using data from households in mid and far-western rural Nepal. A Bayesian belief network model is developed that integrates socio-economic characteristics and psychosocial factors. It reveals that the adoption of technology is influenced by the psychosocial factors norms, followed by the knowledge level for operating the technology. Education, wealth level, and being exposed to the promotion of HWT were the most influential socio-economic characteristics. Households that were connected to a piped water scheme have a higher probability of HWT adoption compared to other types of water sources. Interventions that only target single socio-economic characteristics do not effectively boost the probability of HWT practice. However, interventions addressing several socio-economic characteristics increase the probability of HWT adoption among the target groups. Find this paper by Daniel et al. here.
Reduced Exposure to Lead in the USA
Average national blood lead levels have declined by more than 95% from 16 µg/dL to less than 0.84 µg/dL since 1976-1980. Primary reduction occurred by eliminating leaded gasoline and lead paint; additionally, eliminating lead from food can and water pipe solders, drinking water corrosion control, removing lead service lines, and brass water fixtures reformulations. Solving problems is effective when benefits are measurable as from blood lead measurements. Corrosion control with phosphates has been successful at minimizing lead release from home plumbing. Eliminating lead paint and galvanized water pipe should continue. The Flint incident stimulated efforts to address issues (e.g. schools). Fortunately, the data show that very high child exposures did not occur; blood lead levels were far below the 1976-1980 period. The Lead and Copper Rule must be applied by water suppliers and enforced by regulators. The rule could be modified and simplified, but it has been successful, when enforced. For more information or a copy of this paper please contact Joseph Cotruvo, Joseph Cotruvo & Associates LLC, Washington, DC, USA, at joseph....@verizon.net.
Effects of a Large-Scale Distribution of Water Filters and Natural Draft Rocket-Style Cookstoves on Diarrhea and Acute Respiratory Infection: A Cluster-Randomized Controlled Trial in Western Province, Rwanda
In the context of an intervention program that delivered and promoted the use of an advanced table-top water filter and portable biomass-burning cookstove to over 101,000 low-income households in Rwanda, we conducted a cluster-randomized trial to assess intervention use, drinking water quality, air quality, diarrhea and acute respiratory infections (ARI) among children under 5. A total of 1,582 households from 174 village-sized clusters were enrolled and visited every 4 months for a year after receiving the intervention filter and stove. The intervention reduced 7-day prevalence of diarrhea by 29% and ARI by 25%, although intervention use decreased throughout follow-up; drinking water quality improved, but adult and child personal exposures to PM2.5 remained unchanged despite increased outdoor cooking. Additional research is necessary to assess sustained benefits and identify effects, if any, on more serious cases of infection, and explore the potential synergistic effects of diarrhea, respiratory infections, and combined household-level interventions. Find this paper by Kirby et al. here.
On Considering Climate Resilience in Urban Water Security: A Review of the Vulnerability of the Urban Poor in Sub‐Saharan Africa
This review explores the vulnerability of the urban poor to floods, droughts, and cholera in Sub‐Saharan Africa, highlighting the structural challenges and systemic inequalities that are increasing the vulnerability of the urban poor including the differential experiences of women and children. It reveals that poor people have: unequal opportunities to cope with shocks, being deprived from access to water services that wealthier households have; their needs are inequitably ignored; and cumulative vulnerability that reverberates climate shocks into smaller consequences that can have dramatic effects. Building on the urban climate resilience literature the authors argue that policy makers and practitioners must consider who water security is for. Find this paper by Grasham et al. here.
Does Activated Silver Reduce Recontamination Risks in the Reservoirs of Ceramic Water Filters?
Efforts to provide safe water are challenged by recontamination and regrowth of pathogens in treated water during storage. This study evaluated the potential of metallic silver with a chemically etched surface to reduce recontamination risks during water storage in ceramic water filters. Batch experiments were conducted in the laboratory with water storage buckets containing three configurations of varying amounts of silver. Field trials in rural Kenya assessed the effect of the same configurations in the storage buckets of locally produced ceramic pot filters without colloidal silver coating. The etched silver slightly reduced microbiological recontamination risks during water storage despite the low diffusion of silver ions. The effect was strongly influenced by water chemistry parameters. A significant difference in the removal of E. coli and total coliforms was found between households using a filter with silver in the water reservoir and those using a filter without silver. The presence of silver in the reservoir and cleaning the filter element with a brush were associated with a better filter performance. Find this paper by Meierhofer et al. here.
EVENT CALENDAR
2019 Water & Health Conference: 7th – 11th October, 2019 in Chapel Hill, NC, USA
What is the future of water in Public Health? 12th December, 2019 in Sheffield, UK
BushProof Technical Training in Water Infrastructure: 2nd – 7th September, 2019 in Antananarivo, Madagascar
For WASH and water-related event listings, please refer to the International Institute for Sustainable Development’s Water Policy & Practice Calendar. If you know of an upcoming international, regional or national event which the HWTS/WASH community should be aware of, please tell us by email at hwtsn...@unc.edu.
About this newsletter: This newsletter is produced by the Water Institute at the University of North Carolina in collaboration with WHO and UNICEF as co-hosts of the International Network on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage. Past issues are available at http://hwts.web.unc.edu/newsletter/. For further information or to unsubscribe, please contact Dr. Carmen Anthonj at hwtsn...@unc.edu
Submissions: Contributions to the newsletter are welcome. Please refer to the guidelines on the Water Institute website.
Disclaimer: This publication does not necessarily represent the decisions or policies of the World Health Organization or the United Nations Children’s Fund. Any mention of specific companies or manufacturers’ products does not imply that they are endorsed or recommended by the World Health Organization or the United Nations Children’s Fund.