Household Water Newsletter Issue 58
Anthonj, Carmen
Dear Colleagues,
On behalf of the HWTS Network Secretariat, let me first of all wish you a wonderful, happy, healthy new year! We hope you had a wonderful holiday, and 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 first 2020 newsletter include
- Report of the HWTS Annual Meeting at the 2019 UNC Water & Health Conference in October 2019 in Chapel Hill
- Numerous interesting publications that were shared by network members
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
Household Water Newsletter, Issue 58
January 2020
Announcements and Requests
Webinars, Courses, and Events
Work and Funding Opportunities
Publications
Event Calendar
Outcomes of the Annual Meeting of the International Network on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage at the 2019 UNC Water & Health Conference in October 2019 in Chapel Hill
The Annual Meeting of the International Network on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage took place on Friday, 11 October 2019, during the 2019 UNC Water and Health Conference: Where Science Meets Policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA. The meeting provided an opportunity to share the latest in research, implementation and policy on HWTS and water safety, to discuss the future of the network in sub-groups, as well as HWTS implementation and emerging issues in HWTS. Updates on research were presented by Batsirai Majuru (World Health Organization). Rick Johnston (Joint Monitoring Programme at the World Health Organization) reported on emerging technologies and their critical role in rapid water quality testing, and Mark Sobsey (University of North Carolina) reported on innovative water treatment options. Moderated by Millie Adam (CAWST), four groups, focusing on i) performance standards, ii) markets for HWTS, iii) reaching the most vulnerable and iv) increasing adoption and sustainability, discussed the future of HWTS and the network. Moreover, three current topics of HWTS implementation were presented by network members:
§ Point of collection treatment. What does it mean for the HWTS Network Scheme? Presented by Kevin O’Callaghan (Aquatabs / Medentech)
§ Quality control and manufacturing consistency of ceramic pot filters, presented by Jennifer Mally (Potters for Peace)
§ Utility approach to scale HWTS in Ethiopia, presented by Henk Holtslag (SMART Centre Group)
The full meeting report of the 2019 Annual Meeting of the International Network on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage is attached to this newsletter.
INDIA NGO Provides Safe Drinking Water for the Shelter Inmates
Integrated Development Initiatives & Alternatives Foundation (INDIA NGO) is running a special shelter for women in Stanley Medical College and Hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. The shelter, created by Greater Corporation of Chennai, provides a building for individuals accompanying the patients to stay over night. India NGO is responsible for the maintenance of the shelter, and provides safe drinking water, as well as orientation on hand washing with soap during critical times to the inmates, to promote their own and their families’ health and well-being. For more information, please contact Director S Krishnamurthy at sanitation...@gmail.com or Secretary Subbulakshmi Subbiah at subbui...@gmail.com.
International Water Association: Top 5 Blogs of 2019
IWA has published numerous blogs throughout 2019 and the top 5 of most read blogs include
1. Running out of Water: Cities shifting from 24/7 to intermittent water supply
2. Current and future challenges for water resources management
3. Are microplastics a challenge for wastewater treatment?
4. Artificial intelligence basics for advanced water wise utilities – Part 1
5. Data is the new water: Data revolutions to ensure no one is left behind and achieve SDG.
Read the top 5 IWA blogs here.
pS-Eau Issue #9 of Resources
pS-Eau has released the latest issue of resources, a selection of open access reports, research papers or articles and books from the English and French literature on water, sanitation and hygiene matters, gathered and read by pS-Eau during the last months. This 9th issue includes some recent publications launched during the World Water Week in Stockholm in August 2019, as well as a special focus on solid waste management. Find it attached to this newsletter. You can visit the pS-Eau database for full references here or find the previous issues of resources here. pS-Eau welcomes any references that you find interesting. Contact Colette Génevaux at gene...@pseau.org.
Odial Solutions: Staff and 21 Partners meet in Yamoussoukro to Anticipate together Evolutions in the Water Sector
The Odial Solutions group and its subsidiaries Vergnet Hydro and UDUMA brought together their teams and 21 representatives of partner companies from 14 Sub-Saharan African countries in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, in November 2019. This seminar, which involved brainstorming sessions, information sessions and cultural outings, strengthened their network of local partners. It was an opportunity to present to them the group's vision, the evolutions of Odial Solution’s product and service ranges, good after-sales service practices, and to anticipate together the evolutions of the sector. Find the press release attached to this newsletter.
|
|
|
Staff and partners meet in Yamoussoukro to anticipate together evolutions in the water sector (photo credit: Odial Solutions). |
UDUMA MALI SA - Mali: Launch of a New, Innovative and Sustainable 15-year Drinking Water Service for 560.000 People in the Bougouni Region
The Malian company UDUMA MALI SA, a subsidiary of the French group Odial Solutions officially launched its new, innovative and sustainable drinking water service in November in the village of Tiéfala. This service will supply 560.000 villagers from the Bougouni region with a reliable access to water for over the next 15 years, through a fleet of 1.400 manual pumps. UDUMA MALI has already signed public service delegation contracts with 11 municipalities in the Cercles of Bougouni, Kolondieba and Yanfolila. Find the press release attached to this newsletter.
|
|
|
|
Launch of new, innovative, sustainable 15-year drinking water service in the Bougouni region (photo credit: UDUMA MALI SA). |
|
What is happening in Research and Development for Improving the Safety of Water?
The Water & Risk Newsletter brings recent and future projects from the academia, NGOs and others to attention of the WASH community. Projects featured in the newsletter focus on improving safe water and wastewater management and water-related risk communication covering a wide range of up-to-date topics, from antimicrobial resistance to climate change to sanitation technology. The Water & Risk Newsletter is published biannually by the Institute for Hygiene and Public Health at the University of Bonn, WHO Collaborating Centre (WHO CC) for Health Promoting Water Management & Risk Communication. The most recent WHOCC Water & Risk Newsletter #29 is attached to this issue of the HWTS Newsletter, and all other issues can be found here. If you wish to subscribe, make suggestions on topics or improvements or contribute to the newsletter, please contact Dr. Andrea Rechenburg and Valentina Grossi at wh...@ukbonn.de.
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
HWTS PLUS Water Quality Testing Workshop, hosted by A Vision for Clean Water, April 23th-26th, 2020 in in Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada
This workshop has been designed for those interested in starting or strengthening HWTS projects in low- and middle-income countries and those working within water, sanitation, community development, and/or health projects. By end of these 4 days participants will have gained knowledge and skills to implement and monitor household water treatment and safe storage and small community water supply system projects in low- and middle-income countries, and be familiar with different water quality testing methods. Find more information here.
WORK AND FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES
Water Witness Practice Lead - Research, Edinburgh: Call for Applications
Water Witness is seeking an exceptional individual with the experience, skills and vision needed to coordinate the ground-breaking, multi-country Accountability for Water Research Programme which aims to strengthen citizen responsive water governance, climate resilience and WASH service delivery across Africa. The post-holder will lead evidence generation and knowledge management across our growing operations. The successful candidate will require exceptional competence in the design, delivery, and documentation of interdisciplinary research, as well as in the provision of technical support to a dispersed group of diverse partners. They will drive the uptake and application of knowledge generated and stimulate positive change for vulnerable people across the countries of operation. This is an excellent opportunity for a gifted individual to shape global research, policy and practice on accountability, advocacy and governance for sustainable and inclusive development. Closing date: 6 February 2020. Find further details here.
Water Witness Practice Lead – Water Stewardship, Edinburgh: Call for Applications
This influential position will place the successful applicant at the heart of global efforts to unlock sustainable, climate resilient and inclusive economic development through the uptake of credible water stewardship by the private sector, investors and key government agencies. The Practice Lead will provide sound technical advice and leadership support to the water stewardship programmes in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia, South Africa, and Malawi and will guide the strategic development and strengthening of the Alliance for Water Stewardship - Africa. The successful candidate will possess the skills, experience and creative energy needed to shape our wider water stewardship portfolio and play a key role in redefining corporate responsibility on water through cutting-edge programmes, investigations and advocacy. Closing date: 6 February 2020. Find further details here.
Water Witness Regional Programme Manager, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Call for Applications
Water Witness is seeking an experienced Ethiopian professional with the competences and vision needed to successfully deliver complex water stewardship programmes, and to provide the strategic leadership required to transition the Alliance for Water Stewardship Africa into a fully autonomous, inclusive and high impact regional entity. The postholder will lead the Putting water stewardship to work for Ethiopia programme which will support and learn from AWS standard implementation across Ethiopia’s Industrial Parks, and garment, textile and cotton sectors. The role will require mentoring, training and coordination of staff and partners; programme planning, problem solving and reporting; external liaison, partnership development and fundraising; as well as strategic understanding and technical experience in water. This is an opportunity for an accomplished professional to shape sustainable and equitable development in Ethiopia, Africa and globally and to further establish their credentials as a dynamic leader for positive change. Closing date: 6 February 2020. Find further details here.
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.
Challenges in Assessing the Regional Feasibility of Local Water Storage
The regional effects of local water storage are largely unknown. This study identifies, categorizes and discusses the challenges in assessing the potential of local water storage. These are illustrated using a structured method applied to a Dutch case. We conclude that the focus must shift from storage ‘potential’ (the quantity of water that can be stored) to storage ‘feasibility’, which depends on exploitability, purpose and interactions between storage alternatives. Spatial and temporal scale also influence feasibility. Finally, farmers’ investment preferences are a factor, though these are shrouded in uncertainty. This overview is a first step towards improving storage assessment tools and processes. Find the publication by Nikkels et al. here.
Chlorination Disinfection By-Products in Drinking Water and Congenital Anomalies: Review and Meta-Analyses
The aim of this study by Nieuwenhuijsen et al. was to review epidemiologic evidence, provide summary risk estimates of the association between exposure to chlorination disinfection by-products (DBPs) and congenital anomalies, and recommendations for future studies. All published epidemiologic studies that evaluated a relationship between an index of DBP exposure and risk of congenital anomalies were included. When three or more studies examined the same exposure index and congenital anomaly, a meta-analysis was conducted to obtain a summary risk estimate comparing the highest exposure group with the lowest exposure group. When five or more studies examined total trihalomethane (TTHM) exposure and a specific congenital anomaly, we conducted a meta-analysis to obtain exposure-response risk estimates per 10 microg/L TTHM. For all congenital anomalies combined, the meta-analysis gave a statistically significant excess risk for high versus low exposure to water chlorination or TTHM based on a small number of studies. The meta-analysis also suggested a statistically significant excess risk for ventricular septal defects. Little evidence for publication bias was found, except for urinary tract defects and cleft lip and palate. Although some individual studies have suggested an association between chlorination disinfection by-products and congenital anomalies, meta-analyses of all currently available studies demonstrate little evidence of such an association. Find it here.
Detection of Drinking Water Contamination Event with Mahalanobis Distance Method, using On-line Monitoring Sensors and Manual Measurement Data
The goal of the study was the event detection performance of the Mahalanobis distance method in combination with on-line drinking water (DW) quality monitoring sensors and manual measurements of grab samples for potential DW biological contamination scenarios. In this study three contamination scenarios were simulated in a pilot-scale DW distribution system: untreated river water, groundwater and wastewater intrusion, which represent realistic contamination scenarios and imply biological contamination. Temperature, electrical conductivity, total organic carbon, chlorine ion, oxidation–reduction potential, pH sensors and turbidity measurements were used as on-line sensors and for manual measurements. Novel adenosine-triphosphate and flow cytometric measurements were used for biological water quality evaluation. The results showed contamination detection probability from 56% to 89%, where the best performance was obtained with manual measurements. The probability of false alarm was 5–6% both for on-line and manual measurements. The Mahalanobis distance method with DW quality sensors has a good potential to be applied in early warning systems. However, the sustainability of the on-line measurement system and/or the detection algorithm should be improved. Find this paper by Dejus et al., which won the Water Supply Best Paper Award 2018, here.
Geographical Inequalities in Drinking Water in the Solomon Islands
This paper reports drinking water sources and services in the Solomon Islands and examines geographical inequalities. Based on two quantitative baseline datasets of rural and urban households, different drinking water variables and a composite index, drinking water service level, are analyzed. There are substantive rural-urban drinking water inequalities. Urban households are more likely to: use improved drinking water sources, need less time to collect water, collect more water, store their water more safely, treat water prior to consumption, perceive their water quality as better and have an at least basic drinking water service than rural households. There are also provincial and center-periphery inequalities in drinking water access, with more centrally located provinces using piped water supplies and more distant and remote provinces using rainwater and surface water as their primary source. There are also inter-national inequalities. Out of all Pacific Island Countries, the Solomon Islands have among the lowest access to basic drinking water services. This study highlights that all identified dimensions of inequality - rural-urban, provincial, center-periphery and inter-national - need to be explicitly recognized and addressed and included in pro-equity monitoring, policy and programming efforts by the Solomon Islands Government and stakeholders to reduce inequalities as per the Agenda 2030. Find the publication by Anthonj et al. here.
Groundwater and Welfare: A Conceptual Framework applied to Coastal Kenya
This study provides empirical evidence of the existing links between groundwater and poverty using welfare metrics versus productive uses of water, groundwater table depth, drinking water services and groundwater dependency with data obtained from a household socio-economic survey, a water audit of water infrastructure and volumetric usage from water data transmitters. Results show that the bottom welfare households are characterized by greater dependency on shallow groundwater, less acceptable drinking water services by taste, reliability, affordability or accessibility but not quantity. Productive use of groundwater for livestock accrues to the middle welfare quintiles with the bottom and top welfare quintiles by choice or exclusion having little engagement. Groundwater productive uses, services and characteristics explain at least 17% of the variation in a households' welfare with productive uses particularly benefiting female headed households. These findings suggest that ancillary investments to improve affordability and reliability of rural water services will be needed to enhance welfare of the poor who depend on groundwater systems. Further, such knowledge of the relationships between water and welfare can support the formulation of policies and strategies aimed at poverty reduction, inclusive growth and access to safe water for all. Find the paper by Katuva et al. here.
Household Water Sharing: A Review of Water Gifts, Exchanges, and Transfers across Cultures
Water sharing offers insight into the everyday and, at times, invisible ties that bind people and households with water and to one another. Water sharing can take many forms, including so‐called “pure gifts,” balanced exchanges, and negative reciprocity. In this study, water sharing between households as a culturally embedded practice that may be both need‐based and symbolically meaningful is examined. Wutich et al. describe how households practice water sharing cross‐culturally in the context of four livelihood strategies (hunter‐gatherer, pastoralist, agricultural, and urban), and explore how cross‐cutting material conditions (risks and costs/benefits, infrastructure and technologies), socioeconomic processes (social and political power, water entitlements, ethnicity and gender, territorial sovereignty), and cultural norms (moral economies of water, water ontologies, and religious beliefs) shape water sharing practices. Five new directions for future research on water sharing are identified: conceptualization of water sharing; exploitation and status accumulation through water sharing, biocultural approaches to the health risks and benefits of water sharing, cultural meanings and socioeconomic values of waters shared; and water sharing as a way to enact resistance and build alternative economies. Find this paper here.
Predicting Quality and Quantity of Water used by Urban Households based on Tap Water Service
Despite significant progress in improving access to safe water globally, inadequate access remains a major public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. Data on the bacterial quality of stored drinking water and the quantity of water used domestically in households in Democratic Republic of the Congo were collected and an indicator of tap water availability was constructed using invoices from georeferenced piped water connections. Jeandron et al. examined how well this indicator predicts the probability that a household’s stored drinking water is contaminated with E. coli, and the total amount of water used at home daily, accounting for distance from alternative surface water sources. More than 80% of the households are predicted to store contaminated drinking water in areas closest to the rivers and with the worst tap water service, where river water is also the most likely reported source of drinking water. A model including household composition predicts nearly two-thirds of the variability in the reported quantity of water used daily at home. Households located near surface water and with a poor tap water service indicator are more likely to use water directly at the source. The results provide valuable information that supports an ongoing large-scale investment in water supply infrastructure designed to reduce the high burden of cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases. This approach may be useful in other urban settings with limited water supply access. Find the publication here.
Strengthening drinking-water surveillance using risk-based approaches
The framework for safe drinking-water recommended by the WHO guidelines for drinking-water quality promotes a risk-based preventive management approach to ensure safety of drinking-water. Independent drinking-water surveillance is one of the core components of this framework and is an essential public health function. To be effective, drinking-water surveillance needs to be aligned with risk-based principles, including prioritization of monitoring parameters and surveillance efforts based on water safety plan outcomes. Risk-based drinking-water surveillance comprises an independent and periodic review of all aspects of drinking-water quality and public health safety in which water-quality monitoring, on-site inspections, hazard identification and risk and trend analysis are important components. Applying a risk-based approach in drinking-water surveillance helps countries to focus on the issues that are most important for the protection of public health and so maximizes the benefits that can accrue from limited resources. Find the report here.
Surveillance and outbreak management of water-related infectious diseases associated with water-supply systems
The Protocol on Water and Health to the 1992 Convention on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes is the key policy instrument for promoting better health through effective water management and water-related disease surveillance. Despite high access rates to improved water supplies, drinking-water supply systems are among the most important sources of water-related infectious diseases (WRID) posing a threat to public health in the pan-European region. This publication by the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe addresses surveillance and outbreak management of WRID associated with drinking-water supply systems, building on existing guidelines for infectious disease surveillance and outbreak response. It aims to help countries to build on and strengthen their systems by providing technical information on the specific features, activities and methodologies related to WRID surveillance and outbreak management. Find the report here.
The Link between Mental Health and Safe Drinking Water Behaviors in a Vulnerable Population in rural Malawi
This cross-sectional study by Slekiene and Mosler (2019) from rural Malawi assesses whether there is a relationship between mental health and safe water behaviors, and if so, whether the motivational drivers of these behaviors are affected by mental health. A significant negative association between mental health and self-reported safe water collection was detected, but not between safe water transportation and storage behavior. Moreover, there are significant interaction effects of mental health with some psychosocial factors and therefore on WASH behaviors. Poor mental health changed the influence of three psychosocial factors-perceived others' behavior, commitment, and remembering-on safe drinking water collection behavior. The influence on water transportation and storage behavior of the perceived severity of contracting a disease, the belief that transporting and storing water requires substantial effort, and others' approval depended on the mental health condition of the respondent. These results imply that populations with a significant proportion of individuals with poor mental health will benefit from interventions to mitigate mental health before or parallel to behavioral change interventions for WASH. Specific population-level interventions have been shown to have a positive effect on mental well-being, and they have been successfully applied at scale. This research is especially relevant in emergency contexts. Find the publication here.
Understanding the Impacts of Short‐Term Climate Variability on Drinking Water Source Quality: Observations From Three Distinct Climatic Regions in Tanzania
Climate change is expected to increase waterborne diseases especially in developing countries. However, an understanding of how different types of water sources are affected by climate change, and thus, where to prioritize future investments and improvements to maximize health outcomes, is lacking. This is due to limited knowledge of the relationships between source water quality and the observed variability in climate conditions. To address this gap, a 20‐month observational study was conducted in Tanzania. Nine rounds of microbiological water quality sampling were conducted for E. coli and total coliforms, at three study sites within different climatic regions. To identify relationships between water quality and short‐term climate variability, Bayesian hierarchical modeling was adopted, allowing these relationships to vary with source types and sampling regions to account for potentially different physical processes. Across water sources, increases in E. coli/total coliform levels were most closely related to increases in recent heavy rainfall. Recommendations to future studies are (a) demonstrated value of high sampling frequency and temporal coverage especially during wet seasons; (b) utility of the Bayesian hierarchical models to pool data from multiple sites while allowing for variations across space and water sources; and (c) importance of a multidisciplinary team approach with consistent commitment and sharing of knowledge. Find the publication by Guo et al. here.
WaSH Policy Research Digest Issue #14: WaSH inequalities persist in vulnerable minority groups in wealthy countries
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 December Issue of the Digest examines a perplexing yet critical challenge in trying to reach universal access to safe drinking water and sanitation for all – reaching underserved minorities in high-income countries. Find the publication here and attached to this newsletter. To subscribe to the Digest and to get updates on related webinars, please go here.
Water Safety Plans and Risk Assessment: A Novel Procedure Applied to Treated Water Turbidity and Gastrointestinal Diseases
Water Safety Plans can help drinking water suppliers to identify potential hazards related to drinking water and enable improvements in public health outcomes. In this study a procedure to evaluate the health risk related to turbidity in finished water by determining the cases of drinking water-related gastrointestinal diseases is proposed. The results of several epidemiological studies and three-year time series turbidity data, coming from three different drinking water treatment plants (WTPs) located in Italy, have been used to determine the relationship between drinking water turbidity and gastroenteritis incidence and to assess the health risk attributable to the turbidity of tap water. The turbidity variation occurring in the treated water during the monitored period showed an incremental risk compared to the baseline value from 9% to 27% in the three WTPs. Risk reduction due to each treatment step was also evaluated and it was found that a complete treatment train (clari-flocculation, sand filtration, activated carbon filtration and multi-step disinfection) reduces risk by over 600 times. The approach is a useful tool for water suppliers to quantify health risks by considering time series data on turbidity at WTPs and to make decisions regarding risk management measures. Find this paper by Muoio et al. here.
EVENT CALENDAR
HWTS PLUS Water Quality Testing Workshop, April 23th-26th, 2020 in in Ridgetown, Ontario, Canada
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.