Household Water Newsletter Issue 59
Anthonj, Carmen
Dear Colleagues,
I hope that you are doing as well as possible in this difficult and challenging time, and managing as best as circumstances allow.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted lives, livelihoods and communities worldwide and has put water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health services at highest priority globally. We do not know how long it will last, but we as individuals are all responsible for helping to prevent its spread. In particular, frequent and proper hand hygiene is an effective intervention to prevent the spread of the disease, in addition to respiratory etiquette and physical distancing. This outbreak demands cooperation among governments, international organizations, civil society, private sector and academics, and we would like to hear about how your efforts in these areas.
In this issue of our HWTS newsletter you will find links to WHO and UNICEF resources on COVID-19, as well as contributions from Network members.
Our warmest wishes for your – and everyone’s – health, safety and well-being in the days and weeks to come.
Best regards,
Carmen Anthonj
Carmen Anthonj, PhD
Postdoctoral Research Associate
Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering
Gillings School of Global Public Health
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Household Water Newsletter, Issue 59
April 2020
Announcements and Requests
Webinars, Courses, and Events
Work and Funding Opportunities
Publications
Event Calendar
COVID-19: WHO and UNICEF Interim guidance on water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management
This interim guidance supplements the infection prevention and control (IPC) documents by summarizing WHO guidance on water, sanitation and health-care waste relevant to viruses, including coronaviruses. It is intended for water and sanitation practitioners and providers, and health-care providers who want to know more about water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) risks and practices. The most important information concerning WASH and the COVID-19 virus are:
1. Frequent and correct hand hygiene is one of the most important measures to prevent infection with the COVID-19 virus. WASH practitioners should work to enable more frequent and regular hand hygiene by improving access to hand hygiene facilities and using multimodal approaches to support good hand hygiene behaviour. Performing hand hygiene at the right time, using the right technique with either alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water is critical.
2. Existing WHO guidance on the safe management of drinking-water and sanitation services applies to the COVID-19 outbreak. Water disinfection and sanitation treatment can reduce viruses. Sanitation workers should have proper training and access to personal protective equipment (PPE) and in many scenarios, a specific combination of PPE elements is recommended.
3. Many health co-benefits can be realized by safely managing water and sanitation services, and by applying good hygiene practices.
Currently, there are no studies on the survival of the COVID19 virus in drinking-water or sewage. The morphology and chemical structure of this virus are similar to those of other coronaviruses for which there are data about both survival in the environment and effective inactivation measures. This guidance draws on the existing evidence base and current WHO guidance on how to protect against viruses in sewage and drinking-water. Find the guidance here and attached to this newsletter.
COVID-19: New online resource available for hygiene interventions outbreak
The COVID-19 Hygiene Hub is a free service to help actors in low- and middle-income countries rapidly share, design, and adapt evidence-based hygiene interventions to combat coronavirus. It has three principal functions:
1. to connect institutions and organizations implementing hygiene programs in response to COVID-19 with technical and creative experts who can answer questions and provide detailed advice in real time,
2. to provide access to a searchable set of resources which summarize current evidence and guidelines and make practical recommendations for crisis-affected or LMIC settings,
3. to offer a platform for sharing what is working among governments, international organizations, and civil society actors.
A preliminary version of the Hygiene Hub website is accessible at https://hygienehub.info/covid-19. New resources and functions will be added regularly based on user requests and feedback. The COVID-19 Hygiene Hub is a broad partnership housed at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) that draws on scientific, operational and creative expertise from a network of individuals and organizations from around the world, including from the World Health Organization and from UNICEF.
COVID-19: WHO Interim recommendations on obligatory handwashing
Current evidence indicates that the COVID-19 virus is transmitted through respiratory droplets or contact. Contact transmission occurs when contaminated hands touch the mucosa of the mouth, nose, or eyes; the virus can also be transferred from one surface to another by contaminated hands, which facilitates indirect contact transmission. Consequently, hand hygiene is extremely important to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus. It also interrupts transmission of other viruses and bacteria causing common colds, flu and pneumonia, thus reducing the general burden of disease. The document is available here and attached to this newsletter.
Côte d’Ivoire: 17 drinking water supply systems to provide nearly 50,000 villagers with drinking water
Côte d’Ivoire’s National Board for Drinking Water (ONEP) has awarded a contract for the construction of 17 drinking water supply systems to a joint venture of two SMEs: ABEDA (Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire) which will lead the project and VERGNET HYDRO. The contract will supply drinking water to nearly 50,000 villagers in the north of Côte d’Ivoire. 12 electrical drinking water supply systems and five hybrid systems, either solar/electric or solar/thermal, will be constructed in the Tchologo, Poro, Bagoué, Kabadougou and Folon regions. Systems are expected to be operational by December 2020. For more information, contact Miguel Marteau at m.ma...@odial-solutions.fr or click here.
|
|
|
Ivorian villager drawing water from a standpipe supplied by a drinking water supply systems set up by VERGNET HYDRO, in association with the SME MTK SERVICES, as part of the HYDRAULIC AND SANITATION PROGRAMME FOR THE MILLENNIUM (PHAM) in 2017 (photo credit: VERGNET HYDRO). |
Household water treatment and safe storage network for India
A number of stakeholders present at an HWTS learning exchange in February, 2020 hosted by CAWST, Sehgal Foundation and National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR) have expressed interest to establish a Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage network for India. The group wants to take advantage from the knowledge and expertise of the members who come from a diverse educational and professional backgrounds who are spread over different locations in the country. Once the funding has materialized for the network, resources will be allocated to engage the members proactively on regular basis, develop an on-line portal, publish a newsletter, and do publication of good practices. Until funding materializes, Lalit Sharma of Sehgal Foundation will function as the coordinator for the network and organize events including an annual learning exchange on HWTS in India. For more details contact Lalit Sharma (lalit....@smsfoundation.org) and Suneel Rajavaram (sraja...@cawst.org).
Learning exchange: Household water treatment and safe storage, Feb 27-28, 2020, NIRDPR, Hyderabad, India
A learning exchange (workshop) was organized by National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR); and S M Sehgal Foundation (Sehgal Foundation); and CAWST on HWTS attended by 46 Participants who shared experiences, demonstrated technologies and discussed strategies for scaling up. All participants agreed that HWTS is a viable and important option to provide safe drinking water to the last mile population. The participants identified the challenges, including a) lack of knowledge about the available products in the market; b) resigned attitude and Reluctance for change of users; c) focus on centralized systems by the policy makers; and d) high pricing of available solutions. They also suggested the strategies for scaling up, including a) to make right data available on drinking water sources; b) engage local entrepreneurs; c) link with microfinance; d) need to have government extension workers across the country who will carry out the community education like agriculture extension workers; e) need of testing and analyzing water at the point of use too; f) to form a HWTS network to promote proper technologies, products and projects. For more information, please contact Lalit Sharma, Director of Adaptive Technologies – Water at S M Sehgal Foundation at lalit....@smsfoundation.org.
International Water Consulting (IWC) provides advice on safely managed drinking water and sanitation in low-resource settings
The new independent consultancy International Water Consulting (IWC) is specialised in water quality monitoring, water safety planning (WSP), water resource management and sanitation. IWC’s operations focus on providing advice and solutions to tackle water, public health and climate-related issues in low-resource settings. IWC recently conducted a watershed analysis, provided capacity development and has set-up a new water quality monitoring laboratory as part of the Freetown Water Supply Rehabilitation Project in Sierra Leone. On the sanitation side, IWC has successfully supported the project verification of the Sanitation Challenge for Ghana (SC4G). Both projects were funded by DfID/UKAid. For more information, please contact Dr. Bastian Schnabel at bastian....@internationalwaterconsulting.com or click here.
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
CAWST training workshops
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, CAWST's upcoming, in person workshops on HWTS and Biosand Filter Project Implementation have been cancelled. These included workshops in Canada, Ecuador, Ghana, Haiti, Liberia, and Nicaragua. CAWST is working on alternative ways to offer similar trainings virtually (for example, webinars). As those opportunities are confirmed, they will be posted on CAWST’s website.
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.
A systematic review of water, sanitation and hygiene among Roma communities in Europe: Situation analysis, cultural context, and obstacles to improvement
This first ever systematic review shows that across Europe, Roma communities face more challenges than the majority population with respect to access to WASH, waste management and environmental hygiene, appropriate housing and hygienic living environments. Prominent themes in the literature include limited access, affordability, and quality of WASH services; self-management of WASH as response and adaptive tactic; unsafe WASH as a reason for eviction; and health risks associated with substandard WASH services. The same factors determining the poor quality of WASH services and environmental health impede their improvement. Major barriers to WASH access and affordability among the Roma include discrimination, social exclusion, lack of formal education, poverty, geography, legal and social aspects, and cultural perceptions of health risks, political top-down approaches, lack of political will, and lack of involvement of the Roma community in planning. Besides, Roma are not well represented in national statistics, with data collection being complicated not only by difficulties of access and underfunding, but also by distrust and culturally distinctive health beliefs. This review demonstrates not only the urgent need for action for Roma communities in particular, but may have broader applicability to ethnic and social minorities in other parts of the world. Future research to overcome obstacles to improvement needs to be inclusive, and involve community members as key informants, with their participation enhancing the reliability of data, contributing to social justice and solidarity, disseminating information, contributing to feasible recommendations and implementation of interventions. Find this paper by Anthonj et al. here.
Ceramics in environmental health. Filtering safe drinking water through granulated ceramics
Production of ceramic candle filters can be initiated inexpensively almost anywhere using available resources and a careful regime of experimentation and lab testing. An introduction to the technology is in a new book available from Lambert Academic Publishing, Environmental Health and Development for All. The book will help make possible capacity building of those working with clay, local ceramists who are in fact an incomparable resource. Readers will learn simple concepts and techniques from those who have been educated in ceramics. Find more information on this contribution here.
Consistent point-of-use water chlorination among households using unimproved water sources and treatment preference in Eastern Ethiopia
A consistent and correct use of water treatment options is fundamental for health gain from point-of-use water chlorination. In Ethiopia, empirical evidence about the consistent use and preference for by end users is scarce. The current study is intended to explore these issues using Waterguard and Bishan Gari in Kersa Health and Demographic Surveillance Site, Eastern Ethiopia. Data were collected every 2 week for 4 months and analyzed using mixed effects logistic regression. Of 377 households, 31% consistently used Waterguard and Bishan Gari in all the study waves. Product use over time within a household varied based on the perception about the products and the type of products each household received. From the exit assessment, 56% of households stated a preference for Waterguard significantly different from 5.6% of households that stated a preference for Bishan Gari. An intervention for consistent use beyond their availability and accessibility to end users is needed. Find this paper by Geremew et al. here.
Effectiveness of water chlorination programs along the emergency-transition-post-emergency continuum: Evaluations of bucket, in-line, and piped water chlorination programs in Cox's Bazar
Using mixed methods, three different source water chlorination programs (bucket, in-line, and piped water chlorination) were evaluated at different response stages in the ongoing humanitarian response in Cox's Bazar refugee camps in Bangladesh. Overall, 71% of bucket, 36% of in-line, and 60% of piped water chlorination households had stored water that met free chlorine residual (FCR) criteria, respectively. Additionally, 71% of bucket, 86% of in-line, and 91% of piped water chlorination households had stored water that met Escherichia coli (E. coli) criteria (<10 E. coli CFU/100 mL). Regression results indicate presence of FCR, serving water by pouring, and higher source water pH were associated with meeting E. coli criteria. The results highlight: no individual program fully met international standards as implemented, although each partially met standards; the importance of understanding beneficiary preferences and behavior change campaigns; and, the benefits and drawbacks of each source water chlorination program must be considered before implementation. Overall, appropriate source water chlorination program choice was found to be a continuum, depending on humanitarian phase and context. Therefore, continuing context- and phase-appropriate source water chlorination programs, emphasizing consistent and acceptable chlorine dosage, implementing programmatic improvements, and incorporating user preferences to reduce microbial contamination and consequently the risk of waterborne diseases are recommended. Find the paper by Sikder et al. here.
Impact of UV irradiation at full scale on bacterial communities in drinking water
Water in a full-scale drinking water treatment plant was irradiated with ultraviolet (UV) doses of 250, 400, and 600 J/m2, and the effect on bacterial communities investigated using 16s rRNA gene amplicon sequencing, heterotrophic plate counts (HPCs), coliform, and Escherichia coli counts. The bacteria in the irradiated water were also analyzed following storage for 6 days at 7 °C, to approximate the conditions in the distribution system. The log10 reduction of HPCs at 400 J/m2 was 0.43 ± 0.12. Phylogenetic examination, including DESeq2 analysis, showed that Actinobacteria was more resistant to UV irradiation, whereas Bacteroidetes was sensitive to UV. Phylum Proteobacteria contained monophyletic groups that were either sensitive or resistant to UV exposure. The amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) resistant to UV irradiation had a greater average GC content than the ASVs sensitive to UV, at 55% ± 1.7 (n = 19) and 49% ± 2.5 (n = 16), respectively. Families Chitinophagaceae, Pelagibacteraceae, Holophagaceae, Methylophilaceae, and Cytophagaceae decreased linearly in relative abundance, with increasing UV dose (P < 0.05, Pearson’s correlation). When irradiated water was stored, Chitinophagaceae, Comamonadaceae, and Flavobacteriaceae families decreased in relative abundance, whereas ACK-M1, Mycobacteriaceae, and Nitrosomonadaceae were increasing in relative abundance. This suggests that the impact of UV irradiation cannot only be considered directly after application but that this treatment step likely continues to influence microbial dynamics throughout the distribution system. Find this article by Pullerits et al. here.
Is household water insecurity a link between water governance and well-being? A multi-site analysis
Improving water governance is a top priority for addressing the global water crisis. Yet, there is a dearth of empirical data examining whether better water governance is associated with lower water insecurity and improved well-being. Therefore, household data from two Sustainable Water Effectiveness Reviews conducted by Oxfam GB in Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo were pooled to assess the relationship between perceived water governance, water insecurity, and four indicators of well-being: life satisfaction, drinking unsafe water, diarrhea, and resilience to cholera outbreak. Using generalized structural equation models controlling for wealth and primary water source, each point increase in water governance score was significantly associated with a 0.69-point decrease in HWISE Scale scores. Good water governance was also directly associated with greater odds of life satisfaction and lower odds of both drinking unsafe water and severe cholera impact. Furthermore, the relationships between water governance and drinking unsafe water, diarrhea, and cholera impact were significantly mediated by household water insecurity. Improving water governance has the potential to meaningfully impact entrenched public health issues through changes in water insecurity. Find this paper by Staddon et al. here.
Nanoparticle enhanced interfacial solar photothermal water disinfection demonstrated in 3-D printed flow-through reactors
This study provides an easily scalable and universally applicable disinfection device using photothermal energy. Boiling or pasteurization has been widely used in household water treatment. However, heating water requires a significant amount of fuel or electricity. Loeb et al. suggested solar-to-heat conversion using a light-harvesting nanomaterial-impregnated film. The photothermal film is a highly transparent single polymer layer containing carbon black and gold nanorods. Under uncoated sunlight, bench-scale 3-D printed reactors coated with the film demonstrated functional disinfection temperatures enough to kill bacteria and viruses. Important reactor design parameters are discussed including channel height, retention time, flow rate, initial water temperature, and light intensity. Also, simulation results provide a scale factor for producing 8 liters per day of drinking water under sunlight. Find this paper by Loeb et al. here.
Quality of Drinking Water from Springs in Palestine: West Bank as a Case Study
The shortage of fresh water creates acute challenges in the West Bank of Palestine. Springs provide a main water resource in the West Bank. Investigating springs’ water quality is essential step for promoting their public use. The aim of this research is to assess the microbiological and physiochemical quality parameters of drinking water from springs. The chemical, physical, and biological parameters for each collected water sample were measured. Then, the obtained characteristics were evaluated based on national and international quality standards (PSI and WHO). The investigated parameters included temperature, pH, EC, total hardness, concentrations of nitrate, sodium ions, total chlorine, residual chlorine, turbidity, and total and faecal coliforms. Most of investigated physical and chemical parameters were within the acceptable standard limits. However, the turbidity and chloride and nitrate concentrations exceeded standard limits. The findings indicate that only a minor fraction of the samples (2%) requires chlorination treatment, while most of the springs (97% of samples) are classified as possessing no risk. Find this article by Daghara et al. here.
Simulating transport and adsorption of organic contaminants in 3D porous activated carbon block media
This study suggests how to properly design activated carbon block filters which can remove organic contaminants as well as cyst and bacteria in water. Kim et al. simulated contaminants removal performance in hollow cylindrical block-shaped porous activated carbon media using COMSOL Multiphysics® with Chemical Engineering module. The study demonstrates how each organic compound in a steady-state fluid is dynamically transported in the three-dimensional porous media and removed by adsorption. The simulated adsorption results are compared to the experimental test data for validation. Based on 5% breakthrough (95% removal) line, the simulations have only 0.9-2.9% discrepancy from the actual data, while a classical two-dimensional rapid-small-scale column test (RSSCT) models have 39.8-782.2%. The COMSOL model successfully demonstrated not only flow patterns in the modulated reactor but also chemical concentration changes in the full-scale porous adsorbent structure. Find it here.
Virus removal by ceramic pot filter disks: Effect of biofilm growth and surface cleaning
Ceramic pot filters are household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) systems designed to improve the microbial quality of drinking water. They yield high log reduction values (LRVs) for bacterial and protozoan pathogens but provide very little removal of viruses. This study investigated virus removal of ceramic filter discs (CFDs), using feed water with 3 different nutrient levels under extended continuous operation and limited cleaning frequency. The results show that filter use without cleaning resulted in biofilm growth and MS2 LRV values increased with increasing feed water nutrient content. Cleaning the filter surface by scrubbing led to a partial or total loss in improved LRVs, indicating the importance of this biological top layer to the removal of MS2. Overall, the removal capacity of a matured biofilm remained constant, regardless of its age. MS2 LRVs ranged between 0.9 ± 0.2 LRV for low nutrient (LN), 1.6 ± 0.2 LRV for medium nutrient (MN) and 2.4 ± 0.5 LRV for high nutrient (HN) biofilms. Interestingly, a change in feed conditions for the HN filters resulted in an unprecedented high LRV of >4 LRV, which supports further investigation of the mechanistic role of biofilms in virus removal. Find this paper by Soliman et al. here.
EVENT CALENDAR
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.