WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 1 Water in Emergencies Session 2 Water Needs

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 2 Water needs Water quantity Water quality International Sphere minimum standards Water needs of different users

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 3 Water quality or quantity… Which is more important in emergencies?

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 4 Minimum Standards The Sphere Project (2004) Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 5 Water Quantity SPHERE Standard: All people have safe and equitable access to a sufficient quantity of water for drinking, cooking and personal and domestic hygiene. Public water points are sufficiently close to households to enable use of the minimum water requirements.

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 6 Water Quantity Sphere - key indicators: –Average water use for drinking, cooking, personal hygiene in any household is at least 15 litres per person / day –Maximum distance from any household to the nearest water point is 500m –Queuing time no more than 15 minutes –No more than 3 minutes to fill a 20 litre container –Water available on a consistent or on a regular basis

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 7 Water Quantity Survival needs: water intake (drinking and food) litres per day Depends on: climate and individual physiology Basic hygiene practices 2-6 litres per dayDepends on: social and cultural norms Basic cooking needs 3-6 litres per dayDepends on: food type, social as well as cultural norms Total basic water needs litres per day Av use = 15 l.p.d Sphere 2004

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 8 Other Water Needs Laundry: 4-6 lpd Schools: 3 litres per student for drinking & hand-washing (toilets need additional water) Public toilets: 1-2 litres / user / day for hand-washing & 2-8 litres / cubicle / day for cleaning Health centres: 5 litres per out-patient; litres per in-patient Hospital with laundry facilities: litres per bed Cholera Treatment Centres: 60 litres / patient / day & 15 litres / carer / day Feeding centres: litres per patient (+15 l / caretaker) Cattle, horses, mules: litres per head [also different times in- between watering] Small animals: 5 litres / small animal / day WHO, Technical Note No 9, Sphere & other sources

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 9 How Many Containers? Question - What could be the potential impacts for a family of having too few containers? Northern Kenya S House / AAH-US Northern Uganda S House / MSF-OCBA

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 10 Which Types of Containers? Questions: What are the locally preferred containers? How will they be transported over a distance? Tajikistan S House / OXFAM-GB Ethiopia S House / WEDC

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 11 Calculating Container Needs a) How many water containers are needed for a family of 8 – for carrying and storing water? b) What other kinds of water vessels may be needed? Pakistan S House / OXFAM-GB OXFAM Buckets: Durable Stackable for transportation Covered Easy to clean Tap for drawing water

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 12 Liberia S House / ACF Pakistan S House / OXFAM-GB

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 13 Meeting whose needs…? Exercise - What lessons do these case studies provide for the provision of water in emergencies?

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 14 Water Accessibility Not everyone can access facilities as easily as others Locations of facilities must not make people more vulnerable - women, people of minority ethnic groups, children Very important - involve women & vulnerable groups in discussions over the location and design of facilities WEDC

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 15 People Living with HIV/AIDS & Water in Emergencies Gender based violence - transmission – site facilities in safe locations More vulnerable to diarrhoeal diseases & harder to treat Different needs? Less able to attend meetings Work with hygiene promoters - discrete house to house visits Contact through health facilities Additional support: –Larger quantity of water - hygiene purposes –Less able to collect water –May need more water containers, buckets, hygiene items –Additional support - discretely given through health facilities

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 16 Water Quality SPHERE Standard: Water is palatable, and of sufficient quality to be drunk and used for personal and domestic hygiene without causing significant risk to health

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 17 Water Quality Sphere key indicators: –A sanitary survey indicates a low risk of faecal contamination –No faecal coliforms per 100ml at the point of delivery –People drink water from a protected or treated source in preference to other readily available water sources –For piped supplies or all at times of risk of a diarrhoea epidemic – free chlorine residual at the tap of 0.5mg/l with turbidity < 5 NTU (after 30 mins, 20 o C) –No negative health effect is detected due to short-term use of water contaminated by chemical (including carry-over of treatment chemicals) or radiological sources, and assessment shows no significant probability of such an effect

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 18 Water quality – immediate stages Most important = microbiological contamination – preventing diarrhoeal diseases Protect water source from contamination Sanitary survey - useful to determine pollution risks Priority - camps and concentrated populations = disinfection People may reject water because of taste (including chlorination) Chlorination may be misunderstood – hygiene promotion essential Cholera outbreaks – also chlorination of point sources

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 19 REDR, Engineering in Emergencies Prevent pollution of water sources – by appropriate siting

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 20 Assessing Quality Sanitary survey –Observing contamination risks Observation & smell –Smell, froth, coloured film, excessive refuse, lack of small insects, dead fish Water quality testing –Most important = pool- tester - pH and chlorine residual Ethiopia S House / WEDC WEDC WHO

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 21 BE CAREFUL NOT TO MISINTERPRET WATER QUALITY RESULTS larger amount of water - limited contamination is better than smaller amount of water - high quality

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 22 Water Quality Assessment – Medium / Longer Term Microbiological: Faecal coliforms Physical: pH Turbidity Taste Total dissolved solids / conductivity Chemical: Arsenic Fluoride Nitrate Nitrite Iron Manganese As soon as there is an adequate quantity of water of reasonable microbiological quality and taste Particularly if remaining for the medium or longer term It is good practice to: –Undertake full water quality test - microbiological, physical and chemical –Routine monitoring

WASH Cluster – Water in Emergencies W W2 23 Water Quality Focus on quantity and microbiological contaminants WHO Guidelines for drinking water quality, Vol 3, 2004, p109 Many chemicals in drinking-water are of concern only after extended periods of exposure. Thus, to reduce the risk of outbreaks of waterborne and water-washed (e.g. trachoma, scabies, skin infections) disease, it is preferable to supply water in an emergency, even if it significantly exceeds the guideline values for some chemical parameters, rather than restrict access to water, provided water can be treated to kill pathogens and can be supplied rapidly to the affected population.