1. Advantages and disadvantages of water distribution systems :Communal and Household BLESSING BARNET CHINIKO bchiniko78@gmail.com

2.  Introduction  A water distribution system is the physical works that deliver water from the water source to the intended end point or user.  It is designed to deliver sufficient water quantity and quality to meet the requirements of the customer.  Generally: The distribution system for a rural community water supply is designed to cater for the domestic and other residential water requirements.

3.  Household/Yard  In-house connections  Yard tap for a single family  Yard tap for several families (shared multi- family)  Private point source  Door-to-door vending  Rainwater Harvesting  Communal/Public  Community standpost  Water kiosk  Tanker truck  Resale by Neighbours Types of distributions

4. Household/Yard

5. IN-HOUSE CONNECTION Advantages:  Convenience of 24 hour access.  Higher water quality.  Customer satisfaction is generally high with this level of service.  Increased water quantity allows for improved health and hygiene.  Households have strong incentives to maintain their water-supply infrastructure. Disadvantages:  May encourage wasteful usage, if metering and realistic pricing are not used.  Waste-water disposal cost cannot be ignored. Piped water supply inside the house accompanied by waterborne waste disposal facilities

6. YARD TAP FOR A SINGLE FAMILY Advantages:  Convenience of 24 hour access.  Customer satisfaction is generally high with this level of service.  Increased water quantity allows for improved health and hygiene.  Households have strong incentives to maintain their water-supply infrastructure. Disadvantages:  Less control over usage.  Wastewater removal may require additional investment.  Potential for vandalism exists. Possible sources of water:  Utility network or localised point source or small piped network.

7. YARD TAP FOR SEVERAL FAMILIES (shared multi family)  A shared yard tap is a compromise between in-house/ single-family yard connections and community or public water points Advantages:  Convenient source of safe water supply.  Responsibility for tap maintenance shared among a small number of households.  Sharing capital costs helps resolve affordability problems for low-income households. Disadvantages:  Possible disputes over tap sharing, especially where service is intermittent.  Non-payment by a single user may result in service disconnection for other households.  May encourage wasteful usage, if metering and realistic pricing are not used.  Wastewater removal may require additional investment.

8. PRIVATE POINT SOURCE Advantages:  Convenient source of water supply.  Incentive for good maintenance shared among a small number of households.  Complements municipal piped water systems that are unable to reach all households.  May be a less expensive water-supply option for low-income families. Disadvantages:  Difficult to detect water quality problems.  Seasonal variations in supply may reduce reliability.  Possible disputes over tap sharing, especially where service is intermittent. A private point source, such as a well or borehole.

9. DOOR-TO-DOOR VENDING  In the case of water supply, door-to-door service can be provided by vendors who sell water by the bucket, jerrican, or tank.  Transport it to customers using carts, bicycles, or hand- carried buckets. Advantages:  Convenient delivery of water at the doorstep.  Avoids the fatigue of carrying water and the time wasted at supply points.  Households without access to piped water can still obtain minimum amounts of safe water for cooking and drinking.  Daily or weekly payment to vendors may be more manageable to low-income households as compared to a monthly water bill.  Greater flexibility of payment options, and possibility of obtaining service on credit.  No up-front payment or connection fee. Disadvantages:  Vended water prices far exceed those of a piped system.  Little/no regulation of water quality or pricing  Availability of vended water may help government to rationalize the failure to provide  improved water supply services.  High prices restrict customers to parsimonious consumption (a few liters per day

10. RAINWATER HARVESTING Advantages:  More convenient than water which needs to be carried  Offers independence from outside control  Few, no demands on public funds  Little impact on other water sources  Buffers storm runoff Disadvantages:  Requires 'hard' roof to collect water, hence, can be costly  Requires spaced rainfall for best performance  Uncertain water quality and rarely tested  Requires space for storage on surface or underground  Taste sometimes unfavorable compared to mineral- rich groundwat  Difficult to collect sufficient amount for higher densities

11. Communal/Public

12. COMMUNITY STANDPOST Advantages:  Households without private connections or yard taps can still obtain minimum amounts of safe water for cooking and drinking.  Capital costs shared by a number of households. Disadvantages:  Users face time and labor costs in queuing and carrying water to their homes.  Possibility of disputes over sharing, especially where service is intermittent.  Often only a small volume of water is available to each user.  Public water points may be vandalized. Community/standpipes - are small piped distribution systems that feed a limited number of public taps, each of which serves all households in the vicinity

13. WATER KIOSK Advantages:  Provides households without access to piped water an alternative source of potable supply with no up-front payment or connection fee.  Mobile kiosks can respond quickly to changes in demand among neighborhoods.  Daily or weekly payment to kiosk attendant may be more manageable to low-income households as compared to a monthly water bill.  If realistic pricing is used, per-unit charges encourage financial self- sufficiency. Disadvantages:  Users face time and labor costs in queuing and carrying water to their homes.  Kiosk operating times may be inconvenient to some users.  Relatively high administrative and operation costs.  Possibly little/no regulation of water quality or pricing.  Possible sources of water:  Groundwater (borewells), surface water (springs), or rain water (with or without treatment). A stationary vending location, typically staffed by an attendant, where water is sold or distributed by the container.

14. Tanker trucks  Tanker trucks are used to convey water from water sources to consuming areas, especially for residential areas without local water sources.  The water is usually conveyed from the nearest well, spring or dam to the areas of use.  It is either distributed directly from the tankers, or emptied in to a distribution tank for later use. Advantages This technology represents a quick solution for providing water for areas with no other sources of potable water; It provides job opportunities and income for the distributors and owners of tanker trucks. Disadvantages It has very high transportation costs; The quality of the water cannot be easily monitored; The distribution is costly and slow; It requires accessible roads for the trucks; The water can be polluting during the filling of the tanker, and during the distribution of the transported water; It requires constant maintenance.

15. RESALE BY NEIGHBOURS Advantages:  Increases access to potable water without additional capital investment on the part of households or the service provider.  Convenient and generally reliable source of potable water for users.  Households with connections have strong incentives to maintain their water-supply infrastructure.  In most cases, a less expensive option for households than delivery by vendors.  Daily or weekly payment to neighbours may be more manageable to low-income households as compared to a monthly water bill. Disadvantages:  Neighbours may restrict/eliminate vending without warning, especially during short or irregular supply.  Possibility of disagreements among neighbours over water supply. An individual who purchases water (e.g., from a network connection or private borehole), then transports it and sells it to households and/or businesses.

16. Conclusion  Small water distribution systems may be able to achieve rapid health gains among people living in small communities throughout the African continent that presently lack access to safe water.  Small water delivery systems can be applied at either the household or the community/ neighbourhood level, either of which has different benefits and drawbacks and are differently suited to particular settings.  The level at which a clean water system is deployed is, however, highly dependent on the particular circumstances of a given community. Crucial factors for appropriate small water distribution system: Selection of an appropriate level of approach—household vs. community. Selection and development of appropriate treatment technology options. Selection and development of an appropriate operations and management framework.

17. Video

18. REFERENCES IRC (1981). Small community water supplies—Technology of small water supply systems in developing countries. International Reference Center for Community Water Supply and Sanitation, The Hague, Netherlands. [Comprehensive document detailing all technological aspects of small water supply systems Peter-varbanets, M. et al. (2009) ‘Decentralized systems for potable water and the potential of membrane technology’, 43, pp. 245–265. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2008.10.030. UNDP-World Bank (no date) World Bank Document.pdf. Washigton. Peter-varbanets, M. et al. (2009) ‘Decentralized systems for potable water and the potential of membrane technology’, 43, pp. 245–265. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2008.10.030. UNDP-World Bank (no date) World Bank Document.pdf. Washigton. (UNDP-World Bank, no date) Peter-varbanets, M. et al. (2009) ‘Decentralized systems for potable water and the potential of membrane technology’, 43, pp. 245–265. doi: 10.1016/j.watres.2008.10.030. UNDP-World Bank (no date) World Bank Document.pdf. Washigton. (Peter-varbanets et al., 2009)