Quality and year-round availability of water delivered by improved water points in rural Tanzania: effects on coverage

This paper reports the findings of three water point mapping (WPM) studies carried out in three rural districts of Tanzania covering 3,363 water points. The methodology was designed to estimate the influence that consideration of the quality of the water supplied and the year-round functionality of...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Jiménez Fernández de Palencia, Alejandro, Pérez Foguet, Agustí|||0000-0002-2737-4710
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/26368
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/26368
https://dx.doi.org/10.2166/wp.2011.026
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Sustainable development
Water resources development
Africa
Drinking water
Improved water points
Mapping
Rural areas
Sustainability
Tanzania
Water quality
Water supply
Desenvolupament sostenible
Recursos hidràulics--Desenvolupament
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Desenvolupament humà i sostenible::Desenvolupament sostenible
Descripción
Sumario:This paper reports the findings of three water point mapping (WPM) studies carried out in three rural districts of Tanzania covering 3,363 water points. The methodology was designed to estimate the influence that consideration of the quality of the water supplied and the year-round functionality of each water point would have on each district's coverage figures. To this end, the study included measurements of basic quality parameters (692 analyses) and characterisation of the year-round continuity of service, in addition to the data collected in standard WPM campaigns. Both the quality and year-round continuity results were analysed in a disaggregated form by water point technology. The results show that 22% of the improved water points analysed had more than 10 CFU (colony-forming units)/100 ml of water and 19% were seasonal. Moreover, water service coverage in the districts studied fell 40% on average when quality and year-round continuity were considered. There is a strong need to include these basic factors in the minimum standards to be delivered and monitored in rural areas. Simple and efficient methodologies for including quality and year-round continuity measurements in the information routines, such as the one presented here, are a necessary step to this end.