Multiple Uses of Water and Health

1. Multiple Uses of Water and Health Eline Boelee

2. Relevant health issues • Water quality • Water availability: quantity & accessibility • Hygiene behavior • Vector-borne diseases • Other issues • Incorporation in planning and design Winrock meeting 26Apr06

3. Water quality • Different requirements • Irrigation • (human) consumption • other uses (e.g. laundry, animals) • Chemical / biological water quality – trade offs • Perceptions • Treatment

4. Chemical water quality • Arsenic • Fluoride • Salinity • Iron (taste) • Often geological origin • Occasionally agro-chemicals or industrial • Sometimes treatment possible

5. Biological water quality • Main cause of diarrhea • Bacteria, viruses, parasites • Sources of contamination • lack of sanitation • upstream activities • transport & in-house contamination • Often preventable • Water treatment effective • Opportunity • Ecosan, wastewater irrigation • Closing nutrient cycle

6. Example: biological water quality Legedini WHO norm for drinking water bacteria parasites 0.6% of children positive for Giardia (n=326)

7. Treatment options • Central treatment • Expensive if quantities increase • No guarantee for safe consumption • Point of use treatment • Availability of options • Training for safe use • Sustainable? • Component approach • Lowest quality required as starting point • Not more expensive if planned for • Treatment of community storage

8. Water availability • Quantity: 15, 50, or 100 lpcd? • In dry areas: using available water wisely • Demand vs supply-driven • Accessibility to all, near house, for large part of day/night → time gain (women & children!!) • Condition (but not sufficient) for improved hygiene • More water for (other) productive purposes • Seepage from unlined canals & reservoirs: impact on availability and quality of water for drinking

9. Increase access • Domestic-plus systems • Increased pipe diameter • Cattle troughs • Right of use • Productive-plus • Steps, laundry sites • Cattle crossings • Water rights • Multipurpose • All users and uses, including landless, women, poor • Users’ priorities! • Multiple sources for multiple uses • Incremental services over time

10. Domestic-plus

11. Productive-plus

12. Multipurpose Adidaero, Tigray, Ethiopia

13. Also in dry areas For many farmers, livestock has first priority!

14. Vector-borne diseases • Guinea worm (filtration) • Schistosomiasis • Case detection and treatment • Separate facilities for washing and bathing • Sanitation and environmental snail control • Malaria and other mosquito-transmitted diseases (dengue, yellow fever, filariasis) • Early detection & treatment • Personal protection: bed nets • Source reduction • Larviciding not compatible with several water uses • Filling & draining • Biological control

15. Other issues • Nutrition • Drowning • Zoonoses • Changes in labor requirements (women and children) • Perceptions of changes in human health • Conflicts over water • Increased income • Environmental hazards

16. Health issues in planning & design • Sufficient quantities for all purposes • Clean water for drinking • Reduction of upstream pollution • Innovative approach to treatment • Sanitation and hygiene education • Prevention of vector breeding • Participation & perceptions

17. Thank you