The technologies developed tomonitor and test water quality
low-cost
and adapted to each area, urban or remote one. In fact, where there is
no accessible laboratory or because of the high costs of transport and
analysis, water quality monitoring should be done using on-site testing
methods, relying on tablet reagents and portable equipment which do not
need electricity. As a consequence, community’smotivation toprotect and
improve theirwater supply can increasewhen being involved in the test.
Some technologies have beendeveloped to allowwater analyses in all si-
tuations.
That is the casewith the
Wagtech project
which has developed por-
table equipment to analysewater quality usable both in laboratories or in-situ
with entirely equipped all-terrain vehicles. Some other solutions have been
developedespecially for remoteareas, likeAkvoCaddisfly.
Water quality monitoring is a public health-focused activity
and it will
only be effective and efficient if it is properly planned and implemented, i.e.
bybeingembedded inappropriategovernancestructures. It is important that
each country, at national, regional and local level, develops routine surveil-
lanceprogrammes inorder to reduceuncertainty.
In order to strengthen the capacity tomonitor drinking water, key as-
pects are:
a) Health education and communication
are essential components for
the success of any programme to promote hygiene and prevent diseases.
Development of a Code of Good Hygiene Practices in each country, com-
municated to national and local authorities and explained to communities
byNGOs to focus on:
— having andusing excretadisposal facilities, such as latrinesor toilets;
— regular handwashing, especially after defecation and before prepa-
ring food or eating;
— personal and domestic hygiene, etc.
b) Training observers from local communities,
who based on standar-
dised rules, canmonitorwater qualityof springsandwells in remoteareas.
Results will thus be available immediately on the day of the test and will
allow for prompt reaction in case of infection. Moreover, by carrying out
some analyses themselves, local communities can becomemore involved
and hygiene educationmessageswill be reinforced.
c) In its guidelines,
the WHO insists that people must be trained to do
analyses themselves but also to understand the data and to maintain the
technologies implemented in their community. To address this need, in
2000, they developed an online training pack, containing 23 different ses-
sions in 6 groups, including presentations and practical exercises.
It’s also important to highlight
that water quality monitoring not only
needs to include
water quality testing
but also
regular sanitary inspec-
tions
of water supplies because potential contamination with pathogens
(disease-causing micro-organisms) or chemical, can occur either at the
sourceor during treatment anddistribution. TheWHOGuidelines (last ver-
sion published in April 2017) is one of the primary sources of information
to guide all the actors, with concrete explanations and tools, ready to use
in the field.
Finally,whenanalyseshavebeendone,
thenext crucial step touse thison
water quality is to collect data, to analyse them and communicate the results
viastatistics,maps, indicators, etc. ThemWaterguide isagoodexample
offeringsuchpossibilities toprocessdata.
See QR code on page 4 to access details on mentioned
technologies or click here :
These programmes should stipulate
water quality monitoring stan-
dards, the number of water supply systems covered, the number of
samples, the typesof analyses, the frequencyof inspection, etc.Moreover,
theseprogrammesshould remainflexible toallowmodification in response
to evolvingwater quality priorities.
TheWHO guidelines are recognized as representing the position
of the
UN system on issues of drinking water quality and health by “UN-Water”,
the body that coordinates the 24 UN agencies and programmes concerned
with water issues. These guidelines can help water and health regulators,
policy-makers and their advisors todevelopnational policies and regulation,
providingpractical information about effectivemanagement approaches.
Technological innovations for water quality monitoring
need to be
consideredwithin the context of such governance structures to be aligned
with the decisionmaking processes. For example:
— Planwater qualitymonitoring: institutions tobe involved (roles and res-
ponsibilities), number and location of samples (depending on the nu-
mber of people served), localisation of a laboratory for analysis, in-situ
testing, costsof sampling, transport andanalysis, adaptationof thisplan
in caseof an epidemic, etc.
— Developquality check indicators forwater qualitymonitoring.
— Set official detailed guidelines for undertaking sanitary inspections and
provide examplesof inspection forms.
The scheme highlights the key business opportunities
that exist at the
different stages, indicating key activities and their socio-environmental va-
lues for co-creators.
TECHNOLOGICALSOLUTIONS
CAPACITYDEVELOPMENT
GOVERNANCESTRUCTURES
BUSINESSROADMAP
Access to safedrinkingwater to ensurehealth security
implies awell-planned and implementedwater qualitymonitoring scheme
aswell as technical solutions to test water quality in thefield.
“Governance is essentially theprocesses and institutions through
whichdecisions aremade »
(Lautze et al.,2011).
CapacityDevelopment (CD) is conceived as the inherent responsibility of people,
organisations and societies themselves inwhich support by external parties
canplay an important role (VallejoandWehn,2015).
Social innovation relies onmeans other thanmarketmechanisms
inorder to link thedemandand supply sides.
Institutions refers to organisations
aswell the « rules of the game » (North, 1990);
institutional capacity therefore exists both,
at the level of organisations
aswell as the enabling environment.
Stakeholders from both sides (solution providers and potential users)
need to interact
during the different stages of the innovation process to
createacommonground for theco-productionof the requiredknowledge:
from thecomprehensionof theneed to thedesign, implementationanduse
of innovative solutions.
