According to the CIA World Factbook, bacterial diarrhea is a very high risk of death to citizens of Togo. Lack of clean drinking water, hygiene regimens, and adequate sanitation systems are all linked to the spread of diarrhea in Togo.

Giving the gift of clean water is equivalent to giving a child, a mother, even a family, a chance at life in rural villages of West Africa.

BCB is at work building solar powered water pumps in Koussougba and surrounding villages in Togo. Part of  BCB’s work includes educating women on proper hygiene methods that women can share with families and other villagers.

Bringing clean drinking water to a rural village in West Africa or elsewhere is not the answer to reducing mortality rates from water-borne diseases in developing countries.

Clean water projects must be supplemented by a comprehensive hygienic and sanitation framework that addresses underlying causes of infection.

Without a water source, farmers cannot grow food. Mothers cannot cook balanced meals for their families. And perhaps the worst casualty that results from a lack of clean drinking water is the lose of time.

Walking to the next village or to the local water well takes hours away from women who could otherwise invest their time in entrepreneurial ventures that generate income for the family.

Instead, women in rural villages that do not have a clean water source are forced to walk miles for water. Of course, treks for water outside of her local village are very dangerous for women.

Women are exposed to innumerable dangers, simply for the sake of retrieving water for their families. Sadly, the water that she fetches may still be infected with microorganisms that cause diarrhea and other water-borne diseases.

Investing in clean water for rural villages in Africa and beyond is an investment in public health, gender equality, economic development, and environmental sustainability.

Access to safe water touches upon every level of human existence. Training women on effective methods to prevent the spread of communicable and life-threatening diseases is also a fundamental element to ending poverty in Togo and other parts of West Africa.

For every $50 that BCB raises for clean water projects in Togo, the Segal Foundation will match that gift up to $10,000.

There are still seven days, 189 hours, 11, 340 minutes, 680, 400 seconds to help BCB raise as much money as possible to improve the lives of women, children, and families in Togo.

The positive outcomes from investments in water and women in Togo are immeasurable. It takes a village to raise a child. But it also takes a healthy mother, a clean water source, and a sustainable solution to raise a healthy child.

Will you help BCB raise $5,000 by Friday, April 15, 2011?

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According to a press release by the EPA, “ENLACE has established and implemented a land use and comprehensive development plan that works to improve social, economic, and environmental conditions for 8 communities in the Cano Martin Pen Special Planning District.”

Poverty has been a threat to environmental sustainability in San Juan since the early twentieth century. Mass migrations of individuals and families to San Juan resulted in settlements being erected in the mangroves along the canal.

The Cano Martin Pena is a 3.5 mile long canal located in the San Juan Bay (SJB). The San Juan Bay is part of the National Estuary Program of the EPA. The Cano Martin Pena is so important because it connects the San Juan Bay and the San Jose Lagoon.

Toxins, pollution, and sedimentation in the Cano Martin Pena would have grave implications for the SJB and the San Jose Lagoon. Instituting policies and effective plans to mitigate the adverse affects of urbanization and lack of infrastructural development in the canal is key to controlling for damages in the region.

ENLACE is working toward water quality improvement in the Cano Martin Pena in several ways. Firstly, ENLACE partnered with the SJB National Estuary to test water quality in the canal. They are also working with the Ponce School of Medicine to study epidemiological data on the effects of residents’ repeated exposure to water polluted by sewage.

In terms of the Cano Martin Pena, private and public entities must cooperate on an immediate action plan for change in the canal. Protecting human health and ensuring economic development by conserving the environment is integral to seeing a more sustainable Puerto Rico in the twenty-first century.

Environmental justice is unique. It is difficult to enforce and almost impossible to incriminate. Yet, environmental injustice arguably puts more people at health, social, and economic risks than other crimes with more temporary affects.

Until effective systems are in place to  punish those who obstruct environmental justice, rewards for those who uphold it are crucial to protecting natural resources.

With the work of ENLACE, lives of local residents and inhabitants affected by poor quality water in the Cano Martin Pena will be changed for the better. And isn’t it by saving lives that we save the world?

The photo above is a picture of La Fortaleza in San Juan Bay

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Lack of infrastructural development and a water quality monitoring system pose a security threat to the region. Outbreaks of water-borne disease in rural areas could potentially devastate the two countries.

The Environment Security Initiative (ENVSEC), in partnership with the NATO Science for Peace and Security Program (SPS), has implemented a project to establish a water quality management system for both countries.

In an interview with WaterWideWeb, Dilorom Fayzieva, a partner with ENVSEC and SPS, discussed the purpose and progress of the microbiological monitoring project in Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Please read the complete interview below.

EAB: How was quality of drinking water in the Kyrgyz Republic and Uzbekistan identified as a security issue that ENVSEC Initiative in partnership with NATO Science for Peace and Security Program could address?

DF: Microbiological quality of water is an important issue for the entire Central Asian Region, including Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic. There are high risks of the spread of water-borne infections such as typhoid fever, bacterial dysentery and other types of diarrheal diseases in rural areas. These risks exist because access to the piped centralized drinking water sources in rural areas is approximately 50 to 60 percent on average for the whole region. Prevention of water-borne infection outbreaks amongst the population is attributed to the security issue. It is impossible to prevent any outbreaks of water-borne diseases without the creation of an adequate monitoring system, including organization of routine analysis of bacteriological parameters of water indicating water quality from the microbiological perspective.

EAB: What were some of the contaminants in the water supply prior to the project and what effects did they have on the local community?

DF: An increasing number of coli-form bacteria and fecal streptococci in different water sources used by the population create high risks of water-borne diseases in the local communities. These facts were revealed by the recent studies carried out in the Central Asian region by the various researchers like Semenza in Karakalpakstan in 1998 (USA), Herbst in Khorezm in 2002-2004 (Germany), D. Fayzieva and I.Usmanov in the western regions of Uzbekistan in the period of 2000-2010, and others. The high concerns of water-borne diseases are reflected in the regular national reports of the Ministries of Health Care of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Kyrgyz Republic. Improving the monitoring system on microbiological quality of water and ensuring that it was on par with international standards were identified as one of the key priorities of the Environmental Health Action Plans of those countries.

EAB: Are you working with any government or other entity to negotiate technology transfer and capacity building between Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic?

DF: We are collaborating in order of negotiation, of technology transfer, and capacity building for improving of the quality of water analysis on bacteriological indicators between France, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic. Main partners in this issue are the Institute of Water Problems of Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences and the Scientific Production Center of Preventive Medicine of the Health Ministry of the Kyrgyz Republic. End users of this project are the Republican Center for Sanitary-Epidemiological Surveillance of the Health Ministry of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Bishkek City Center for Sanitary-Epidemiological Surveillance of the Health Ministry of the Kyrgyz Republic. Water bacteriology laboratories of these organizations are equipped by modern type of basic equipment and first stage of the trainings took place at IPL, France within this project.

EAB: Please describe how drinking standards were brought up to international standards?

DF: The main purpose of the project is to improve of quality of water analysis through an international quality assurance system and to establish the same system in the national laboratories of those countries. For achieving of this purpose we are planning to create advanced reference laboratories on water bacteriology by equipping them and training of their personnel.

EAB: If you project did not take place, what would the negative outcome on the Uzbekistan and Kyrgyz Republic would there be?

DF: In the absence of quality assurance system, it is impossible to get accurate and reliable data on prevention of outbreaks cannot occur. Finally, it creates high risk of these infections among population and worsening of sanitary-epidemiological conditions by increasing the mortality rates from water-borne diseases.

EAB: Please discuss the short and long term positive outcome of your project.

DF: A short-term outcome is the creation of the reference laboratories on water bacteriology by equipping them and training national personnel on the international water quality standards. Long term outcomes include sharing the project experience throughout other countries of Central Asian region.

EAB: Thank you for interviewing with WaterWideWeb.

DF: You’re welcome.

In a country like Uzbekistan, where a majority of revenue is generated by agricultural production, ensuring a safe water supply serves to secure the economic system as well. Decreasing rates of poverty and decreasing rates of mortality from water-borne diseases allow these countries to develop beyond a stunted period of economic growth and development.

Threats of the spread of water-borne disease and high mortality rates from them are often associated with countries in Africa and Southeast Asia. In fact, similar problems exist in Central Asia. The struggle to update the international standards on water supply is an endeavor that the entire world faces.

Countries in Central Asia and Eastern Europe struggle from the adverse affects of poor water quality because historically, these countries did not have in place the technology and capacity to develop and manage water quality. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left a region of independent countries that, while not subject to land borders with neighboring lands, still had to manage issues of ensuring peace and security in the region, beginning with the provision of clean drinking water. sharing this themes.

The photo above is a picture of water in Kyrgyzstan

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Kristin Stroup, energy specialist in the Africa Energy Department of the World Bank, told WaterWideWeb, “The 35 kilowatt micro-hydropower plant in Yandohun was built in the 1970’s. During its few years of operation, it contributed significantly to the local community, and facilitated operation of a 24-hour health-care facility there that served many surrounding communities.”

Yandohun is a village of 2,000 people in the remote area of Lofa County in northwestern Liberia. The micro-hydropower plant that generated power for the community was in part constructed and operated by local residents. The micro-hydropower plant was the sole source of reliable energy for the community since Yandohun is outside of the electrical grid of the capital city of Monrovia.

With financing from the Dutch Trustfund under its AFREA program,  the World Bank is launching a rehabilitation project for Yandohun’s micro-hydropower plant. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2012.

“Rehabilitation of the plant at 60 kilowatts will allow for meeting basic needs and will also allow for improved educational facilities, including adult education which is extremely important in the post-conflict setting,” continued Stroup.

In Yandohun, the capacity to manage an improved micro-hydropower facility already exists since community members who operated the first hydropower plant still live there. Thus, the World Bank is investing in the community’s existing skill sets while implementing a low-cost renewable energy approach. “The community has a very strong organizational structure and cooperative approach, including rebuilding the town hall with pooled funds and labor,” noted Stroup.

Agricultural production is significant to the local economy of Yanhodun. Rice farming, milling, cultivation of coffee and cocoa are all part of the agricultural output of the area. Mechanized processes powered by the future micro-hydropower facility have the potential to increase revenues generated by the sale of agricultural products by local farmers.

World Bank funding for the energy plant includes hands-on training for additional local community members who will learn to manage and operate the facility. Engaging local residents in the development process and use of local natural resources empowers the community.  Dependability on foreign assistance for medium and long-term progress is diminished, which is especially crucial to post-conflict settings as well.

“The micro-hydropower plant rehabilitation project at Yandohun is part of the World Bank’s commitment to the expansion of energy access in rural areas and an emphasis on renewable, sustainable technologies as part of a least-cost expansion plan,” Stroup added.  

The pilot operation in Yandohun offers a prime example of how an investment in a renewable energy source can truly revitalize a community that was once destroyed by war. Before encounters with rebel troops, Yandohun had operational educational facilities, a health facility, and a thriving fish farm.

Decreasing rates of poverty, improving access to healthcare, and promoting childhood and adult education is implicated in the successful rehabilitation of Yandohun’s hydropower facility. Solutions to Liberia’s systemic post-conflict issues should be cost-effective and environmentally sustainable.

Technology transfer and capacity building in rural communities that are not in close proximity to the capital city of Monrovia are crucial to including all levels of Liberia’s population in the energy plan. “Using hydropower for the benefit of communities should facilitate the sustainable development of a key piece of Liberia’s rural electrification agenda,” concluded Stroup.

The photo above is of school children in Liberia. It is a UN Photo taken by John Issac.

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Is it acceptable that children trudge three miles a day to reach water that they know makes them sick, potentially sick enough to die? If children are the future, then solid investments in education and child health are non-negotiable. In the developing world, these two areas intersect at the point of water—clean water.

Architecture for Humanity (AFH) in partnership with the Nobelity Project (NP) recently completed the Mahiga Rain Court (MRC), in Mahiga, Kenya. Mahiga is a small sustenance based community near Nairobi.  In Mahiga, children can only look forward to attending classes through grade 8.

NP was at work with the St. Joseph Mahiga Primary School, before spearheading the MRC.  NP realized that impacting the community of Mahiga in a meaningful way was through education and water supply.

Together, AFH and NB constructed a self-sustaining rainwater court that services the local community by providing clean drinking water, a simple solution to the multifaceted issues facing Mahiga. Greg Elsner is a Design Fellow with AFH. Elsner lived in Kenya for 14 months while the MRC was underway. In an interview, Elsner told WaterWideWeb, “While I was in Kenya, the municipal water line ran for maybe two weeks in total”.

Before the MRC began, Mahiga suffered a four year drought. A long rainy season followed the drought, flooding areas where development work was taking place. High rates of absenteeism in school attendance were reported because children were trekking three miles per day to fetch unsafe drinking water from a small creek within miles of Mahiga. These children got sick from the unsafe water and missed additional days of school.

Livestock were dying, farmers couldn’t produce adequate crops for food supply and the crime rate was high. Immediate relief efforts for residents of the Mahiga community would be short-term. A long-term sustainable plan that controlled for global climate change and meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) needed to be implemented in Mahiga.

Drilling a bore hole for a water well would cost up to $60,000. The MRC was the most cost-effective and sustainable option for the community. So, architects and designers set out to assemble a full basketball court that collects rainwater during the rainy season. The MRC is complete with a solar powered UV purification system. The MRC is self-sustaining and operates on an alternative energy system.

“Already, 30,000 liters of water have been collected. The rain water was collected in just two days” confirmed Elsner to WaterWideWeb. AFH estimates that a total of 90,000 liters of rainwater could be collected by the MRC.

The water shortage in Mahiga affected the community in several capacities. Inadequate water supplies impeded social progress from the most fundamental levels of daily living. If the water issue was unaddressed in Mahiga, a generation of uneducated young adults who couldn’t farm their land because of a lack of water would have damned the community into economic and social stagnation.

If successful, the community of Mahiga can use water provided by the MRC for other needs beyond primary education. Rations of water can be used for livestock, agriculture, and hygiene. Most importantly, school children will no longer be forced to make the critical decision between fetching unsafe drinking water and attending school.

Over time, literacy rates in the area will increase. NP is currently working to develop a Mahiga Hope High School, in partnership with the Education District. The MRC reaches beyond the education sector and into the infrastructural development of the village as well.

With clean water, agricultural products will be reliable sources of food. Healthy livestock can make harvesting processes more efficient for farmers, leading to a source of income. With more reliable water systems, farmers can produce high quality agricultural products at fair prices. Markers of economic development will be evidenced by innovative social enterprises that generate income for villagers.

Perhaps the most important contribution that will be made to Mahiga as a result of the MRC and other initiatives like it is the shift from a mentality of limited choices and barely surviving. Once the immediate needs of the community are secured, help from the government, local businessmen and aid agencies can expand beyond disaster management. Only then will the educated children have a true future to look forward to, one that they are prepared to face and one that can embrace them.

The photo above was taken by Turk Pipkin Photography.

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Civil and environmental engineers are advancing techniques in water management. Sharing best practices in project implementation is crucial to the future of sustainable water projects in both the industrialized and developing world. How are environmental engineers tackling the mounting social issues that surround the water demands that exceed the supply of it?

Dr. Pedro Alvarez is the George R. Brown Professor and Chair of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Rice University. In a telephone interview, Alvarez told WaterWideWeb, “Ensuring reliable and affordable access to safe water is one of the biggest issues that we face in the twenty first century.”

Making clean water accessible in the developing world requires an increase in efficiency in water infrastructure and a decrease in materials and energy used for completing projects. Environmental engineers are developing innovative mechanisms to meet the growing water demands with several factors in mind.

Adjustments to existing and new water systems call for technical simplicity. In order for water systems to successfully supply a community with water, the framework should be uncomplicated so that maintenance to the system can be provided without requiring assistance of experts.

The social-cultural acceptability of new water initiatives plays a part in the success of particular engineering endeavors. Reframing the way people think about the significance of water and the means of acquiring it are the next steps in innovative water provision methods.

For example, implementing water recycling paradigms in developed countries may be met with resistance. Individuals in different cultures and social classes may oppose the trend of treating waste water and then recycling it for drinking water.

Information about water engineering projects should also be disseminated so that end users may understand the framework of water programs and share the technology with others at the local level. In this way, the project can be maintained from within the community. If the water system needs repair, local users can fix the problem without forgoing access to water for long spells until an expert arrives to remedy it.

“Technology is not enough. Responding to increasing water demands requires a multi-disciplinary effort that includes education and a sanitation plan”, continued Alvarez. Reliance on unconventional water sources and treatment plants are the next steps in global water sustainability.

“The single-most important engineering contribution of the twentieth century was treating water.” In the twenty first century, engineers must extend and enhance that contribution to meet growing water needs.

Digging water wells, installing chlorinators and bio-sand filters are proven methods of supplying safe water in the developing world, yet these are not sufficient to save the lives of 4100 children who die on a daily basis due to lack of clean drinking water . Clean water will decrease the mortality rate of water borne diseases, lengthen life expectancy and improve quality of life.

So what are we waiting for?

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In Cote D’Ivoire and Uganda, the risk for water-borne diseases like typhoid, bacterial diaherrea and Hepatitis A is very high. The school life expectancy for Ivoirians is a total of six years and for Ugandans is 10 years. With access to clean, safe and reliable water, these Ivoirians could return to school and live past the life expectancy of 56 years-old. With clean water, Ugandans could outlive the life expectancy of 52 years-old.

Charity: water (C:W) is a non-profit organization that brings clean water to communities in Africa and other parts of the world. In 2009, C:W completed 1,058 water projects with 150 water points rehabilitated in 11 countries. Last year, C:W rehabilitated wells in Cote D’Ivoire, Liberia, Uganda, Honduras, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Central African Republic and Ethiopia. According to the 2009 progress report, water resources were restored to 63, 143 people.

In an interview , the Water Projects Manager Jonna Davis told WaterWideWeb, “If there is an opportunity to rehabilitate an existing non-functional water point in an area with great need, then we think that’s a worthwhile investment…”

Charity: water works with partners in local regions who report non-functional wells that can be rehabilitated. These local partnerships ensure that the community where the water well was dug is served after the initial relief effort was launched.

“An old broken water point can often be a sign of failure for a community and bringing it back to an improved service is much more practical than building a new project right next to it” confirmed Davis.

Clean water affects communities such as Cote D’Ivoire and Uganda on an immediate and long-term basis. Water wells need repair every few years. Hence, digging a well is the first step to managing the issues of public health, safety, and social development that hinder progress in these countries.

When a community has a reliable water source, markers of development are noticed in the daily life of residents. Children can attend school and women can spend time on duties unrelated to fetching water. Scarce water resources means that choices between a clean school uniform, a watered garden, or cooking a meal must be made for the short supply of water that a family survives on daily.

Functional wells in local villages ensure the safety of women in vulnerable areas of the globe. If a well breaks and water is unavailable, women and girls are forced to walk long distances to fetch water for their families. They leave home before the sun rises and are at risk for rape and physical assault on the long roads to a water source outside of their village.

On the outskirts of these villages, roads are not patrolled by security forces. Young women and girls face grave danger for the sake of finding clean water. The trek to fetch clean water can take hours, which may have been spent getting an education or working for their family. The livelihood and wellbeing of women in developing nations is largely affected by access to water. If water wells break in their community, they suffer immensely.

“Our primary concern is providing clean and safe water access where it is most needed.  If there is an opportunity to rehabilitate an existing nonfunctional water point in an area with great need, then we think that’s a worthwhile investment since rehabilitation generally costs less than constructing a brand new point of access” Davis continued.

The safety of women and girls who live in internment camps as internally displaced peoples or refugees, as is the case in Cote D’Ivoire, is affected by their ability to find water. Water is a non-violent solution to protecting the vulnerable members of these dangerous and war-torn communities.

Charity: Water is enhancing their water well rehabilitation practices to keep water flowing in communities of greatest need. Mobile programs where trained technical provisions can travel to different villages and service broken wells are in the works.

For women and girls in conflict countries with high rates of water borne diseases, water is part of their survival in an undeniable way. Providing water is the first step to securing their livelihood. Keeping the water flowing is the never-ending second step. It is an investment with a return incalculable in numbers and figures, but in quality of life.

The picture above provided by Biliana Rakocevic.

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Do you think building new water wells is more important that rehabilitating nonfunctiong ones?

What are your thoughts on well maintenance and water projects in the developing world?