Monitoring effective use of household water treatment and safe storage technologies in Ethiopia and Ghana

Abstract

Household water treatment and storage (HWTS) technologies dissemination is beginning to scale-up to reach the almost 900 million people without access to an improved water supply (WHO/UNICEF/JMP, 2008). Without well-informed and effective use as intended, these promising technologies will not be deployed to maximum advantage. Successful scale-up thus requires monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of behavioral indicators to achieve safe water and improved health. This thesis offers a consistent framework for the operational monitoring of Effective Use of a set of eight HWTS technologies including dilute bleach solution, Aquatabs, solar disinfection (SODIS), cloth filters, the ceramic pot filter, the biosand filter, PUR and associated safe storage practices. During late 2007, key members of the WHO-hosted International Network to Promote Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage ("The Network") who are involved with M&E of HWTS systems were contacted. A literature search on monitoring efforts involving the eight HWTS followed. The author traveled to Ethiopia and Ghana during January 2008 to investigate multiple HWTS implementations and field-test preliminary monitoring methods as part of that process. Interviews were conducted with HWTS Network partners and the users of their HWTS products, household water quality testing was conducted, and documents on usage and monitoring were collected and compiled. A framework for operational monitoring of Effective Use behaviors at the household was developed through these efforts. The framework consists of a set of Monitoring Observations specific to each technology, comprised of the five categories of Treatment, Safe Storage, Maintenance, Replacement Period, and Physical Inspection, as well as a set of common Water Quality Monitoring paramaeters.

(cont.) Field methods for measuring turbidity, residual free available chlorine, and E.coli as an indicator of microbiological water quality are described that require minimal training, time, and equipment and that are cost-effective (US $3.60 for a complete set of household tests).