Reservoirs of faecal indicator bacteria in well-head hand pumps in Bangladesh.

Joanne M Santini,Kazi M Ahmed,Seamus A Ward,Thomas H Osborne

doi:10.2166/wh.2018.042

Abstract

The majority of the population of Bangladesh (90%) rely on untreated groundwater for drinking and domestic use. At the point of collection, 40% of these supplies are contaminated with faecal indicator bacteria (FIB). Recent studies have disproved the theory that latrines discharging to shallow aquifers are the major contributor to this contamination. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that hand pumps are a reservoir of FIB. We sampled the handle, spout, piston and seal from 19 wells in Araihazar Upazila, Bangladesh and identified that the spout and seal were reservoirs of FIB. These findings led to our recommendation that well spouts be regularly cleaned, including the removal of precipitated deposits, and that the seals be regularly changed. It is envisaged that one or both of these interventions will reduce the numbers of FIB in drinking water, thereby reducing the burden of diarrhoeal disease in Bangladesh.

Highlights

The human right to water entitles everyone to clean, safe drinking water (United Nations )
At the point of collection, 40% of water supplies are contaminated with faecal indicator bacteria (FIB); at the point of use this increases to 60%
It has recently been shown that leakage from latrines into the shallow aquifer cannot account for the frequency of FIB at the point of collection, and it has been concluded that previous studies have incorrectly equated the quality of collected water with that of groundwater (Ravenscroft et al )

Summary

Introduction

The human right to water entitles everyone to clean, safe drinking water (United Nations ). ). At the point of collection, 40% of water supplies are contaminated with FIB; at the point of use this increases to 60% (van Geen et al ; BBS/UNICEF ; Ercumen et al ).

Results

Conclusion