Water Point Mapping Research Articles

A deep learning approach to water point detection and mapping using street-level imagery

ABSTRACT Households in developing countries often rely on alternative shared water sources that exist outside of the datasets of public service providers. This poses a significant challenge to accurately measuring the number of households outside the public service system that use a safe and accessible water source. The article proposed a novel deep learning approach that utilizes a convolutional neural network to detect and geo-reference communal water points using Google Street View imagery. Using a case study of the Agege local government area in Lagos, Nigeria, the model processed 39 kilometres of street network in 26 minutes, successfully detecting 36 previously unregistered water points with 94.7% precision and US$0 out-of-pocket expenses. In doing so, it presents a highly precise, low-cost, and scalable solution to closing geospatial data gaps on WASH access in developing countries.

Using Survey Data and Mathematical Modeling to Prioritize Water Interventions in Developing Countries

A traditional cost-benefit analysis of potential water interventions in a given locality is a laborious and time-intensive process. To help decision makers identify optimal locations for such an in-depth cost-benefit analysis, we describe a new method to combine country-wide survey data and mathematical modeling to conduct a rapid and inexpensive cost-benefit analysis of water interventions for many locations across an entire country at once, identifying which locations and which interventions are likely to have the greatest benefit per cost. Using our method, this analysis can be done cheaply, on a standard desktop computer, in a matter of hours. Also, because our method does not rely on water-point mapping data, it can be used even in countries where water-point mapping is limited or nonexistent. Our new method is made possible by the use of mathematical Monte Carlo methods to address a key problem in the survey data, namely, that geographical and spatial information are obscured in the surveys, due to privacy considerations, which makes the data difficult to use for cost-benefit analysis without methods such as ours. We use a combination of Voronoi diagramming and Monte Carlo sampling to estimate locations while preserving privacy, allowing us to overcome the information loss and to use the data for comparing needs across different locations. Our methods produce an ordered ranking of the areas within a given country which have the highest benefit-to-cost ratio and to identify the optimal intervention. We apply these methods on the countries of Namibia and Angola to demonstrate how they can be used.

A Transdisciplinary Methodology for Introducing Solar Water Disinfection to Rural Communities in Malawi-Formative Research Findings.

ABSTRACTDespite the increasing volume of evidence demonstrating the efficacy of solar water disinfection (SODIS) as a household water treatment technology, there still appear to be significant barriers to uptake in developing countries. The potential of SODIS is often treated with skepticism in terms of effective treatment, volume, and safety, and is dismissed in preference for more accepted technologies such as ceramic filters and dose chlorination. As part of WATERSPOUTT (EU H2020 688928), our study used a transdisciplinary methodology to cocreate an innovative SODIS system in rural Malawi. The formative work focused on the design of 1) an appropriate and acceptable system and 2) a context‐specific intervention delivery program using a behavior‐centered design. Initial research identified specific water needs and challenges, which were discussed along with a cocreation process with potential end users, through a series of shared dialogue workshops (SDWs). Specifications from end users outlined a desire for higher volume systems (20 L) that were “familiar” and could be manufactured locally. Development of the “SODIS bucket” was then undertaken by design experts and local manufacturers, with input from end users and subject to controlled testing to ensure efficacy and safety. Concurrent data were collated using questionnaires (n = 777 households), water point mapping (n = 121), water quality testing (n = 46), and behavior change modeling (n = 100 households). These identified specific contextual issues (hydrogeology, water access, gender roles, social capital, and socioeconomic status), and behavioral determinants (normative, ability, and self‐regulation factors) that informed the development and delivery mechanism for the implementation toolkit. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2020;16:871–884. © 2020 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC)

WASH conditions in a small town in Uganda: how safe are on-site facilities?

Abstract Inadequate hygiene coupled with the conjunctive use of the shallow subsurface as both a source of water and repository of faecal matter pose substantial risks to human health in low-income countries undergoing rapid urbanisation. To evaluate water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions in a small, rapidly growing town in central Uganda (Lukaya) served primarily by on-site water supply and sanitation facilities, water-point mapping, focus group discussions, sanitary-risk inspections and 386 household surveys were conducted. Household surveys indicate high awareness (82%) of domestic hygiene (e.g. handwashing, boiling water) but limited evidence of practice. WHO Sanitary Risk Surveys and Rapid Participatory Sanitation System Risk Assessments reveal further that community hygiene around water points and sanitation facilities including their maintenance is commonly inadequate. Spot sampling of groundwater quality shows widespread faecal contamination indicated by enumerated thermo-tolerant coliforms (TTCs) (Escherichia coli) ranging from 0 to 104 cfc/100 mL and nitrate concentrations that occasionally exceed 250 mg/L. As defined by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring programme, there are no safely managed water sources in Lukaya; ∼55% of improved water sources comprising primarily shallow hand-dug wells show gross faecal contamination by E. coli; and 51% of on-site sanitation facilities are unimproved. Despite the critical importance of on-site water supply and sanitation facilities in low-income countries to the realisation of UN Sustainable Goal 6 (access to safe water and sanitation for all by 2030), the analysis highlights the fragility and vulnerability of these systems where current monitoring and maintenance of communal facilities are commonly inadequate.

Seasonal and Annual Rainfall Variability and Their Impact on Rural Water Supply Services in the Wami River Basin, Tanzania

In some parts of Africa, rainfall variability has resulted in widespread droughts and floods, thus posing a substantial challenge to water availability in rural areas, especially drinking water. Therefore, due to increasing water demands, increases in the population, and economic development, water supply systems are under constant stress. One of the critical uncertainties surrounding the effects of rainfall variability in Africa is the significant impact that it imposes on rural water supply services. The present study analyzes the trends in annual and seasonal rainfall time series in the Wami River Basin to see if there have been any significant changes in the patterns during the period 1983–2017 and how they affect the access to water supply services in rural areas. The study analyzes the trends of rainfall series of three stations using simple regression, Mann–Kendal Test and Sen’s Slope Estimator. The water point mapping datasets were analyzed considering seasonal variation. The analysis showed a statistically significant positive trend in annual rainfall at Kongwa and March–April–May (MAM) seasonal rainfall at Dakawa. The maximum increase in annual rainfall occurred at Kongwa (5.3 mm year−1) and for MAM seasonal data at Dakawa (4.1 mm year−1). Water points were found to be significantly affected by seasonal changes, both in terms of availability and quality of water. There also exists a strong relationship between rural water services and seasons.

Mapping access to domestic water supplies from incomplete data in developing countries: An illustrative assessment for Kenya.

Water point mapping databases, generated through surveys of water sources such as wells and boreholes, are now available in many low and middle income countries, but often suffer from incomplete coverage. To address the partial coverage in such databases and gain insights into spatial patterns of water resource use, this study investigated the use of a maximum entropy (MaxEnt) approach to predict the geospatial distribution of drinking-water sources, using two types of unimproved sources in Kenya as illustration. Geographic locations of unprotected dug wells and surface water sources derived from the Water Point Data Exchange (WPDx) database were used as inputs to the MaxEnt model alongside geological/hydrogeological and socio-economic covariates. Predictive performance of the MaxEnt models was high (all > 0.9) based on Area Under the Receiver Operator Curve (AUC), and the predicted spatial distribution of water point was broadly consistent with household use of these unimproved drinking-water sources reported in household survey and census data. In developing countries where geospatial datasets concerning drinking-water sources often have necessarily limited resolution or incomplete spatial coverage, the modelled surface can provide an initial indication of the geography of unimproved drinking-water sources to target unserved populations and assess water source vulnerability to contamination and hazards.

Borehole water: a potential health risk to rural communities in South Africa

Abstract Sporadic outbreaks of diarrhoea in children in the Vhembe rural areas could be an indication of contamination in drinking water sources. In areas where improved water sources are used, not all rural households experience the benefits of these improved water sources. Water samples were collected from boreholes in three wards in the Vhembe District to determine microbiological risks over a 5-month period. A Water Point Mapping tool was used to indicate the borehole distribution. Water samples were taken from each functional borehole and analysed for total coliform and Escherichia coli counts, electrical conductivity, pH and temperature. A multiplex PCR protocol was used for identification of pathogenic E. coli. A total of 125 boreholes were identified of which only 12 were functional. Seven boreholes tested positive for total coliforms and E. coli counts. Four boreholes (33.3%) tested positive for diarrhoeagenic E. coli. Fifty-eight percent (58%) of water samples were without health risks, 17% were low risk and 25% could cause infection according to the South African water quality standards. This study indicated the importance of the role of the Municipalities and the maintenance plans that need to ensure that all boreholes are functional and provide safe drinking water to the rural communities.

Wicked Water Points: The Quest for an Error Free National Water Point Database

The Water Sector Development Programme (WSDP) of Tanzania aims to improve the performance of the water sector in general and rural water supply (RWS) in particular. During the first phase of the WSDP (2007 to 2014), implementing agencies developed information systems for attaining management efficiencies. One of these systems, the Water Point Mapping System (WPMS), has now been completed, and the database is openly available to the public, as part of the country’s commitment to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative. The Tanzanian WPMS project was the first attempt to map “wall-to-wall” all rural public water points in an African nation. The complexity of the endeavor led to suboptimal results in the quality of the WPMS database, the baseline of the WPMS. The WPMS database was a means for the future monitoring of all rural water points, but its construction has become an end in itself. We trace the challenges of water point mapping in Tanzania and describe how the WPMS database was initially populated and to what effect. The paper conceptualizes errors found in the WPMS database as material, observational, conceptual and discursive, and characterizes them in terms of type, suspected origin and mitigation options. The discussion focuses on the consequences of open data scrutiny for the integrity of the WPMS database and the implications for monitoring wicked water point data.

Integration of population census and water point mapping data-A case study of Cambodia, Liberia and Tanzania.

Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 has expanded the Millennium Development Goals' focus from improved drinking-water to safely managed water services. This expanded focus to include issues such as water quality requires richer monitoring data and potentially integration of datasets from different sources. Relevant data sets include water point mapping (WPM), the survey of boreholes, wells and other water points, census and household survey data. This study examined inconsistencies between population census and WPM datasets for Cambodia, Liberia and Tanzania, and identified potential barriers to integrating the two datasets to meet monitoring needs. Literatures on numbers of people served per water point were used to convert WPM data to population served by water source type per area and compared with census reports. For Cambodia and Tanzania, discrepancies with census data suggested incomplete WPM coverage. In Liberia, where the data sets were consistent, WPM-derived data on functionality, quantity and quality of drinking water were further combined with census area statistics to generate an enhanced drinking-water access measure for protected wells and springs. The process revealed barriers to integrating census and WPM data, including exclusion of water points not used for drinking by households, matching of census and WPM source types; temporal mismatches between data sources; data quality issues such as missing or implausible data values, and underlying assumptions about population served by different water point technologies. However, integration of these two data sets could be used to identify and rectify gaps in WPM coverage. If WPM databases become more complete and the above barriers are addressed, it could also be used to develop more realistic measures of household drinking-water access for monitoring.

Indicators of improved water access in the context of schistosomiasis transmission in rural Eastern Region, Ghana.

Populations with poor access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) infrastructure are disproportionately affected by the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs). As a result, WASH has gained increasing prominence in integrated control and elimination of NTDs, including schistosomiasis. In order to identify underserved populations, relevant measures of access to WASH infrastructure at sub-national or local levels are needed. We conducted a field survey of all public water sources in 74 rural communities in the Eastern Region of Ghana and computed indicators of water access using two methods: one based on the design capacity and another on the spatial distribution of water sources. The spatial method was applied to improved and surface water sources. According to the spatial method, improved water sources in the study area were well-distributed within communities with 95% (CI95%: 91, 98) of the population having access within 500m when all, and 87% (CI95%: 81, 93) when only functional water sources were considered. According to the design capacity-based method, indicator values were lower: 63% (CI95%: 57, 69) for all and 49% (CI95%: 43, 55) for only functional sources. Surface water access was substantial with 62% (CI95%: 54, 71) of the population located within 500m of a perennial surface water source. A negative relationship was observed between functional improved water access and surface water access within 300m. In this context, perceived water quality of the improved sources was also important, with a 17% increase in surface water access in towns with one reported water quality problem as compared to towns with no problems. Our study offers a potential methodology to use water point mapping data to identify communities in need of improved water access to achieve schistosomiasis risk reduction.

Water–sanitation–hygiene mapping: An improved approach for data collection at local level

Strategic planning and appropriate development and management of water and sanitation services are strongly supported by accurate and accessible data. If adequately exploited, these data might assist water managers with performance monitoring, benchmarking comparisons, policy progress evaluation, resources allocation, and decision making. A variety of tools and techniques are in place to collect such information. However, some methodological weaknesses arise when developing an instrument for routine data collection, particularly at local level: i) comparability problems due to heterogeneity of indicators, ii) poor reliability of collected data, iii) inadequate combination of different information sources, and iv) statistical validity of produced estimates when disaggregated into small geographic subareas.This study proposes an improved approach for water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) data collection at decentralised level in low income settings, as an attempt to overcome previous shortcomings. The ultimate aim is to provide local policymakers with strong evidences to inform their planning decisions. The survey design takes the Water Point Mapping (WPM) as a starting point to record all available water sources at a particular location. This information is then linked to data produced by a household survey. Different survey instruments are implemented to collect reliable data by employing a variety of techniques, such as structured questionnaires, direct observation and water quality testing. The collected data is finally validated through simple statistical analysis, which in turn produces valuable outputs that might feed into the decision-making process. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the method, outcomes produced from three different case studies (Homa Bay District –Kenya–; Kibondo District –Tanzania–; and Municipality of Manhiça –Mozambique–) are presented.

Note from the field: Mapping progress and the challenges ahead in Sierra Leone

Making the transition from humanitarian emergency programming to long-term development is not easy. The challenge for WASH practitioners in Sierra Leone is to ensure basic services can be delivered efficiently, sustainably, and ‘at scale’. Between December 2011 and April 2012 the Ministry of Energy and Water Resources (MEWR) mapped more than 28,000 water points. The mapping survey revealed that more than a third of water points constructed are non-functioning and 40 per cent function only on a seasonal basis. The three challenges now for government are to ensure visually mapped data can be kept updated, fund gaps in coverage, and deliver sustainable services before a second water-point mapping survey in 2014.

Quality and year-round availability of water delivered by improved water points in rural Tanzania: effects on coverage

This paper reports the findings of three water point mapping (WPM) studies carried out in three rural districts of Tanzania covering 3,363 water points. The methodology was designed to estimate the influence that consideration of the quality of the water supplied and the year-round functionality of each water point would have on each district's coverage figures. To this end, the study included measurements of basic quality parameters (692 analyses) and characterisation of the year-round continuity of service, in addition to the data collected in standard WPM campaigns. Both the quality and year-round continuity results were analysed in a disaggregated form by water point technology. The results show that 22% of the improved water points analysed had more than 10 CFU (colony-forming units)/100 ml of water and 19% were seasonal. Moreover, water service coverage in the districts studied fell 40% on average when quality and year-round continuity were considered. There is a strong need to include these basic factors in the minimum standards to be delivered and monitored in rural areas. Simple and efficient methodologies for including quality and year-round continuity measurements in the information routines, such as the one presented here, are a necessary step to this end.

Water Point Mapping for the Analysis of Rural Water Supply Plans: Case Study from Tanzania

In Tanzania, like in many other countries in the Sub-Saharan region, the government is implementing an ambitious rural water supply and sanitation plan (RWSSP) to increase access to water from 53% in 2005 to 90% by 2025. This paper exploits water point mapping (WPM) data to evaluate the principles underlying the design of this program and reveals some challenges for the rapid increase of access to water. The data set of water points analyzed accounts for 15% of the country’s total rural population. The results show that the inaccuracy of the baseline used for the program design, difficulties faced by underserved districts in keeping the water points functional, and the differences between the expected and real long-term functionality of the water points, especially for hand pumps, are the primary threats to the achievement of the targets. It is suggested that more effort be put into capacity building, particularly the supervision of construction, and the support of community-owned management during the first years of operation.

Building the role of local government authorities towards the achievement of the human right to water in rural Tanzania

AbstractIn recent decades, many changes have occurred in the approach to financing and operating water services in developing countries. The demand‐responsive approach is now adopted in many countries in a context of donor‐supported decentralization processes, which gives more responsibility to end users. However, the government's responsibility at different levels is enforced by the international recognition of the human right to water. This paper examines specific actions that build the role of local government authorities in this scenario. A collaboration between an international NGO and a rural district in Tanzania from 2006 to 2009 is used as an action research case study that is representative of local capacity‐building needs in decentralized contexts and rural areas. Three main challenges were detected: i) lack of reliable information; ii) poor allocation of resources in terms of equity; and iii) lack of long‐term community management support from the district. Two mechanisms were established: i) water point mapping as a tool for information and planning; and ii) a District Water and Sanitation Unit Support (DWUS) for community management. The results show how the framework provided by the goal of human right to water helps to define useful strategies for equity‐oriented planning and post‐project support at the local level.

Improving water access indicators in developing countries: a proposal using water point mapping methodology

The Millennium Development Goals set the target to “halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation”. The current international definition of indicators of access is insufficient for measuring this target. Furthermore, the lack of an internationally agreed definition and measurement methodology is causing confusion and uncertainty regarding the figures that are disseminated worldwide. Moreover, the current context, in which almost 70% of funds for the sector are channelled through national governments, emphasises the importance of a monitoring system for national water sectors in developing countries. From this, an improvement in investment efficiency is expected. The water point mapping methodology, promoted and widely developed by the international organization WaterAid, is presented as an alternative way of defining water access indicators. The present paper describes its potential for defining new indicators and making improvements. Our research is based on the results of a pilot study carried out by Ingeniería Sin Fronteras (Engineering without Borders, Spain) in the Same district, Tanzania. The paper concludes with a discussion of the challenges posed by the implementation of this methodology and proposes further steps for improvement.