Water Service Levels Research Articles

The influence of seasonality and multiple water source use on household water service levels

Universal access to safely managed drinking water (SMDW) is important for human health, well-being, and development. It is reflected in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6. In rural areas of low- and middle-income countries, 1.9 billion people lack access to SMDW. Multiple water source use and seasonal source switching may negate health and development gains from SMDW. Hence, achieving SDG 6 requires a better understanding of how these factors relate to household service levels. We explored this using data from 37,105 household surveys and 6395 household drinking water samples collected from rural areas of 14 low- and middle-income countries (Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe). A different primary water source was used in the rainy and dry seasons by 10% of households; seasonal source switching was most common in Kenyan households (29%) and least common in Zambian households (3%). Twenty-three percent of households used a secondary water source, and 37% of these secondary sources were unimproved (e.g., unprotected dug wells and surface water). Sixty-nine percent of household water samples contained E. coli. In 11 of 14 countries studied, fecally contaminated water was the water service parameter preventing households from having SMDW free from fecal contamination at the point of use. Overall, 7% of households had access to SMDW free from contamination at the point of use. Our results confirm that the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation, and Hygiene (JMP) substantively overstate the population benefiting from safely managed drinking water, and their reporting statistics should be interpreted with caution. Seasonal source switching and secondary water source use have an important influence in some countries and should be accounted for in monitoring and programming activities.

Improvement of water utility management in Tajikistan: reduction in water wastage using a metered tariff system

AbstractTajikistan is a country in Central Asia with rich water resources. However, drinking water is used for agriculture and other non-drinking purposes owing to the fixed tariff system. Consequently, the overall level of water services has deteriorated and generated revenue is insufficient for operation and maintenance costs. Therefore, a project aimed to improve the quality of water supply services by providing hardware support, such as construction of wells and renewal of water distribution pipes, was conducted. However, because hardware improvement alone cannot sufficiently enhance water supply services, software support to improve the capacity of Vodokanal (utility) staff, including preparation of a metered tariff system, was implemented through a technical cooperation project. The project successfully raised customer awareness of water conservation, and the water consumption rate was reduced to two-thirds of that before implementation of the project. Additionally, the water quantity, quality, pressure, and supply hours in the target area were significantly improved. Despite the resulting increase in financial burden, customer satisfaction regarding the water supply was enhanced from 51% before the project to 100% in the second half of the project. Simultaneously, the water supply revenue increased by 24% and this increase contributed to sustainable water supply management.

Carbon efficiency analysis in the provision of drinking water: Estimation of optimal greenhouse gas emissions

Assessing carbon efficiency (CE) in the provision of drinking water services is essential to achieve a net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) urban water cycle. Previous studies evaluating the CE of water companies are very scarce and employed parametric and non-parametric. Both methodological approaches present limitations such as overfitting issues or require assumptions about the production technology which could lead to less reliable efficiency scores. To overcome these limitations, in this study, and for the first time, we estimated CE of English and Welsh water companies using the Efficiency Analysis Trees (EAT) approach. This technique brings together machine learning and non-linear programming techniques to estimate production frontier and efficiency scores. It also allowed us to quantify the optimal level of GHG emissions in the provision of water services and estimate potential GHG savings. Bootstrap truncated regression methods were employed to quantify the impact of operating characteristics on CE of water companies. The optimal level of GHG emissions was estimated to be between 0.062 and 133.03 tons of CO2 equivalent (CO2eq) per year and per connected property. The average CE was at the level of 0.632. This means that GHG emissions could reduce by 36.8% to maintain the same level of water services. Equivalently, this corresponds to a reduction of 488,321 tons of CO2eq per year. Water only companies exhibited a better performance than water and sewerage companies with an average CE of 0.785 and 0.540, respectively. The performance of the English and Welsh water companies decreased over time. In 2011 the average CE was 0.772 whereas it went down to 0.534 in 2020. It was also estimated that on average water companies could reduce 0.034 tons of CO2eq per cubic meter of drinking water supplied and 16.16 tons of CO2eq/connected property per year. The regression results showed that topography and water treatment complexity had a significant impact on CE. The conclusions of this study are relevant for policy makers to define policies toward a low-carbon urban water cycle.

Access to basic drinking water services, safe water storage, and household water treatment practice in rural communities of northwest Ethiopia

Protecting water from cross contamination at source and point of use is an important strategy to improve water quality. However, water safety measures at the source and point of use may not be implemented in the rural communities. This community-based cross-sectional study was, therefore, conducted among 1190 randomly selected households in a rural setting of northwest Ethiopia to assess access to basic drinking water services, safe water storage, and household water treatment practices. Water service level was determined using JMP criteria and practices that prevent cross contamination of water at point of use were used to determine safe water storage. Results showed that 23.0% of the households had access to basic water services; 37.0% practiced safe water storage; and 15.4% practiced one or more household water treatment methods. Public taps (54.5%) and protected spring (25.1%) were the common water sources to rural communities in northwest Ethiopia. Boiling (43.2%), chlorination or water guard (26.8%), and plain sedimentation (23.0%) were among the household water treatment methods commonly practiced in the area. In conclusion, rural households in the studied region has low access to basic water services. Safe water storage practice was also low in the area and household water treatment is not commonly practiced.

Surveyed from Afar: Household water security, emotional well-being, and the reliability of water supply in the Ethiopian lowlands.

Almost half of the world's population is expected to experience water stress in their daily lives by 2050. The impacts of water scarcity on physical and psychosocial health are especially felt in arid regions of Ethiopia where semi-nomadic pastoralist populations are heavily reliant on groundwater for domestic and livestock needs. However, functional water supply infrastructure and reliable service delivery remain a challenge. A cross-sectional water security household survey of 469 heads of households and borehole runtime sensor data in Afar Region, Ethiopia, has three main findings. First, higher levels of household water insecurity experiences (HWISE) and water-related emotional distress (WRED) are positively correlated (0.57, p<0.01) and are significantly associated with "limited" water service levels, the non-use of boreholes, and more vulnerable household demographics (female-headed households and lower household incomes). Lower HWISE scores are associated with increased borehole pump usage and reliability, with a cut-off point of 6h of pump usage per day measured with electronic sensors. Adding additional water points to the dry lowlands of Afar have led to overcrowding and rangeland degradation in the past, highlighting a need to balance increased production for human consumption with livestock use. When it comes to climate resilience and adaptation, ensuring the reliability of what has already been constructed is a top priority for the regional government. Our findings suggest that increasing the reliability and daily usage of existing water supply systems over the short-sighted expansion of sources is worth the investment in services it will take to reach even the most far-flung communities.

Insights into water service quality in Jordan from key performance indicators and consumer perceptions

The study analyzed correlations between water supply service performance and customer satisfaction in Jordan, using key performance indicators (KPIs) and surveys of 914 consumers. The study revealed that the level of water service, including water quality, did not influence consumers' selection of drinking water source but strongly influenced their choice of cooking water. The consumers' overall satisfaction showed a significant correlation coefficient with the operating ratio (revenue/expense for operation) (R = 0.84, P < 0.01) and weekly water supply hours (R = 0.69, P < 0.05), which was influenced mainly by consumers’ perception regarding sufficient water quantity and quality.

Inclusive WASH and sustainable tourism in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia: needs and opportunities

Abstract Rapid tourism growth can place unprecedented strain on water resources and reduce access for local communities. This study explored the state of Inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) in the tourism sector and local communities of Labuan Bajo, one of Indonesia's ‘super-premium’ tourism destinations. The formative research applied an Inclusive WASH-at-Work framework; data were collected using a case study methodology through semi-structured interviews (n = 20) and focus groups (n = 6) with government, tourism and community stakeholders. The findings identified growing tensions over inequitable water service levels and WASH access. Significantly, reported negative impacts were disproportionately experienced by women and girls, elderly and disabled members of the community, who suffer most from inadequate WASH facilities in hotels, public settings and their homes. Governance of and capacity constraints around WASH management highlighted the value of Inclusive WASH solutions to overcome the challenges Labuan Bajo faces as a rapidly developing tourism destination. Critically, solutions must be locally-driven, build local capacity and open pathways to collaboration between the community and decision-makers in the national government, provincial government and private tourism sector. Enhanced stakeholder collaboration and increased private sector contributions are needed to ensure a more equitable distribution of tourism benefits to underpin WASH and destination sustainability.

Per capita water consumption for benchmarked South African service levels derived by means of explicit reasoning

Per capita water use is commonly employed in single-parameter models to estimate water demand, especially in regions where model input parameters are limited. Research has confirmed that the serviced population and household size positively correlate with water consumption, but the per capita consumption of household members decreases with increased household size. A central issue driving this study was the lack of an up-to-date per capita household water use guideline in the South African context. This study followed a process of explicit reasoning and inference, informed by an extensive knowledge review, stakeholder input and interrogation of relevant data, to develop a novel per capita water use estimation tool. Five main parameters were included, namely: (i) level of water service provided, (ii) usage scenario, (iii) household size (people per household), (iv) geographic region, and (v) regional property value. A Microsoft Excel–based tool was developed and is supplied online as supplementary material with this publication. The litres per capita per day tool (LCD-tool) allows for robust per capita water use estimates, as a function of the above five input parameters. The Microsoft Excel LCD-tool provides benchmarks for different South African conditions, described by context-specific service levels. The planning and management of water supply and distribution systems could benefit from the findings of this study.

The embodiment of water insecurity: Injuries and chronic stress in lowland Bolivia

Water is critical to health and wellbeing. Studies have theorized that problems with water can become embodied, yet few studies have quantified this. Therefore, we first sought to understand the lowland Bolivian water environment of Tsimane’ forager-horticulturalists. We assessed the water environment holistically, using objective measures of water quality and water services (Joint Monitoring Programme's drinking water services ladder) and subjective measures, including perceived water safety and water insecurity experiences [Household Water Insecurity Experiences Scale (HWISE)]. We tested how water service levels, perceived water safety, and water fetching frequency were associated with HWISE scores using Tobit regression models among 270 households. We then tested if and how water becomes embodied via self-reported water-related injury and a chronic stress biomarker, hair cortisol concentration (HCC). Results demonstrated that, compared with households using surface water, households with basic water services had HWISE scores 1.59-pts lower (SE = 0.29; P < 0.001). Ingestion of water perceived to be “bad” and more daily water-fetching trips were associated with higher HWISE scores. Twenty percent of households reported prior water-related injuries, with women most commonly injured. In logistic regressions, each point higher HWISE score was associated with 28% (95%CI:1.16–1.41; P < 0.001) higher odds of injury. Basic water services compared to surface water was associated with 48% lower odds (OR = 0.52; 95%CI:0.33–0.82; P = 0.005) of injury. Finally, using linear regressions among 332 adults, HWISE scores were not associated with HCC. Past water-related injury was associated with higher HCC (Beta = 0.31; SE = 0.09; P = 0.029) among women, but not men. Relying on unimproved water services compared to surface was associated with 46.2% higher HCC for women (Beta=0.38; SE=0.14; P=0.048) and 55.3% higher HCC for men (Beta=0.44; SE=0.15; P=0.044), respectively. Overall, our findings demonstrate that water insecurity can become embodied through water-related injuries and elevated HCC. Improving water service levels through an equity lens may help ameliorate water insecurity and its accompanying negative health effects.

Individual choices and universal rights for drinking water in rural Africa

More than 500 million rural Africans lack safe drinking water. The human right to water and United Nations Sustainable Development Goal SDG6.1 promote a policy shift from building water infrastructure to sustaining water services. However, the financial calculus is bleak with the costs of "safely managed"' or "basic" water services in rural Africa beyond current government budgets and donor funds. The funding shortfall is compounded by the disappointing results of earlier policy initiatives in Africa. This is partly because of a failure to understand which attributes of water services rural people value. We model more than 11,000 choice observations in rural Kenya by attributes of drinking water quality, price, reliability, and proximity. Aggregate analysis disguises alternative user priorities in three choice classes. The two larger choice classes tolerate lower service levels with higher payments. A higher water service level reflects the smallest choice class favored by women and the lower wealth group. For the lower wealth group, slower repair times are accepted in preference to a lower payment. Some people discount potable water and proximity, and most people choose faster repair times and lower payments. We argue policy progress needs to chart common ground between individual choices and universal rights. Guaranteeing repair times may provide a policy lever to unlock individual payments to complement public investment in water quality and waterpoint proximity to support progressive realization of a universal right.

Adequacy of Improved Sources of Drinking Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Practice for the Reduction of Diarrheal Disease Among People Living with HIV/AIDS, Harar Region, Ethiopia

BackgroundHome-based care services like improved water supply, sanitation, and hygiene (WaSH) practice are vital for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) to improve their quality of life. The negative impact of inadequate WaSH services is more pronounced among HIV-infected individuals leading them to low economic productivity, poor-nourished, immuno-compromised, and death. The aim of this study was to investigate the adequacy of improved sources of drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene practice for the reduction of diarrheal disease among people living with HIV/AIDS, Harar region, Ethiopia.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted on 422 PLWHA in the Harar region related to WaSH as home-based care services and the prevalence of diarrheal disease using a standardized survey questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and multivariate Poisson regressions models were performed by SPSS Version 25. Using generalized linear models, adjusted prevalence ratio (APR) with 95%Cl and p-value were computed to assess the strength of association between the outcome and explanatory variables. A significant association was assured when the p-value is less than 0.05.ResultsIn the present study, the two-week prevalence of diarrheal disease was 25%, of which 16% experienced two or more diarrheal episodes. Moreover, 87% of PLWHA used an improved source of drinking water, 66% used improved sanitation facilities, and 68% have good hygiene practices. Only 37% of the respondents acquired a basic water service level (≥20lcd) and 58% of PLWHA acquired the recommended quantity of safe water for drinking (≥1.5lcd). In multivariate analysis, the adjusted prevalence ratio of the 2-week prevalence of diarrhea was lower by 8% (APR =1.08; 95%Cl: 1.02, 1.14), 7% (APR =1.07; 95%Cl: 1.01, 1.14), and 5% (APR =1.05; 95%Cl: 1.00, 1.11) among PLWHA who have good hygiene practice, wash their hand with soap 24 hours before the survey, and used sanitation facility consistently, respectively.ConclusionThe current study results showed that PLWHA has inadequate access to improved drinking water sources, improved sanitation facilities, and hygienic practice; these triggers stakeholders for proper interventions, effective integration of adequate WaSH services to the HIV/AIDS program to enhance the quality of life of PLWHA.

Sustainable Replacement of Aging Drinking Water Lines Using Horizontal Directional Drilling Technology

Background: Due to deterioration from aging, the City of Yuma, Arizona undertook the replacement of approximately 5800 L.F. (1767 m) of existing aging and undersized asbestos cement water lines in the vicinity of the downtown core to reduce maintenance and repairs and improve water service levels. Installed between 1938 and 1940, six line segments of existing 2-inch (50 mm) to 6-inch (150 mm) asbestos cement water lines were replaced by 6-inch (150 mm) diameter PVC pipe. Methods: To study advantages and disadvantages of traditional open-cut construction compared to Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD), the City separated the project into approximately 2000 L.F. (609 m) of HDD and 3800 L.F. (1158 m) of open-cut. Analyzing the same project provided an opportunity to study a true head-to-head comparison of the two methods. PVC C900 DR18 was installed using open-cut, while Fusible PVC (FPVC) DR18 was installed by HDD. Data was collected in the field over a two-month period with factors analyzed including comparison of: (1) environmental impacts; (2) traffic impacts; and (3) productivity. Results: The results found HDD to have inherent advantages in all three areas when compared to traditional open-cut. The HDD option emitted approximately 23% of airborne emissions compared to open cut. Traffic was restricted in the sections involving open-cut construction, while the HDD sections had continuous traffic flow due to the closure of only one lane. HDD achieved an average productivity of 1.91 L.F./min (0.58 m/min) compared to traditional open-cut, which achieved an average productivity of 0.43 L.F./min (0.13 m/min). This translates to HDD achieving a production rate greater than four times that of open-cut. Conclusions: The adoption of trenchless technologies such as HDD will continue to increase as municipalities turn to sustainable solutions for replacing and/or rehabilitating their existing water pipe line infrastructure. HDD has proven to be superior to open-cut construction in environmental, traffic control and productivity.

Geographical inequalities in drinking water in the Solomon Islands

Sustainable Development Goal 6.1 seeks to “by 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water”, which is challenging particularly in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Pacific Island Countries (PIC). We report drinking water sources and services in the Solomon Islands and examine geographical inequalities.Based on two quantitative baseline datasets of n = 1,598 rural and n = 1,068 urban households, we analyzed different drinking water variables (source type, collection time, amount, use, perceived quality, storage, treatment) and a composite index, drinking water service level. We stratified data by urban and rural areas and by province, mapped, and contextualized them.There are substantive rural–urban drinking water inequalities in the Solomon Islands. Overall, urban households are more likely to: use improved drinking water sources, need less time to collect water, collect more water, store their water more safely, treat water prior to consumption, perceive their water quality as better and have an at least basic drinking water service than rural households. There are also provincial and center-periphery inequalities in drinking water access, with more centrally located provinces using piped water supplies and more distant and remote provinces using rainwater and surface water as their primary source. There are also inter-national inequalities. Out of all PICs, the Solomon Islands have among the lowest access to basic drinking water services: 92% of urban and 55% of rural households. Of all SIDS, PICs are least serviced.This study shows that drinking water inequality is a critical issue, and highlights that all identified dimensions of inequality - rural–urban, provincial, center-periphery and inter-national - need to be explicitly recognized and addressed and included in pro-equity monitoring, policy and programming efforts by the Solomon Islands Government and stakeholders to reduce inequalities as per the Agenda 2030.

Diurnal water use patterns for low-cost houses with indigent water allocation: a South African case study

Abstract The diurnal water use patterns are of interest to hydraulic modellers, as these patterns are required for the design of water distribution systems. An extensive body of literature is available with regard to daily, weekly and seasonal diurnal water use patterns of typical suburban houses. However, the characteristics of South African low-cost houses, the socio-economic status of the consumers and the level of water service to such houses differs from typical western suburban houses reported on elsewhere. Notable differences include the limited access to heated water and negligible garden irrigation at the low-cost houses. Knowledge of water use in low-cost houses, which are prevalent in South Africa, is limited. To reduce this lack of knowledge, approximately 2.5 million flow records were collected over a period of 3 years from a sample of 14 low-cost houses as part of this empirical case study. Subsequently, a diurnal water use pattern was constructed for the selected low-cost houses at 15-minute and 1-hour resolution. The diurnal pattern is useful for hydraulic modellers when data that represent extended period time simulation of water networks in low-cost housing developments is required.

Households’ preferences and willingness to pay for multiple use water services in rural areas of South Africa: An analysis based on choice modelling

Financing of multiple use (i.e. domestic and productive) water services was identified as an important ingredient to ensure improved water access for rural poor and broaden livelihood options in South Africa. Following the principles of integrated water resource management (IWRM), efficient, equitable and sustainable investments in improved water services should be based on a thorough understanding of actual demand by consumers. Comprehensive studies looking at multiple use water services are not common in South African rural areas, where most of the economic analyses focus on either domestic or irrigation water demand. This study aims at filling this gap by assessing the household demand for multiple use water services in Sekororo-Letsoalo area in the Limpopo Province. Choice modelling is the approach used to identify the attributes determining demand for water services and quantify their relative importance. Results show that households in rural areas are willing to pay for improvements in water services. Due to the current poor level of water services in the area, users are primarily concerned with basic domestic uses and, consequently, demand for productive uses is low. Only households already relatively well served are interested in engaging in multiple water uses.

A Discrete Choice Experiment in Estimate Public Willingness to Pay for Attributes of Water Services in Terengganu, Malaysia

Water service is usually taken for granted as important amenities with required levels needed, however little is known about how much consumers are willing to pay for particular water service levels. Improved water services should be based on the understanding built upon consumers’ choice and preferences. Thus, this study aims to estimate willingness to pay (WTP) of consumers in Terengganu, Malaysia for improvement in domestic water services. A choice experiment method was conducted to assess consumer preferences for water service attributes: i.e. water quality, water disruption, water pressure and water price. Primary data were collected using face-to-face interviews of structured questionnaire from a sample of residents in eight districts in Terengganu. A conditional logit model was carried out for data regression. The results showed significant willingness to pay (WTP) and the contribution of the level of education, age and income in supporting the specific attributes of water services improvements. Identifying the attributes and their prices based on consumers’ preferences would help water provider to recognize and deliver preferred water service attributes, effective water tariff policy for cost recovery and water service sustainability to consumers.

Rapid drinking water safety estimation in cities: Piloting a globally scalable method in Cochabamba, Bolivia

BackgroundSystematically collected and comparable data on drinking water safety at city-scale is currently unavailable, despite the stated importance of water safety monitoring at scale under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We developed a rapid drinking water quality assessment methodology intended to be replicable across all cities and useful for monitoring towards achieving SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation). MethodsWe collected drinking water samples at the point-of-consumption for basic microbial, physical and chemical water quality analysis and conducted household surveys on drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene access from 80 households in the city of Cochabamba over 1 week. We categorized the household's water service level according to the SDG 6 framework. ResultsWe estimated an average time requirement of 6.4 person-hours and a consumable cost of US $51 per household (n = 80). In this cross-sectional study, 71% of drinking water samples met World Health Organization (WHO) microbiological safety criteria, 96% met WHO chemical quality criteria, and all met WHO aesthetic quality criteria. However, only 18% of the households were categorized as having safely managed drinking water services. None met the criteria for having safely managed sanitation services; nonetheless, 81% had basic sanitation services and 78% had basic hygiene facilities. ConclusionsThis method can generate basic water safety data for a city at a relatively low cost in terms of person-time and materials, yielding useful information for inter-city analyses. Because 29% of samples did not meet microbiological safety criteria, 22% of the households did not have access to handwashing facilities and none had safe sanitation services, we concluded that Cochabamba did not meet normative SDG 6 targets when surveyed. Our study further suggests that water quality at point-of-use more accurately characterizes drinking water safety than infrastructure type.

Identifying opportunities to improve piped water continuity and water system monitoring in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama: Evidence from Bayesian networks and regression analysis

Many piped water systems in rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean provide discontinuous service. In response to service delivery challenges, governments developed the Rural Water and Sanitation Information System to monitor water service levels, infrastructure conditions, water committees, and technical assistance providers. Collected data are combined into metrics to represent water service sustainability. There is little analysis of these data to identify service delivery and system improvement opportunities and the sustainability metrics are unvalidated. Multivariable regression and Bayesian networks were used to analyze variables associated with the availability of 24-h water services using data from 5560 community-based piped water systems in Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama. The regression models were compared to the sustainability metric. In Honduras and Nicaragua, the proportion of systems providing 24-h service spanned 71 percentage points between sub-national regions. Good condition infrastructure and year-round water source availability were associated with the availability of 24-h service. The availability of support for system rehabilitation in Honduras and for preventative maintenance in Nicaragua were associated with the availability of 24-h services. The Bayesian networks predicted that good condition infrastructure and year-round water source availability were more influential on the availability of 24-h service than management variables such as the availability of external technical support and funds to rehabilitate the system. In each country, insufficient household water tariffs were collected for 90% or more of systems to cover infrastructure, operations, and maintenance costs. The r-squared values for the regression models ranged from 0.22 (Nicaragua) to 0.49 (Honduras) as compared to 0.05 (Nicaragua) to 0.03 (Honduras) for the sustainability metric – suggesting that regression models are better at predicting higher service levels. Rural water service operators, technical assistance providers, local and national governments, and external support agencies could make better use of monitoring data by using interdisciplinary systems approaches to identify improvement opportunities to allocate technical and financial resources to systems with low service levels.

Service levels for the four billion people with piped water on premises

ABSTRACTWhile more than half of the people in the world have access to piped water on premises, no global assessment has been made of the availability, safety, reliability and affordability of service levels. The range of situations is challenging, but assessments based on performance can raise awareness and equip officials to promote higher and safer piped water service levels. The article explores explanatory variables for service levels and uses descriptive information and expert opinion to triangulate towards conclusions about how service levels vary. Research needs are identified for development of protocols and data classes for a piped water services rating system.

APLIKASI TEKNOLOGI PENGOLAHAN AIR SEDERHANA UNTUK MASYARAKAT PEDESAAN

The level of water services by PDAM (Local Water Service Company) is still 19,4% of Indonesian population. Most of them still rely on groundwater, spring, river and rain. In the big and medium cities the level of water services higher between 40 – 50 and 20 - 30% respectively, but in rural still very low. Recently many source of water is contaminated by domestic, industry, and agricultur waste due to lack of attention of water users to environment. Beside, some dense populated areas with low sanitation fasility make many shalow well contaminated by E.coli. For improving rural water services, It needs government policy that encourage bigger role of rural comunity to develop their ability and organization that maintain and protect source, process, production and distribution of water. Information of Simple Water Treatment Technology is an important that must be distributed to people who live in village or remote areas, in order to improve their knowledge. BPPT has been along time to develop many kind of water treatment technologies for treating river water, groundwater, peatwater, calcareous water,poluted water, brachist water or even sea water to make clean water or potable water. Many of those technologies have already applied in many areas in Indonesia, and up to now BPPT still develop many kind of water treatment technologies for the future. Kata Kunci : air bersih, pengolahan air, masyarakat pedesaan.