ENCAP Visual Field Guide: Water Supply

The guide is designed to ensure that common environmental deficits in activity design and management are quickly and easily identified for corrective action. The guide presents a series of questions to assess potential environmental problems related to water supply. A "YES" answer to any of the following questions indicates an environmental concern that may exist, requiring follow-up and notification of the Chief of Party and the USAID Project Manager. The questions include: - Is a tank or well supplying water for domestic use uncovered? - Is there stagnant water around the water supply point? - Do livestock share the water supply point? - Is there soil erosion in the vicinity of the water supply point? - Is there a pit latrine, waste dump, or obviously contaminated surface water within 30m of a shallow well? - Do nearby surface waters show evidence of being abnormally low for the season? - Are nearby surface waters overgrown with aquatic plants/algae? - Are children getting water-borne illnesses more frequently and/or more severely than in the past, and are these children drinking from a USAID-provided water source? - Does the water taste bad or salty, and are users complaining of a bad taste? - Is the water off-color, is there sediment, and does it smell bad, and are users complaining of any of these issues? - Are wells going dry (seasonally) at the inspection site or in the surrounding area that did not do so in the past? - Is water leaking from tanks/pipes/supply points? The guide also emphasizes the importance of taking a water sample for testing to determine potability. Prior to public provision, all USAID-funded water supplies should be tested for arsenic and fecal coliform at a minimum, and ideally for all the contaminants listed below. The guide provides information on selected water quality standards for human health, including limits for arsenic, lead, total coliforms, copper, nitrate, nitrite, and fluoride. The document was prepared by The Cadmus Group, Inc. for International Resources Group, Ltd. (IRG) under USAID Africa Bureau's Environmental Compliance and Management Support (ENCAP) Program, Contract Number EPP-I-00-03-00013-00, Task Order No. 11.