WASH’ Nutrition

1.7. Household water treatment and safe storage
Improving water quality at the point of consumption or use (household-level water treatment) has great potential to protect
children from waterborne disease, including pathogens that cause diarrhea disease. Research findings show a much stronger
protective effect for water quality interventions at the household level than at source level on diarrheal disease outcomes -
up to 40%. 133 To remove pathogens and ensure good quality of water for drinking purposes, several effective, simple and
relatively low-cost “point of use” interventions could be applied: chlorination, boiling (not recommended practice in areas
where deforestation is an issue), solar disinfection via heat and UV radiation, filtration with different types of filters, combined
chemical coagulation, flocculation, and disinfection. Not all household water treatment devices are effective at removing
pathogens and protecting health. WHO regularly evaluates the performance of household water treatment technologies
and the list of those that meet WHO standards can be found here: http://www.who.int/household_water/scheme/products/en/.
Safety of water should be closely monitored (e.g. Free residual chlorine in case of chlorination treatment).
Water can be contaminated at the source, in the home, or during the journey in between. A water source that is not protected,
a dirty container, or unwashed hands can easily turn water, even water that looks and tastes clean, into something that makes
people ill. Therefore, promotion of household water treatment and safe storage for improved nutrition should take into
account all steps in the water chain:
Source
Collection
and transport
Treatment
Storage
Use
Sources should be
used with care and
maintained in good
condition. There
should be no risk
of contamination
from nearby
latrines,
wastewater
drainage, animals,
or objects falling
into the well.
Drinking water
should be collected
in clean vessels,
without coming
into contact
with hands.
Water should be
transported in
covered containers.
Water treatment
procedures should
be carried out at
the household
level if the source
is not safe. Once
treated, water
must be stored
properly to avoid
recontamination,
ideally off the floor
to prevent contact
with animals.
Water should be
stored in clean
vessels which
are covered and
regularly cleaned.
Drinking water
should be stored
in a separate
container from
other domestic
water.
Drinking water
should be taken
from the storage
vessel with a
dipper or ladle
so that hands,
cups or other
objects cannot
contaminate water.
The quantity of water delivered and used for households is an important aspect that influences health. When the basic service
level 134 has not been achieved, due to, for example, long distances and time involved in water collection, basic personal and
household hygiene cannot be assured. Increasing water quantity by providing more storage, using rainwater collection jars or
connecting households to water access points, results in increased health and non-health benefits such as time saved for child
care, food preparation and productive activity (including education), and decreased time lost to sickness.
EXAMPLE FROM THE FIELD 7
Purified water leads to a healthy lifestyle and improved nutritional status of children
in Tando Muhammad Khan - a story from the ACF mission in Pakistan
In the small village of Waliu Kolhi in the southern Sindh province of Pakistan, Bahumal and his family know that clean water is
a key component in the fight against undernutrition. In their home, they have been using a strikingly simple, yet all the more
innovative method to purify their drinking water for the past few months. Farm worker Bahumal, 30, remembers how the
children in his village used to be constantly suffering from diarrhea. The disease weakened the children as their bodies were
rapidly losing many vital nutrients. Germs and bacteria consumed with drinking water made the villagers sick. «We were
not aware that diarrhea comes from the water we drink. » said Bahumal. Families of Waliu Kolhi, Bahumal had to take their
children to the hospital frequently and the children had become undernourished due to lack of nutrients. These children were
immediately referred to ACF’s ongoing Outpatient Therapeutic Programme in the area where they received live-saving treatment.
133 - Brown et al. (2013) “Water, sanitation, hygiene and enteric infections in children”
134 - Consult WHO standards or SPHERE standards for emergencies
WASH’Nutrition
A practical guidebook
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