Rural Water Systems for Multiple Uses and Livelihood Security covers the technological, institutional, and policy choices for building rural water supply systems that are sustainable from physical, economic, and ecological points-of-view in developing countries. While there is abundant theoretical discourse on designing village water supply schemes as multiple use systems, there is too little understanding of the type of water needs in rural households, how they vary across socio-economic and climatic settings, the extent to which these needs are met by the existing single use water supply schemes, and what mechanisms exist to take care of unmet demands. The case studies presented in the book from different agro ecological regions quantify these benefits under different agro ecological settings, also examining the economic and environmental trade-offs in maximizing benefits. This book demonstrates how various physical and socio-economic processes alter the hydrology of tanks in rural settings, thereby affecting their performance, also including quantitative criteria that can be used to select tanks suitable for rehabilitation. - Covers interdisciplinary topics deftly interwoven in the rural context of varying geo-climatic and socioeconomic situations of people in developing areas - Presents methodologies for quantifying the multiple water use benefits from wetlands and case studies from different agro ecologies using these methodologies to help frame appropriate policies - Provides analysis of the climatic and socioeconomic factors responsible for changes in hydrology of multiple use wetlands in order to help target multiple use water bodies for rehabilitation - Includes implementable models for converting single use water supply systems into multiple use systems

The supply of reliable and safe water is a key challenge for developing countries, particularly India. Community management has long been the declared model for rural water supply and is recognised to be critical for its implementation and success. Based on 20 detailed successful case studies from across India, this book outlines future rural water supply approaches for all lower-income countries as they start to follow India on the economic growth (and subsequent service levels) transition. The case studies cover state-level wealth varying from US$2,600 to US$10,000 GDP per person and a mix of gravity flow, single village and multi-village groundwater and surface water schemes. The research reported covers 17 states and surveys of 2,400 households. Together, they provide a spread of cases directly relevant to policy-makers in lower-income economies planning to upgrade the quality and sustainability of rural water supply to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in the context of economic growth.

Safe water and adequate sanitation are basic to the health of every person on the planet yet many people throughout the world do not have access to these fundamental needs. An important step towards resolving this global crisis is to understand its magnitude: how many people lack access to drinking water and sanitation? To help answer this question household surveys and censuses are conducted every year throughout the world to assess drinking water sanitation and hygiene-related practices at the household level. Because of variations in survey tools attempts to compare the results of one survey with those of another have been fraught with diffi culties. Solving survey comparability problems is crucial if we are to establish accurate trends over time within a country and compare data between countries. For this reason the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply and Sanitation developed a set of harmonized survey questions that resolves the comparability problems of the past. Including the harmonized questions in national surveys and censuses will help countries gain more systematic information on the drinking water and sanitation needs of thei population. With popular use these harmonized questions will make data across international and national survey programmes more comparable which in turn will result in more accurate country regional and global estimates of unmet drinking water and sanitation needs. The core harmonized questions presented in this guide have been adopted by the Demographic and Health Surveys the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey and the World Health Survey. The purpose of this guide is to encourage even more widespread use of these harmonized questions because accurate information is a valuable tool that can be used to assess progress towards international and national goals and targets. It also allows decision-makers and stakeholders to make evidence-based choices and direct efforts to where they are needed as well as promotes increased investment in the sector.

Small communities violate federal requirements for safe drinking water as much as three times more often than cities. Yet these communities often cannot afford to improve their water service. Safe Water From Every Tap reviews the risks of violating drinking water standards and discusses options for improving water service in small communities. Included are detailed reviews of a wide range of technologies appropriate for treating drinking water in small communities. The book also presents a variety of institutional options for improving the management efficiency and financial stability of water systems.

The Institute of Medicine's Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine was established in 1988 as a mechanism for bringing the various stakeholders together to discuss environmental health issues in a neutral setting. The members of the Roundtable on Environmental Health Sciences, Research, and Medicine come from academia, industry, and government. Their perspectives range widely and represent the diverse viewpoints of researchers, federal officials, and consumers. They meet, discuss environmental health issues that are of mutual interest, and bring others together to discuss these issues as well. For example, they regularly convene workshops to help facilitate discussion of a particular topic. The Rountable's fifth national workshop entitled From Source Water to Drinking Water: Ongoing and Emerging Challenges for Public Health continued the theme established by previous Roundtable workshops, looking at rebuilding the unity of health and the environment. This workshop summary captures the discussions and presentations by the speakers and participants, who identified the areas in which additional research was needed, the processes by which changes could occur, and the gaps in our knowledge.