Safe Water for the Community

An estimated 1.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to an improved water supply, and many more drink unsafe water from improved sources. Each year, inadequate access to safe drinking water and sanitation cause an estimated 4 billion cases of diarrhea and 2.2 million deaths, mostly among young children in developing countries. In addition, waterborne diarrheal diseases lead to decreased food intake and nutrient absorption, malnutrition, reduced resistance to infection, and impaired physical growth and cognitive development.

Many factors contribute to diarrheal disease incidence including: poor sanitation, poor hand hygiene, contaminated water, and lack of sufficient water for personal hygiene, food preparation, and other activities. Programs to provide latrines, soap and handwashing education, clean water, or water supply all help reduce the incidence of diarrheal disease. A recent evaluation has found, however, that interventions to treat water at the household level and interventions to increase proper handwashing have the most impact in reducing diarrheal disease incidence.

The Safe Water System Program

The Safe Water System (SWS) program is an household water treatment intervention to prevent diarrheal disease developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in the early 1990’s in response to the cholera epidemics sweeping across South America. The Safe Water System consists of three elements:

• Water treatment with chlorine solution in the home.
• Storage of water in a safe container.
• Education and behavior change communications to improve hygiene and water handling practices.

CDC, in conjunction with partner organizations, has established pilot and country-wide SWS programs in over 30 countries around the world, completed a substantial amount of research on the effectiveness of the Safe Water System, and written a Handbook describing how to start a SWS program. The Safe Water System Handbook provides a comprehensive discussion of point-of-use (POU) water purification orientated towards large-scale regional or national programs. Free copies of the Handbook in English, Spanish, French, or Arabic may be obtained by emailing safewater [at] cdc [dot] gov.

Purpose of this Guide

This guide, Safe Water for the Community, has come about because of growing interest by small organizations in starting SWS programs. It complements the SWS Handbook and provides specific, detailed information to help community-based organizations determine if an SWS project is appropriate for their community and if so, help them to complete the following steps necessary to implement of a community-based SWS project.