The importance of water quality in classifying basic water services: The case of Ethiopia, SDG6.1, and safe drinking water.

<h4>Introduction</h4>Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 aims to coordinate international efforts toward "clean water and sanitation." However, water contaminated with pathogenic bacteria or thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) will not achieve the SDG target of clean water in the l...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Shibabaw Tadesse Gemeda, Emily Springer, Sirak Robele Gari, Solomon Melake Birhan, Hailu Tolasa Bedane
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/ea8a88a4a1254b939daaa89c111912fa
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:ea8a88a4a1254b939daaa89c111912fa
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:ea8a88a4a1254b939daaa89c111912fa2021-12-02T20:15:14ZThe importance of water quality in classifying basic water services: The case of Ethiopia, SDG6.1, and safe drinking water.1932-620310.1371/journal.pone.0248944https://doaj.org/article/ea8a88a4a1254b939daaa89c111912fa2021-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248944https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203<h4>Introduction</h4>Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 aims to coordinate international efforts toward "clean water and sanitation." However, water contaminated with pathogenic bacteria or thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) will not achieve the SDG target of clean water in the lives of people around the world. The aim of this study is to assess the water quality parameters of basic water services in Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia as well as the role and importance of local managerial committees in ensuring basic water functionality.<h4>Methods</h4>This mixed methods research, conducted in January-June 2019, sampled 22 districts from food-insecure areas in the Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia. From the 22 districts, which represent nearly one third of all districts in each region, 111 water services classified as "basic" were randomly selected. For each selected water service, research included: water quality sample testing, visual observation of water services, interviews and focus group discussions with the associated water managerial committee members. Descriptive statistics frequency, percent, mean, median, standard deviations, normal tables, cross-tables and graphs are used to present the data.<h4>Results</h4>Although the international water standard for thermotolerant coliform (TTC) levels is 0 CFU/100ml, in our sample of 111 water services, the maximum TTC counts were 71 CFU/100 ml and the mean was 4 CFU/100 ml. Thermotolerant coliform counts were above the permissible standard values for nearly 40% (n = 111) of the basic water services. TTC was detected in 44 (39.64%) (n = 111) basic water services. Of these, 38 (34.23%) were operationally functional while 6 (5.41%) were not functional. Approximately one third of the basic water services sampled, deemed "functional" by international standards, do not provide potable water due to thermotolerant coliform (TTC) levels.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Our findings from the Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia demonstrate that water quality parameters are not currently considered in classifying basic water services. This suggests that international efforts to address SDG 6 should incorporate water quality as a key parameter to better track international progress toward "clean water and sanitation" efforts. We discuss two potential pathways for stronger inclusion of water quality parameters in international definitions: (1) to mandate water quality within "functional" and "non-functional" definitions or (2) to add a ladder rung titled "safe basic water services" to the international drinking water ladder. Our findings from Ethiopia suggest that additional research should be undertaken in development contexts to assess whether or not "functional" basic water services provide safe drinking water to users.Shibabaw Tadesse GemedaEmily SpringerSirak Robele GariSolomon Melake BirhanHailu Tolasa BedanePublic Library of Science (PLoS)articleMedicineRScienceQENPLoS ONE, Vol 16, Iss 8, p e0248944 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Shibabaw Tadesse Gemeda Emily Springer Sirak Robele Gari Solomon Melake Birhan Hailu Tolasa Bedane The importance of water quality in classifying basic water services: The case of Ethiopia, SDG6.1, and safe drinking water.
description	<h4>Introduction</h4>Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 aims to coordinate international efforts toward "clean water and sanitation." However, water contaminated with pathogenic bacteria or thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) will not achieve the SDG target of clean water in the lives of people around the world. The aim of this study is to assess the water quality parameters of basic water services in Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia as well as the role and importance of local managerial committees in ensuring basic water functionality.<h4>Methods</h4>This mixed methods research, conducted in January-June 2019, sampled 22 districts from food-insecure areas in the Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia. From the 22 districts, which represent nearly one third of all districts in each region, 111 water services classified as "basic" were randomly selected. For each selected water service, research included: water quality sample testing, visual observation of water services, interviews and focus group discussions with the associated water managerial committee members. Descriptive statistics frequency, percent, mean, median, standard deviations, normal tables, cross-tables and graphs are used to present the data.<h4>Results</h4>Although the international water standard for thermotolerant coliform (TTC) levels is 0 CFU/100ml, in our sample of 111 water services, the maximum TTC counts were 71 CFU/100 ml and the mean was 4 CFU/100 ml. Thermotolerant coliform counts were above the permissible standard values for nearly 40% (n = 111) of the basic water services. TTC was detected in 44 (39.64%) (n = 111) basic water services. Of these, 38 (34.23%) were operationally functional while 6 (5.41%) were not functional. Approximately one third of the basic water services sampled, deemed "functional" by international standards, do not provide potable water due to thermotolerant coliform (TTC) levels.<h4>Conclusion</h4>Our findings from the Amhara and Afar regions of Ethiopia demonstrate that water quality parameters are not currently considered in classifying basic water services. This suggests that international efforts to address SDG 6 should incorporate water quality as a key parameter to better track international progress toward "clean water and sanitation" efforts. We discuss two potential pathways for stronger inclusion of water quality parameters in international definitions: (1) to mandate water quality within "functional" and "non-functional" definitions or (2) to add a ladder rung titled "safe basic water services" to the international drinking water ladder. Our findings from Ethiopia suggest that additional research should be undertaken in development contexts to assess whether or not "functional" basic water services provide safe drinking water to users.
format	article
author	Shibabaw Tadesse Gemeda Emily Springer Sirak Robele Gari Solomon Melake Birhan Hailu Tolasa Bedane
author_facet	Shibabaw Tadesse Gemeda Emily Springer Sirak Robele Gari Solomon Melake Birhan Hailu Tolasa Bedane
author_sort	Shibabaw Tadesse Gemeda
title	The importance of water quality in classifying basic water services: The case of Ethiopia, SDG6.1, and safe drinking water.
title_short	The importance of water quality in classifying basic water services: The case of Ethiopia, SDG6.1, and safe drinking water.
title_full	The importance of water quality in classifying basic water services: The case of Ethiopia, SDG6.1, and safe drinking water.
title_fullStr	The importance of water quality in classifying basic water services: The case of Ethiopia, SDG6.1, and safe drinking water.
title_full_unstemmed	The importance of water quality in classifying basic water services: The case of Ethiopia, SDG6.1, and safe drinking water.
title_sort	importance of water quality in classifying basic water services: the case of ethiopia, sdg6.1, and safe drinking water.
publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/ea8a88a4a1254b939daaa89c111912fa
work_keys_str_mv	AT shibabawtadessegemeda theimportanceofwaterqualityinclassifyingbasicwaterservicesthecaseofethiopiasdg61andsafedrinkingwater AT emilyspringer theimportanceofwaterqualityinclassifyingbasicwaterservicesthecaseofethiopiasdg61andsafedrinkingwater AT sirakrobelegari theimportanceofwaterqualityinclassifyingbasicwaterservicesthecaseofethiopiasdg61andsafedrinkingwater AT solomonmelakebirhan theimportanceofwaterqualityinclassifyingbasicwaterservicesthecaseofethiopiasdg61andsafedrinkingwater AT hailutolasabedane theimportanceofwaterqualityinclassifyingbasicwaterservicesthecaseofethiopiasdg61andsafedrinkingwater AT shibabawtadessegemeda importanceofwaterqualityinclassifyingbasicwaterservicesthecaseofethiopiasdg61andsafedrinkingwater AT emilyspringer importanceofwaterqualityinclassifyingbasicwaterservicesthecaseofethiopiasdg61andsafedrinkingwater AT sirakrobelegari importanceofwaterqualityinclassifyingbasicwaterservicesthecaseofethiopiasdg61andsafedrinkingwater AT solomonmelakebirhan importanceofwaterqualityinclassifyingbasicwaterservicesthecaseofethiopiasdg61andsafedrinkingwater AT hailutolasabedane importanceofwaterqualityinclassifyingbasicwaterservicesthecaseofethiopiasdg61andsafedrinkingwater
_version_	1718374618007339008

The importance of water quality in classifying basic water services: The case of Ethiopia, SDG6.1, and safe drinking water.

Ejemplares similares