Sustainability of Water Safety Plans Developed in Sub-Saharan Africa

Luca Rondi, Sabrina Sorlini and Maria Cristina Collivignarelli
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Luca Rondi: CeTAmb LAB—Research laboratory on Appropriate Technologies for Environmental Management in resource-limited Countries, Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture, Land, Environment and of Mathematics, University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, Brescia 25123, Italy
Sabrina Sorlini: CeTAmb LAB—Research laboratory on Appropriate Technologies for Environmental Management in resource-limited Countries, Department of Civil Engineering, Architecture, Land, Environment and of Mathematics, University of Brescia, Via Branze 43, Brescia 25123, Italy
Maria Cristina Collivignarelli: DICAr—Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 3, Pavia 27100, Italy

Sustainability, 2015, vol. 7, issue 8, 1-21

Abstract: In developing countries, the drinking water supply is still an open issue. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 68% of the population has access to improved sources of drinking water. Moreover, some regions are affected by geogenic contaminants (e.g., fluoride and arsenic) and the lack of access to sanitation facilities and hygiene practices causes high microbiological contamination of drinking water in the supply chain. The Water Safety Plan (WSP) approach introduced by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 2004 is now under development in several developing countries in order to face up to these issues. The WSP approach was elaborated within two cooperation projects implemented in rural areas of Burkina Faso and Senegal by two Italian NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations). In order to evaluate its sustainability, a questionnaire based on five different sustainability elements and a cost and time consumption evaluation were carried out and applied in both the case studies. Results demonstrated that the questionnaire can provide a useful and interesting overview regarding the sustainability of the WSP; however, further surveys in the field are recommended for gathering more information. Time and costs related to the WSP elaboration, implementation, and management were demonstrated not to be negligible and above all strongly dependent on water quality and the water supply system complexity.

Keywords: sustainability; Water Safety Plan; drinking water; Senegal; Burkina Faso (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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