Guidelines for assessing the risk to groundwater from on-site sanitation

Abstract

There has been encouraging progress with access to safe drinking water and sanitation in both rural and
\nurban areas since the United Nations Water Decade of the 1980s. However, more than 1 billion people
\naround the world still lack access to safe water supplies and more than 2.4 billion are without adequate
\nsanitation. A substantial majority of these people live in Asia where the lack of sanitation provision is
\nparticularly acute. In Africa, over one third of the population still remains without access to safe water and
\nsanitation, and many of these can only be served by groundwater. The need for renewed efforts to
\nimprove the situation is recognised in DFID’s recently published water strategy paper – "Addressing the
\nWater Crisis - Healthier and More Productive Lives for Poor People".
\nThe health benefits of safe water supply are only properly realised when programmes combine safe water
\nsupply with sanitation and the promotion of safe hygiene practice. With increasing population, the
\npressure on land in all cities is becoming intense. High levels of pollution are increasing the risk to
\ngroundwater from sanitation and drainage facilities.
\nThese guidelines are an important contribution to risk assessment and the avoidance of the contamination
\nof groundwater supplies from on-site sanitation. They have been developed as part of a project funded by
\nDFID through the water component of the Infrastructure and Urban Development Division’s Knowledge
\nand Research Programme.