Water Point Sampling Project in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas
Summary
Rapid population growth in Monrovia is exceeding the city's ability to provide potable water, particularly in older service areas and in peri-urban areas, and limited information is available on the quality of water available to residents.
The World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) initiated a water sampling project in fall 2011 to test for bacteriological and chemical contaminants at points across the city. It found that over half of samples tested showed the presence of E. coli, highlighting the likely widespread fecal contamination, and levels of nitrate that were above acceptable levels. The project aims to fill an information and data gap and could be leveraged as a baseline from which to launch future water quality improvement projects.
In a post-conflict context, population growth in Monrovia has far exceeded the ability of the city utilities to provide potable water through conventional water supply infrastructure. While some infrastructure exists in older service areas, the rapidly expanding areas on the periphery of the city are most often excluded (Uhl et al., 2011). Residents across the city generally are often forced to rely on water supply from an array of sources of unknown quality, ranging from unprotected hand-dug wells to neighborhood kiosks serviced by tanker trucks to Liberian Water & Sewer Corporation (LWSC) standpipes. Information on water quality is lacking, however, existing studies on the quality of freshwater sources showed a reduction in quality over the years, affected by Coliform bacteria, heavy metal and fecal indicator bacteria contaminations (Gokcekus et al., 2022).
Intervention
After the Liberian government's call for WASH support during Africa Water Week in 2010, the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program initiated a project to sample a subset of water points across Monrovia through the Field Sampling Program to fill the information and data gap related to water sources and quality (Uhl et al., 2011; de Waal & Hirn, 2015). The exercise established the first post-war baseline of point-source water infrastructure and quality.
While access to improved water sources in Liberia has reportedly increased since the early 2000s, ranging from 61% in the early 2000s to 75% in 2012, these figures are misleadingly optimistic as many "improved" sources are demonstrably unsafe (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). In Monrovia, less than 15% of residents have access to piped water, while the majority rely on point sources, such as hand dug wells (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). So, between 2010 and 2011, WSP mapped 1000 water points in Monrovia, and 204 points were sampled for bacteriological and chemical content (Uhl et al., 2011). The project used smartphone based mobile-to-web data collection applications, relying on smartphones that had a touchscreen interface, camera and GPS to support sampling (de Waal & Hirn, 2015).
The Field Sampling Program used separate processes for sample collections from each point. For wells equipped with pumps, the well was pumped for a few minutes before collecting the sample, and for hand-dug wells, clear Teflon bailers were used for collecting the sample with care taken to avoid touching the well walls (Uhl et al., 2011). Samples were stored in a secure location until being sent to the University of the Free State's home laboratory. In-house standard operating procedures and quality control protocols were used (Uhl et al., 2011).
The project was a collaborative effort among World Bank personnel from the Liberia Office, government officials, and the private sector (i.e., Uhl & Associates, Eden Preferred Water Services). The University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa (UFS) contributed to the project by developing and implementing microbiological and chemical analyses (Uhl et al., 2011).
Challenges
After emerging from a period of conflict and instability, there were waves of support for the Liberian WASH sector during the post-war emergency response and the ensuing development response (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). Monrovia, and Liberia more broadly, face capacity constraints as relatively limited investment has been put into infrastructure and institutional capacity building. First, continued population growth will continue to put strain on insufficient existing infrastructure without adequate investment and development. Second, inadequate human resources capacity hinders effective management of water resources due to a lack of suitably skilled professionals and limited opportunities for training (Gokcekus et al., 2022). Third, water-related activities are fragmented between institutions, with traditional water management and water quality monitoring tasks being shared among several organizations (Gokcekus et al., 2022). Finally, without adequate waste disposal, water quality issues will continue to pose a challenge (Gokcekus et al., 2022).
Outcomes
The exercise contributed to the building of a more detailed picture of the water sector service delivery, generating clear messages on what needed to be done in the urban context (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). Specifically, the water point sampling indicated the need to move away from hand pumps and stabilize the LWSC operations so that better quality piped water could be delivered (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). Overall, 57% of samples tested showed the presence of E. coli, suggesting widespread fecal contamination (Uhl et al., 2011). 100% of unprotected hand-dug wells sampled, 75% of kiosks sampled, 67% of LWSC standpipes sampled, 52% of protected hand-dug open wells fitted with hand pumps sampled, and 44% of drilled wells fitted with hand pumps all showed the presence of E. coli. Unprotected hand-dug wells and kiosks are used widely in the city, particularly in denser neighborhoods. Additionally, 20% of samples had nitrate levels that were above the Liberian Class 1 water quality standard, with there being a reasonable correlation between water points that showed elevated levels of coliform and E. coli and nitrate (Uhl et al., 2011). For other contaminants sampled (i.e., fluoride, arsenic, lead and chromium), levels above the Liberian water quality standards and/or guidance from the WHO were detected only occasionally (Uhl et al., 2011). However, the national government's institutions responsible for WASH struggled to act on the planning data without further technical assistance (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). In hindsight, the results of the water quality data had a greater impact on the strategy of non-state actors than it did within the national government (de Waal & Hirn, 2015), as it acted as a call to action for an immediate, action-oriented program to protect public health through short term steps to improve water supply infrastructure and regulation, in addition to long term planning to revamp the system for better treatability and control (Uhl et al., 2011).
References
Water Point Sampling Project in Urban and Peri-Urban Areas
Summary
Rapid population growth in Monrovia is exceeding the city's ability to provide potable water, particularly in older service areas and in peri-urban areas, and limited information is available on the quality of water available to residents.
The World Bank Water and Sanitation Program (WSP) initiated a water sampling project in fall 2011 to test for bacteriological and chemical contaminants at points across the city. It found that over half of samples tested showed the presence of E. coli, highlighting the likely widespread fecal contamination, and levels of nitrate that were above acceptable levels. The project aims to fill an information and data gap and could be leveraged as a baseline from which to launch future water quality improvement projects.
In a post-conflict context, population growth in Monrovia has far exceeded the ability of the city utilities to provide potable water through conventional water supply infrastructure. While some infrastructure exists in older service areas, the rapidly expanding areas on the periphery of the city are most often excluded (Uhl et al., 2011). Residents across the city generally are often forced to rely on water supply from an array of sources of unknown quality, ranging from unprotected hand-dug wells to neighborhood kiosks serviced by tanker trucks to Liberian Water & Sewer Corporation (LWSC) standpipes. Information on water quality is lacking, however, existing studies on the quality of freshwater sources showed a reduction in quality over the years, affected by Coliform bacteria, heavy metal and fecal indicator bacteria contaminations (Gokcekus et al., 2022).
Issue
Intervention
After the Liberian government's call for WASH support during Africa Water Week in 2010, the World Bank Water and Sanitation Program initiated a project to sample a subset of water points across Monrovia through the Field Sampling Program to fill the information and data gap related to water sources and quality (Uhl et al., 2011; de Waal & Hirn, 2015). The exercise established the first post-war baseline of point-source water infrastructure and quality.
While access to improved water sources in Liberia has reportedly increased since the early 2000s, ranging from 61% in the early 2000s to 75% in 2012, these figures are misleadingly optimistic as many "improved" sources are demonstrably unsafe (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). In Monrovia, less than 15% of residents have access to piped water, while the majority rely on point sources, such as hand dug wells (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). So, between 2010 and 2011, WSP mapped 1000 water points in Monrovia, and 204 points were sampled for bacteriological and chemical content (Uhl et al., 2011). The project used smartphone based mobile-to-web data collection applications, relying on smartphones that had a touchscreen interface, camera and GPS to support sampling (de Waal & Hirn, 2015).
The Field Sampling Program used separate processes for sample collections from each point. For wells equipped with pumps, the well was pumped for a few minutes before collecting the sample, and for hand-dug wells, clear Teflon bailers were used for collecting the sample with care taken to avoid touching the well walls (Uhl et al., 2011). Samples were stored in a secure location until being sent to the University of the Free State's home laboratory. In-house standard operating procedures and quality control protocols were used (Uhl et al., 2011).
The project was a collaborative effort among World Bank personnel from the Liberia Office, government officials, and the private sector (i.e., Uhl & Associates, Eden Preferred Water Services). The University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa (UFS) contributed to the project by developing and implementing microbiological and chemical analyses (Uhl et al., 2011).
Challenges
After emerging from a period of conflict and instability, there were waves of support for the Liberian WASH sector during the post-war emergency response and the ensuing development response (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). Monrovia, and Liberia more broadly, face capacity constraints as relatively limited investment has been put into infrastructure and institutional capacity building. First, continued population growth will continue to put strain on insufficient existing infrastructure without adequate investment and development. Second, inadequate human resources capacity hinders effective management of water resources due to a lack of suitably skilled professionals and limited opportunities for training (Gokcekus et al., 2022). Third, water-related activities are fragmented between institutions, with traditional water management and water quality monitoring tasks being shared among several organizations (Gokcekus et al., 2022). Finally, without adequate waste disposal, water quality issues will continue to pose a challenge (Gokcekus et al., 2022).
Outcomes
The exercise contributed to the building of a more detailed picture of the water sector service delivery, generating clear messages on what needed to be done in the urban context (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). Specifically, the water point sampling indicated the need to move away from hand pumps and stabilize the LWSC operations so that better quality piped water could be delivered (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). Overall, 57% of samples tested showed the presence of E. coli, suggesting widespread fecal contamination (Uhl et al., 2011). 100% of unprotected hand-dug wells sampled, 75% of kiosks sampled, 67% of LWSC standpipes sampled, 52% of protected hand-dug open wells fitted with hand pumps sampled, and 44% of drilled wells fitted with hand pumps all showed the presence of E. coli. Unprotected hand-dug wells and kiosks are used widely in the city, particularly in denser neighborhoods. Additionally, 20% of samples had nitrate levels that were above the Liberian Class 1 water quality standard, with there being a reasonable correlation between water points that showed elevated levels of coliform and E. coli and nitrate (Uhl et al., 2011). For other contaminants sampled (i.e., fluoride, arsenic, lead and chromium), levels above the Liberian water quality standards and/or guidance from the WHO were detected only occasionally (Uhl et al., 2011). However, the national government's institutions responsible for WASH struggled to act on the planning data without further technical assistance (de Waal & Hirn, 2015). In hindsight, the results of the water quality data had a greater impact on the strategy of non-state actors than it did within the national government (de Waal & Hirn, 2015), as it acted as a call to action for an immediate, action-oriented program to protect public health through short term steps to improve water supply infrastructure and regulation, in addition to long term planning to revamp the system for better treatability and control (Uhl et al., 2011).
Issues |
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Water Pollution and Contamination |
Solutions |
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Water Data, Monitoring & ICT Solutions |
References
de Waal, D., & Hirn, M. (2015, July). The Intricacies of Attracting and Sustaining Investment in WASH in Fragile States: Lessons from Liberia. World Bank. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/24787/The0intricacie0lessons0from0Liberia.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Gokcekus, H., Kassem, Y., & Dioh, F. S. (2022, March). A REVIEW OF LIBERIA’S WATER RESOURCES: THE QUALITY AND MANAGEMENT WITH PARTICULAR FOCUS ON FRESHWATER RESOURCES. International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET). Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://www.irjet.net/archives/V9/i3/IRJET-V9I3312.pdf
Uhl, V. W., Daw, A., & Baron, J. A. (2011). How a city gets its drinking water a case study - capital city of ... VUA Water. Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://vuawater.com/Case-Study-Files/Urban_Groundwater_Based_WS/Liberia_Monrovia_Abstract_Final-2012.pdf