Water quality monitoring pre+post th Session of Joint Task Force on Environmental Indicators UNECE, Palais des Nations Geneva, 30 October 2012 Rifat Hossain Water Sanitation Hygiene & Health World Health Organization Pre+Post-2015

Knowledge gap: Levels of services Total populationAccess to improved Piped water systems Reliable Safe water (WHO guideline compliance) Sustainability (environment, ecology) Ideal system Affordable

WQ monitoring … MDG monitoring Need for water quality monitoring Lack of comparable data Monitoring done with proxy indicator JMP has addressed this through Rapid Assessment Surveys ( ) JMP Task Force on Water Quality monitoring Task Force recommendations –Relevant WQ parameters at the global level: E-Coli, Arsenic and Fluoride and perhaps also nitrate –Tools to monitor: More RADWQ WQ testing through household surveys Data from regulators

WQ monitoring issues… MDG target met for water JMP announcement: demand for info about quality of water 783 million without improved water: several billion without safe water? What about risk assessment? Relevant pending issues from TF recommendations More RADWQ: handbook finalized WQ testing through household surveys: MICS and DHS pilots Post-2015 –UN resolution: 64/292, recognized the right to safe and clean drinking-water and sanitation as a human right essential to the full enjoyment of life and all other human rights –WHO resolution A64/24, also promoted safe drinking-water –Focus on WQ in water thematic working group of post-2015

Criteria for WQ indicators A good indicator unambiguously measures to provide an approximation of reality that is as accurate as needed Considerations for determining WQ indicators: Easily measurable Cost efficient Clearly defined Verifiable Acceptable Policy relevant Developed with participation Purpose of having a PROXY: To collect information that has relevance to what is sought, when what is sought cannot be measured directly

Additional criteria for JMP WQ indicators Global: –Available for a limited number of countries Goes back to the MDG base-line year 1990 –Availability even less, mostly recent Comparability across countries and over time –Challenging because of non-comparable information

JMP relies on survey and census data Household surveys using cluster sampling: DHSDemographic and Health Survey MICSMultiple Indicator Cluster Survey LSMSLiving Standard Measurement Study CWIQCore Welfare Indicator Questionnaire WHSWorld Health survey HBSHousehold Budget Survey Etc. & National census

MDG 7 Target 7c: Halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation Indicator to monitor (proxy for access to safe drinking-water): Proportion of the population that uses an improved drinking-water source (urban + rural)‏ MDG target + Indicators An improved drinking water source is: “a source that by the nature of its construction adequately protects the source from outside contamination in particular with fecal matter”

Improved/unimproved: safe/unsafe  Piped into dwelling, plot or yard  Public tap/standpipe  Tube well/borehole  Protected dug well  Protected spring  Rainwater collection  Unprotected dug well  Unprotected spring  Cart with small tank/drum  Tanker truck  Surface water (river, dam, lake, pond, stream, canal, irrigation canal)‏  Bottled water (unless 2 nd Improved source) UNIMPROVED IMPROVED If constructed and used properly these sources should provide good quality water

But…

Rapid Assessment of Drinking- water Quality (RADWQ) To overlay water quality information (quality factor) on JMP data on the use of improved sources of drinking- water: Cluster sampled surveys of water points (to match with JMP data) An additional 10% sub-sample at household level (to see the degree of contamination during transport and storage): high degree of correlation of water quality sampled at POC and at POU RADWQ tested microbiological, physical/chemical parameters + sanitary inspections Five country reports available on JMP website

Post-2015 Challenge Can we formulate a set of post-2015 goal or target(s) with indicators that appeal enough to the politicians and which are significantly different and more ambitious than our current target? For what do we want to get support from our Ministers? from UNSGAB? from the UN-SG? post-2015? Tension: Ideal & Normative vs. Practical & Measurable & Achievable

Which are possible Sustainable Development Goals or Targets? Universe of targets and indicators Targets and indicators of global relevance Targets and indicators proposed for global monitoring Targets and indicators for SDG framework

Preliminary outcomes from post-2015 water working group- Proposed goal: -Safe, Sustainable Drinking Water for All Proposed targets: -By 2030, EVERYBODY has equitable access to a basic drinking water service at home. -To halve, by 2030, the proportion of people, including disadvantaged groups, without equitable access to a higher water service at home. -By 2030, EVERYBODY has equitable access to a basic water [sanitation and hygiene] services in their schools and health facilities. -Water [sanitation and hygiene] services are delivered in a financially, operationally institutionally, and environmentally sustainable manner. DRAFT

Quality, quality…quantity? Urban Rural Urban-Rural disparities (2010) Improved water: 93% vs. 44%, safe water at home: 45% vs. 0.2%

Health impacts, climate variability etc.? Ref: Atlas of Health and Climate, WHO & WMO 2012,

Thank you! : JMP Web Site :