Browsing by Author "Webster, James"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    An assessment of microbiological water quality of six water source categories in north-east Uganda
    (Iwa Publishing, 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z) Parker, Alison; Youlten, R.; Dillon, M.; Nussbaumer, T.; Carter, Richard C.; Tyrrel, Sean F.; Webster, James
    Target 7C of the Millennium Development Goals is to "halve, by 2015, the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation". However, the corresponding indicator measures the "proportion of population using an improved drinking water source". This raises the question of whether "safe" and "improved" can be used interchangeably. This paper tests this hypothesis by comparing microbiological water quality in 346 different water sources across the District of Amuria in Uganda to each other and to defined standards, including the WHO drinking water standard of zero TTC per 100ml, and the Ugandan national standard of 50TTC per 100ml. The water sources were grouped into six different categories: boreholes, protected springs, covered hand dug wells, open hand dug wells, open water and roofwater harvesting. The paper concludes that the ranking from the highest to the lowest microbiological quality water was: boreholes, protected springs and roofwater harvesting, open and covered hand dug wells, open water. It also concludes that sanitary surveys cannot be used to predict water quality precisely; however they are an essential component of the monitoring of safe water supplies.
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    Culture's influence: towards understanding stakeholder interactions in rural water, sanitation and hygiene promotion projects
    (Cranfield University, Cranfield University at Silsoe, 2007-01-05T11:23:45Z) Webster, James; Carter, Richard C.
    Variations frequently occur between the intended and actual outcomes of rural water, sanitation and hygiene promotion projects, even projects that exhibit best practice. As a result, the intended impact of poverty reduction through sustained health improvements is diminished. This thesis establishes that inadequate consideration of culture in interactions between and within project stakeholders is a major reason for these unintended project outcomes. Aspects of individual and group behaviour that are influenced by culture are examined, and an initial conceptual framework of established cultural dimensions developed. This framework is then applied to a broad variety of stakeholder groups: seven end user groups and two implementing agencies in Ethiopia and Uganda; national Governments and international donor organisations. As a result, two new cultural dimensions are proposed. Firstly, concern for public selfimage, defined as ‘the degree to which an individual expresses interest in how others perceive him/herself, and the manner in which the individual seeks to influence that perception’. Secondly, spirituality, defined as ‘the nature and degree of people’s beliefs and practices concerning the existence, nature, and worship of, and connectedness to God, a god, gods, or a greater spiritual whole, and involvement of the divine or greater spirit in the universe and human life’. Aspects of these dimensions that need to be measured are identified. Hierarchies of cultural dimensions are identified where a certain combination of individual or group orientations causes the suppression or even reversal of behaviour in a dimension. Modifications to established cultural dimensions are recommended, especially long-term orientation which the author proposes renaming to ‘resistance to change’. A multidisciplinary approach that reflects the complexities of group behaviour and converges research findings is recommended, including utilising software that simulates complex systems. Recommendations are made for development practitioners, especially to enhance participation, promote femininity and achieve lasting change through training.
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    Drinking water quality and treatment practices in Pabal, India
    (Cranfield University, 2009-09) Mukadam, Aisha; Webster, James
    The drought prone, rural village of Pabal is an example of improved access to water through a piped water system, however at times the villagers are also recipients of a poor water quality supply. Prevailing illnesses of diarrhoea and gastro-intestinal diseases, especially during the monsoons result in 40-50 % of villager‟s income being spent on medical bills. This research project provided by Engineers Without Borders – UK and EngINdia aims to form an investigative study into the current water quality and treatment methods in Pabal. This was achieved by analysing water samples using the DelAgua Water Testing Kit for microbial pathogens (faecal origins) at different points in their distribution system as well as carrying out a social survey through 22 questionnaires and a few target interviews. Results showed the reservoir water source to be highly contaminated but chlorination at the storage tank removed all traces of thermotolerant faecal coliforms. However all consumer points were also found to be contaminated as well as at the borehole hand-pump. Qualitative data collected through observations, sanitary surveys and the questionnaires provided possible reasons for contamination. The pipeline is in disrepair through lack of maintenance, pollutants and effluence (human and animal) are leached into groundwater and pipe supplies, as there are also no drainage or refuse systems in the village. Most villagers are aware and practice basic health, sanitation and water treatment however some only treat once they fall ill. Water treatment is essential in Pabal at all times and should be implemented at a cost-effective household level. The villager‟s health may be safe guarded by utilising traditional methods such as cloth filtering, copper pot storage (anti-bacterial properties) in addition to chlorination. Further education and future water treatment designs based on biosand and UV filtering can be produced locally via the community involving educational centre Vigyan Ashram.
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    An international review of the challenges associated with securing 'buy-in' for water safety plans within providers of drinking water supplies
    (Iwa Publishing, 2010-12-31T00:00:00Z) Summerill, Corinna; Smith, Jennifer A.; Webster, James; Pollard, Simon J. T.
    Since publication of the 3rd Edition of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Drinking Water Quality guidelines, global uptake of water safety plans (WSPs) has been gathering momentum. Most guidance lists managerial commitment and ‘buy- in' as critical to the success of WSP implementation; yet the detail on how to generate it is lacking. This review discusses aspects of managerial commitment to WSPs. We argue that the public health motivator should be clearer and a paramount objective, not lost among other, albeit legitimate, drivers such as political or regulatory pressures and financial efficienc
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    Management of small towns water supply, Ghana
    (Cranfield University, 2010-06) Braimah, Clifford Abdallah; Franceys, Richard; Webster, James
    Delivering improved water services in small towns in low-income countries encompasses particular challenges. Often considered too large to be effectively community managed , small towns may also be too small, with too limited economies, to benefit from utility style professionalism and economies of scale. The most recent paradigm, that financially sustainable water services will be best achieved through the Demand Responsive Approach , has been complemented in Ghana, the focus of this study, through the development of a variety of management models, community, local government, national utility and private providers, to deliver DRA. Taking advantage of this unusual situation, in having a wide range of different functioning models in one country at the same time, this research has sought to investigate these management models with respect to effectiveness, equity, financial sustainability and efficiency of services delivery. However, the context in which all of these models operate relates to consumers effective demand, key to delivering a demand responsive approach. A second objective, necessary to validate any results relating to management models, has therefore been to investigate households actual demand for improved and alternative sources of water. Data for the research was gathered from examples of the four management models in use in Ghana, from eight small towns spread across the length and breadth of the country. The methodology incorporated key-informant interviews, user observations, household surveys and an analysis of relevant documents of operators and policy makers. The fieldwork was undertaken in two separate periods, designed to ensure that any effects of dry and wet season variations, which influence water supply delivery as well as demand, were adequately captured. The research found that none of the management models in use in small towns in Ghana could be considered to be significantly more effective than any other; overall, households demonstrated a limited demand for water supply with even this demand distributed among a number of sources, both formal, improved and alternative, traditional sources; this demand was not so much a function of affordability, rather a clear choice as to where to use limited resources mobile phone access absorbing three times the amount spent on water. Whilst certain management characteristics were found to make a difference, leadership in particular, no one model was able to influence the overarching water source effect, that is the cost of formal supply (surface water costing approximately three times more than ground water), relative to access to alternative, free supplies in the context of limited overall demand for water.
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    Menstrual management: a neglected aspect of hygiene interventions
    (Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 2014-12-31T00:00:00Z) Parker, Alison H.; Smith, Jennifer A.; Verdemato, Tania; Cooke, Jeanette; Webster, James; Carter, Richard C.
    Purpose - Effective menstrual management is essential for the mental and physical well being of women. However, many women in low-income countries lack access to the materials and facilities required. They are thus restricted in their activities whilst menstruating thus compromising their education, income and domestic responsibilities. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach - This study describes the menstrual management challenges faced by women in an emergency situation in Uganda. Totally, 50 interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with women from villages, internally displaced person (IDP) camps and schools so that the menstrual management of the host population could be compared with the IDPs. Findings - This study showed that in IDP camps there was a significant lack of materials including soap, underpants and absorbing cloth, and facilities like latrines and bathing shelters. As a consequence women in IDP camps suffer with poor health and diminished dignity. There is also a lack of education about menstruation and reproductive health and practices are strongly influenced by cultural taboos. Originality/value - This is the first time that the menstrual management of women in IDP or refugee camps has been studied.
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    Risk management for drinking water supplies in developing countries :the influence of culture on water safety plans
    (Cranfield University, 2013-12) Omar, Yahya Yussuf; Pollard, Simon J. T.; Parker, Alison H.; Webster, James; Smith, Jennifer A.
    Consumption of unsafe water in developing countries results in considerable number of illnesses and deaths annually. The World Health Organization and the International Water Association are promoting the use of water safety plans (WSPs), a risk management approach aimed at attaining water safety. This study investigated how culture impacts on the implementation of WSPs in these countries. Combining interpretive and critical paradigms resulted in the choice of qualitative methodologies utilizing multiple-case studies. Cases from India, Uganda, and Jamaica are each embedded with three units of analysis: promoters of WSPs, water utilities and their customers. Thematic analysis of data generated from semi-structured interviews, field observations and documents revealed eleven cultural factors impacting on the implementation of WSPs. Analyses of these factors led to various groupings and the subsequent development of a taxonomy categorizing these factors as being either enabling, limiting, or neutral in relation to WSPs. Findings show all the limiting factors to be deviations from the values and principles on which they are built. The findings have also led to the development of a culturally adapted risk management framework. This four-step cyclical & iterative framework is designed to address the impact of culture on the implementation of WSPs. The implementation of WSPs will take time and will require continuous improvement to the process. The successful management of drinking water risks in developing countries will require a broad institutional approach and a concerted effort that involves institutions beyond the water utilities. As such, targeted recommendations are first made towards achievement of good governance. Activities that will lead to the embracement of WSP by stakeholders along with suggestions to attain its institutionalization are also put forward. Recommendations towards addressing negative cultural factors include suggestions on dealing with: pollution causing rituals, bettering storage related practices, addressing excessive water use in rituals, counteracting belief that water should be free, fighting corruption and improving compliance, changing deliver-first safety-later attitude, and improving knowledge management practices.
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    A study of the socio economic sustainability of a proposed gravity fed water scheme in Buea, Cameroon
    (Cranfield University, 2009-09) Douglas, William; Webster, James
    The water system for the town of Buea has been underperforming for several years now. A rationing system ensures that all areas receive a water supply for at least a few hours a day. At present there are two functioning single tap stands in Bonduma, the area where the research was carried out. The two tap stands serve an area with a population of several thousand people. The lack of sufficient public taps and the intermittent nature of the supply force people to walk great distances early in the morning or late at night to avoid long waits at the tap stand which become congested later in the day. The current water situation in Bonduma has serious consequences for social and economic development in the area and health is put at risk when the supply is cut for extended periods and people use the local spring instead. A gravity fed water supply has been proposed to alleviate this problem. The people of the community are all in favour of having closer, more reliable water. A water supply system needs to be designed that will best meet the needs and expectations of the consumers at a cost they can afford while at the same time generating enough revenue to cover the O&M, repair and replacement costs. The research was carried out in the communities of Wotolo, Bokoko and Bonduma using a qualitative approach involving an interview schedule and focus group meetings . The research was carried out in the communities of Wotolo, Bokoko and Bonduma and concluded that there is a universally felt need for an improved water supply. Despite examples of a good community spirit in Bonduma, there is little support for those in need and little evidence of community participation in projects that have occurred previously in the area, To give any water project started in the area the best chance of success there has to be community involvement that goes beyond making an initial cash payment.
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    Tank costs for domestic rainwater harvesting in East Africa
    (Thomas Telford, 2012-12-31T00:00:00Z) Parker, Alison; Cruddas, Peter; Rowe, Nick; Carter, Richard; Webster, James
    Rainwater harvesting from hard roofing can provide safe water to meet the basic domestic needs of several hundred million people in low-income countries. However, rainwater harvesting has a higher household cost than other low-technology water supplies such as protected springs. The storage tank is the most expensive part of the infrastructure required for rainwater harvesting: reducing this cost will enable rainwater harvesting to become a viable water source for many more households in low-income countries. This paper assesses the overall costs and different cost components of rainwater storage tanks. Costs are compared across a selection of tanks prefabricated in factories in Uganda, Kenya and the UK and constructed in situ in Uganda. Constructed tanks were always found to be cheaper than prefabricated ones. Tank size was an important factor, and it was found that tank cost per litre decreases as size increases. For all tank types, materials were the greatest cost.