Source Water and Sanitation News Service

The Source Water and Sanitation News Service provides news in English, French and Spanish with an emphasis on rural and peri-urban areas in developing countries.

Source Bulletin is a special features edition which is also published in a PDF version.

Read feedback from readers here.

Latest issue: Source Weekly 2009, 12 (08 Jan 10)

See also: Source Bulletin 59, February 2010 (08 Feb 10) with more in-depth features.

International

Climate change: civil society does not neglect water in Copenhagen

Unlike the official UN climate meeting, the parallel civil society Klimaforum09 did not neglect the issue of water in Copenhagen.

Sanitation promotion: World’s Longest Toilet Queue

The World’s Longest Toilet Queue is a mass mobilisation event and Guinness World Record attempt bringing together thousands of campaigners on World Water Day. The campaigners are demanding that governments act to solve the global sanitation and water crisis, one month before the first High-Level Meeting on Sanitation and Water.

Water crisis: private sector solutions for closing the resource gap

The growing “water gap”, in which global water demand will be 40 per cent more than supply by 2030, can be closed by a combination of demand-side and supply-side measures, says a new report from the 2030 Water Resources Group. Such a balanced approach is four times cheaper than supply-side only measures like desalination.

Africa: ministers agree key steps forward from Johannesburg

African Ministers of Water will in the first quarter of 2010 meet with their colleague Ministers of Finance to review achievements of the 2nd Africa Water Week and to mobilise resources for the second and third phase of implementation of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Initiative (RWSSI).

Southern Africa: knowledge network for sustainable sanitation launched

The Ecological Sanitation Research group (EcoSanRes) at Stockholm Environment Institute has launched the Southern Africa knowledge node on sustainable sanitation (SAKNSS).

Tanzania: water and sewerage authority ranks high in corruption “list of shame”

The Tanzanian water and sewerage authority ranks fifth in the corruption ‘List of Shame” published by the regional NGO Concern for Development Initiatives in Africa (ForDIA).

Afghanistan, Badakhshan: enclave seen as model for development

A recent New York Times article tells the story of how direct grants to a village council in Jurm, Badakshan province, have reduced corruption and helped the community set up and manage their own water system and to introduce education for girls.

Pakistan: environment ministry finalises drinking water standards

“Curtailing pollutants to a permissible limit is our top priority and we are focusing on it,” according to Director General Environment Javed Ali Khan.

India, Kerala: social reality TV show contest for green local government

A local television station in Kerala is launching the first social reality show in India that will be evaluating performance of the local government authorities (panchayats) in sectors such as water and land management, sanitation, environment, health, energy. Called the Green Kerala Express, this daily 30 minute interactive show, starting in February 2010, will focus on sustainable development models developed by the local self-governments

Chile: Lower house to discuss bill on concessions for rural water, sanitation services

Members of Chile’s lower chamber of congress are discussing a bill on granting concessions for rural potable water and sanitation services. The new law considers the creation of a national rural sanitation department that will operate within the waterworks division of the public works ministry (MOP).

Latin America: water crises require bold investments and strategic alliances, IDB president says

“Latin America is facing multiple water crises with far-reaching consequences for health, food security, renewable energy sources and export competitiveness,” says Luis Alberto Moreno, president of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Guatemala: US$ 100 million from Spain and the IDB to improve water and sanitation services

Thanks to US$ 50 million in grants from Spain and the same amount in loans from the Inter-American Development (IDB) Guatemala will expand safe water and sanitation services to approximately 600,000 people in 280 rural communities and 60 urban and periurban areas that today lack those services.

Sanitation: AMCOW AfricaSan Awards 2009 winners

AfricaSan top honour for Leadership has been awarded to His Royal Highness Chief Macha, a traditional and community leader from Zambia who has used his status in a uniquely proactive manner to advocate for improved sanitation in Tonga.

Chile: regulator receives award for achievements in water and sanitation

Chile’s water and sanitation service authority SISS (Superintendencia de Servicios Sanitarios) has received an award from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the success of its reforms and water management programme.

Burkina Faso: water institute awards honorary doctorate to President Blaise Compaore

President Blaise Compaore of Burkina Faso was awarded his fifth honorary doctorate in recognition of his efforts for the environment.

First North American UNESCO water centre established

UNESCO and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have signed an agreement establishing the UNESCO International Centre for Integrated Water Resources Management (ICIWaRM) in Alexandria.

Lesotho: Malcolm White joins CoWater as Project Manager

Malcolm White, former Water and Sanitation Sector Adviser at Irish Aid in South Africa, has taken up a new position as CoWater Project Manager for a rural water supply and sanitation project in Lesotho.

Arsenic: MIT scientists pinpoint origin of contamination in drinking water in Bangladesh

Man-made ponds may be responsible for widespread arsenic contamination of ground water affecting millions of people in Bangladesh, a new MIT study says.

Cholera: increased precipitation patterns influence outbreaks in Lusaka, Zambia

Scientists from Nigata University, Japan, have found that increased precipitation patterns are contributing to cholera outbreaks in Lusaka, Zambia. The same link was found between insufficient coverage of drainage network sand elevated the risk of cholera outbreaks.

Output-Based Aid: challenges for OBA Facility for the water and sanitation sector in Honduras

The Global Partnership on Output-Based Aid (GPOBA) is sharing interesting results and lessons learned from a pilot Output-Based Aid (OBA) facility in Honduras in a new note. The project tested the viability of an innovative output-based aid mechanism for financing water and sanitation services.

Angola: NGO experiences in water service provision for the peri-urban poor

The NGO Development Workshop Angola highlights lessons from its support to the construction and management of over 200 urban standpipes, more than 700 hand-dug wells, and the development of local elected committees to manage these standpipes in post-war Angola.

Nanotechnology: low-cost rural water purifier launched in India

India’s Tata Chemicals has launched a low-cost water purification device, which combines ingredients such as rice husk ash with nanotechnology.

Crowdsourcing: innovative web site offers cash for water solutions

An open innovation marketplace uses “crowdsourcing” to solve water and sanitation challenges in exchange for the opportunity to earn cash awards.

Grants: call for proposals for microenterprise projects in water and sanitation

The Fondation Ensemble has launched a call for proposals for projects that seek to create microenterprises in the areas of water supply and sanitation or infrastructure maintenance.

Apply before Friday 05 March 2010

Vision 2030 : the resilience of water supply and sanitation in the face of climate change

This document summarizes the evidence found in the Vision 2030 Study that set out to increase understanding of how and where climate changes anticipated in the medium term will affect the drinking-water and sanitation situation.

Towards the realization of free basic sanitation

The aim of this study was to assess the experience of municipalities in South Africa in the implementation of free basic sanitation (FBSan) services and to develop economic and financial models for a sustainable FBSan service.

Gender-disaggregated data on water and sanitation

This report presents the outcome of an Expert Group Meeting held in December 2008 to address the question of gender disaggregated data. It includes the main recommendations of the 26 experts on mainstreaming gender issues into water and sanitation policies.