Motorised Distribution

In many parts of the world, people lack piped access to water for their daily needs (e.g. hygiene, drinking, cooking, cloth washing etc.). In order to have access to water, people try to help themselves by collecting water for their families and communities by collecting rainwater (see also urban and rural rainwater harvesting and fog drip water collection), by installing shallow wells and a handpump, by getting water by walking to the source or by buying it from a mobile vendor.

Another solution to get water to the people is to collect at the (well, lake, river, spring) and then distribute it with motorised trucks.Water supply trucks are distribution systems by which governments and private entrepreneurs transport water to a central community location or directly to a household. From the trucked tank, the water is either pumped into hand-held containers or if available, directly into household wells or storage tanks (adapted from DRINKING WATER 2010).This type of system may be permanent in communities where no other delivery infrastructure exists and it is an efficient short-term solution in areas with intermittent service due to a natural disaster or emergency (e.g. drought, damage to infrastructure due to war, earthquake, emergency camps, etc.; see also emergency camp and community water supply in emergencies).

In arid areas and those lacking other permanent water infrastructure, water trucks may also be part of the municipal water supply plan. In such cases they are funded by local governments and may present no undue burden to their users. But people living beyond the reach of the water infrastructure, such as those in rapidly growing urban slums or remote countryside locales, may be forced to pay private contractors for truck delivery of their daily water needs. However, water supply with trucks provides only infrequent and/or contaminated water (see also waterborne diseases) and treatment at the point of use is required.

The price for the water depends on the vendor. For example in Cochabamba, Bolivia, private vendors typically charge 10 to 20 times the fee charged by public utilities, and people living in marginal urban areas pay between 10 and 40 % of their incomes to acquire water in this way (WUTICH 2006).

SOLO (2003) also mentions that trucked water is more expensive than piped water. Her study shows that water is sold 4-10 times of the public network unit price. In their investigations (implemented in Paraguay, Argentina, Colombia, Guatemala, Peru and Bolivia), they did not get confirmation of the numbers mentioned in different literature (20-150 times of the public network unit price).

(Adapted from NHDES 2010)

Equipment surfaces that come into contact with water during transport of fresh or drinking water must be well maintained and be made of material that is smooth, impervious, non-absorbent, corrosion resistant and nontoxic, such as stainless steel. While stainless steel tanks are preferred, aluminium tanks are also allowed. Tanks shall be of the type that can be closed to exclude all foreign matter and vents on tanks shall be protected to prevent contamination of the fresh/drinking water during filling and emptying. Fresh/drinking water should be stored, loaded, transported, and unloaded in a manner that prevents contamination.

Tanks previously used to carry any non-food products, toxic substances, or petroleum products may not be used unless the tank is approved by a responsible institution after the following is completed.

• The tank must be thoroughly cleansed using appropriate sanitation methods to remove all previously transported products.
• The tank should be filled with drinking water and be tested for the presence of contaminants associated with the products previously stored in the tanks and the chemicals used for cleaning.
• The two processes above should be repeated until there is no trace of contaminants.
• Pipes, hoses, fittings, and valves associated with the tank must be replaced with equipment not previously used to transport petroleum products, toxic substances, or any non-food products.

It is not secure that water delivered by tanker trucks is clean (low-quality water). The risk of contamination is always there. This contamination can have different sources;

• Unimproved water source
• Mouldy water (bad and/or a long time of storage)
• Contaminated tanks and work equipment

If users are not sure about the water quality and/or source, treatment at the point of use is suggested. This helps to prevent waterborne diseases.