Sustainable water supply means to find reliable and resilient approaches to various human needs for water for that does neither exhaust the water sources and the local economy nor have long term negative impact on the environment. Agriculture accounts for about 70% of the current world water supply, whereas domestic and industrial use is about 8% and 22% respectively (WBCSD 2009). Read more about the water cycle here. This course focuses on domestic water supply. Potable water for domestic use is normally derived from surface or groundwater sources or from rainwater harvesting (RWH). Other sources are harvesting of fog or air moisture, bottled water or even melting of snow or ice or sea water desalination. Methods for desalination of seawater have improved, but are still requiring substantial energy input and are thus not sustainable from an energy perspective. This module will mainly focus on ground- or surface-water sources and RWH and give the student knowledge that aids selection and design of sustainable water supply options in different parts of the world including crisis situations (disaster situations will be discussed in Module 6). Cases are used to illustrate different water supply and treatment options and to motivate the learning process.
Facts and Trends. Water (Version 2)
The brochure „Water: Facts and Trends“ by the WBCSD (World Business Council on Sustainable Development) offers a series of appealing graphics a well structured presentation of the main (but not detailed) facts and trends on water and the state of water resources today.
WBCSD (2009): Facts and Trends. Water (Version 2). Geneva: World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBDSC) URL [Accessed: 20.04.2010]Facts and Trends. Water (Version 2)
The brochure „Water: Facts and Trends“ by the WBCSD (World Business Council on Sustainable Development) offers a series of appealing graphics a well structured presentation of the main (but not detailed) facts and trends on water and the state of water resources today.
WBCSD (2009): Facts and Trends. Water (Version 2). Geneva: World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBDSC) URL [Accessed: 20.04.2010]
A Proposed Standard Fog Collector for Use in High-Elevation Regions
This document contains information about standard fog collectors and their construction.
SCHEMENAUER, R. ; CERECEDA, P. (1994): A Proposed Standard Fog Collector for Use in High-Elevation Regions. In: Journal of Applied Meteorology : Volume 33 , 1313-1322. URL [Accessed: 13.07.2011]Water rights and water allocation issues and challenges for Asia
With a focus on Asia, the report aims to increase clarity on the concepts and terminology surrounding water rights and water allocation. It makes use of findings from the cross-country comparisons in Asian countries.
BIRD, J. LINCKLAEN ARRIENS, W. CUSTODIO, D. von (2009): Water rights and water allocation issues and challenges for Asia. Manila, The Philippines, Asian Development Bank URL [Accessed: 22.04.2012]The EMPOWERS Approach to Water Governance: Guidelines, Methods and Tools
The guideline provides information necessary to understand the EMPOWERS approach of water governance and explains in details how to use the approach for planning and implementation of water management and related issues.
MORIARTY, P. BATCHELOR, C. ABD-ALHADI, F. LABAN, P. FAHMY, H. (2007a): INWRDAM The EMPOWERS Approach to Water Governance: Guidelines, Methods and Tools. pdf presentation. Amman, Jordan: Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM) URL [Accessed: 18.03.2010]Combating Waterborne Diseases at the Household Level
This document is divided into three main parts. The first part contains an introduction to the topic and depicts some possible, simple techniques for treating water at the household level. The second part describes the possibility of collaborating to fight against waterborne diseases and the last part presents again some low-cost solutions.
WHO (2007): Combating Waterborne Diseases at the Household Level. The International Network to Promote Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage. Geneva: World Health Organisation (WHO) URL [Accessed: 11.10.2010]Smart Disinfection Solutions
This booklet, part of the Smart Water Solutions series provides a wide range of methods and products for home water treatment in rural areas.
NWP (2010): Smart Disinfection Solutions. Examples of small-scale disinfection products for safe drinking water. (= Smart water solutions ). Amsterdam: KIT Publishers URL [Accessed: 17.05.2019]Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water. 2015 Update
This well illustrated report describes the status and trends with respect to the use of safe drinking-water and basic sanitation, and progress made within the framework of the MDG drinking-water and sanitation target. As the MDG era comes to a close, this report shows how far we have come. For example, in a major global achievement, the target for safe drinking water was met in 2010, well ahead of the MDG deadline of 2015. Over 90 per cent of the world’s population now has access to improved sources of drinking water. At the same time, the report highlights how far we still have to go. The world has fallen short on the sanitation target, leaving 2.4 billion without access to improved sanitation facilities. Each JMP report assesses the situation and trends anew and so this JMP report supersedes previous reports (e.g. from 2012, 2013 and 2014).
WHO ; UNICEF (2015): Progress on Sanitation and Drinking-Water. 2015 Update. Geneva: World Health Organisation (WHO) / New York: UNICEF URL [Accessed: 07.07.2015]Roof Water Harvesting for a low Impact Water Supply: Featuring the Brazilian Ball Pre-Filter System: A Case Study
The following report details the components and illustrates the highlights of a first flush system called the Brazilian Ball Pre-Filter System.
DOLMAN, B. LUNDQUIST, K. (2008): Roof Water Harvesting for a low Impact Water Supply: Featuring the Brazilian Ball Pre-Filter System: A Case Study. Occidental: The WATER Institute Occidental Arts and Ecology Center (OAEC) URL [Accessed: 12.03.2019] PDFRelevance and Opportunities of Bank Filtration to Provide Safe Water for Developing and Newly-industrialised Countries
This report gives an overview of the opportunities that BF provides for developing and newly-industrialised countries. The information should support these countries in evaluating whether BF constitutes an attractive supplement or even alternative to their water supply system.
HUELSHOFF, I. GRESKOWIAK, J. WIESE, B. GRUETSMACHER, G. (2009): Relevance and Opportunities of Bank Filtration to Provide Safe Water for Developing and Newly-industrialised Countries. Unknown: Techneau URL [Accessed: 04.03.2019] PDFSamSamWater - Projects
The successful rural water supply by sand storage dams was studied in Kitui District, Kenya. Key success factors were identified, such as type of geology, catchment size and rainfall enabling upscaling and dissemination to other (semi) arid areas. Download documents and photos here.