Human-Powered Distribution

In many parts of the world people lack access to water for their daily needs (e.g. hygiene, drinking, cooking, cloth washing, etc.). In order to have a more easy access to water, people could try to help themselves by collecting rainwater for their families and communities (see also urban and rural rainwater harvesting and fog drip water harvesting), by installing shallow wells and a handpump, by getting water themselves walking long distances or by buying it from a mobile vendor. The manual method for water distribution via walking and mobile vendors is described below.

Long walk to get water

One solution to get fresh or drinking water where there is no piped supply or any motorised delivery, is to walk to a water source (well, lake, river, spring) and fill freshwater into containers such as buckets and bring it back. Besides the long walking distances and the time lost by women and children sent for fetching water (access to water and sanitation, water sanitation and development and the right to water and sanitation), the water sources are often unimproved and the risk of contamination either in the water source, in the return carriage (e.g. when dirty containers are used) or at the household level is frequent (see also waterborne diseases - pathogens and contaminants, water - sanitation and health and health risk management). In this case, household-level or point-of-use treatments and safe storage are crucial for the health and hygiene of the community (see also household water treatment and safe storage).

Rolling tanks

To make water transport easier for children and woman, there is the approach not to carry the water tanks but to roll these heavy tanks. Currently there are two very similar tanks on the market. The Q-Drum has a volume of 50 litres, is produced from durable plastic material and has a ‘donut shape’. A rope is tied through the central hole and the Q-Drum can be pulled by kids or women over a long distance and almost every terrain (QDRUM 2011; VEGAS 2011).

A very similar concept is the Hippo Water Roller. This water tank has a capacity of 90 litres and is manufactured from UV stabilised polyethylene and has been designed to withstand typical rural conditions. The sealed lid ensures hygienic storage of water and the steel handle provides firm control over difficult terrain while pulling or, in contrast to the Q-Drum, pushing the roller (HIPPOROLLER 2012).

Mobile water vendors

In many cities in the world, mainly in Africa, Asia and South America standpipe coverage and piped distribution is very low and vendors sell water door-to-door. They transport the water with water tankers, animal powered traction, human hand carters or water bearers (KEENER et al. 2009).

Mobile water vendors also get involved in periods of water shortages, such as emergencies or dry seasons. For instance during the dry season of 2009 in Ampara (Sri Lanka) each morning men on bicycles, with big barrels tied on their backs, travelled into the jungle to locate water springs and bring the water to populated areas (IRIN 2009).

Water jugs

In many countries, 20L water jugs or smaller reusable bottles are a very common way to transport water manually. In some areas, people just use them to fetch and transport the water. In other regions companies deliver them to the household. If they are used to transport water from a source or a distribution point (e.g. borehole or well) to the home, care should be taken to not pollute the water by using unhygienic jugs. If they are distributed and sold as an alternative to normal bottled water, empty jugs are replaced by the company by full ones which saves costs and avoids plastic waste (see also bottled water).

Costs depend widely on the context. In many urban areas or developed areas water in bottles and jugs are made available to most of the population. To fetch water and transport it from the source to the home can be time consuming and depending on circumstances could have an effect on the economic activity of the community. In any case, the price for water distributed by humans or trucks (see also motorised distribution) is often higher than the cost of having access to a well-maintained public distribution system.

The quality of the water depends a lot on the source of water (see table below). Its contents are not always of drinking water quality. Even if water is safe at the point of source, there is a high risk of contamination during transport. To prevent waterborne diseases from unverified sources, safe storage and treatment of the water at the point of use and adapted hygienic conditions are very important.

Table 1: Improved and unimproved drinking water sources. Source: (WHO/UNICEF 2010)