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Domestic Water and Sanitation
May 1982
>> This Is USAID >> USAID Policy Papers >> Domestic Water and Sanitation
[Download original document] I. Introduction
This paper is the first of a series designed to give more explicit guidance on major health issues, and draws on A.M.'s experience with domestic water and sanitation programs.1 The paper provides suggested guidelines on how and under what conditions scarce U.S. development funds may be used cost effectively to improve health conditions through selective investments in domestic water supply and sanitation programs.
Improvements in water supply and sanitation have important ramifications in areas other than health, including education, employment, nutrition, agriculture, industry, housing, and the environment. This paper, however, concentrates primarily on the health rationale for investments in domestic water supply and sanitation, and brings together A.M.'s practical experience, that of other International donors, and the findings of numerous research studies.
This paper is concerned with both water supply for "domestic use"2 and sanitation in developing countries. The discussion of sanitation deals principally with the disposal of human excreta, domestic waste water, and other household waste materials. This paper addresses water supply and sanitation policy issues pertinent to urban and per urban populations as well as to rural communities.3 This paper does not address issues arising from large-scale irrigation projects or from the use of water for primarily agricultural purposes. Nor does it deal with recent conservation or watershed management efforts which USAID also finances.
USAID's policy on domestic water supply and sanitation can be summarized as follows:
The availability of a minimum of 20-40 liters of relatively safe water per person per day is essential to achieve sustained health improvements in developing countries. Where this minimum quantity is not readily accessible and where there are significant health problems associated with inadequate water and sanitation, water supply and sanitation programs deserve attention.
However, domestic water supply and sanitation programs require considerable initial investment and are difficult (financially and logistically) to maintain. To ensure that domestic water and sanitation systems will be maintained over the long run, USAID believes that projects sponsored by the Agency must address certain critical issues, among them:
- coverage of recurrent costs through fees, taxes or other means;
- proper education of users of the system; adequate operation and maintenance;
- encouragement of the involvement of private enterprise;
- adequate national or regional governmental capability for policy formulation and oversight.
When these and other policy issues are satisfactorily addressed, domestic water supply and sanitation programs rank high within USAID's health sector priorities.
1U.S. Agency for International Development, "Community Water Supply in Developing Countries, Lessons from Experience" (Draft), 1982.
[return to text]2As used here, this term encompasses water used for drinking; for hygiene (handwashing, bathing, cleaning the home washing kitchenware and eating utensils, food preparation, and frequently for washing clothes as well); for watering poultry and livestock, in small numbers, near the dwelling and , in minor amounts, for irrigation in small household gardens.
[return to text]3U.S development assistance has long supported rural and village water supply programs. In recent years, through the Housing Garrantry Program, through urban development projects, and through Economic Support Fund programs, USAID has given increasing attention to water and sanitation programs that serve the poor in rapidly growing urban centers of the developing world as well. (See Table I for trends in USAID funding of water and sanitation programs). The project criteria developed in this paper are intended as guidance for ESF and HG programs as well as for DA projects.
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Last Updated on: July 11, 2001 |
