Water for Life 19
Some things to ask to consider improving water sources:
Is the source unprotected, such as an open well, ditch, or pond?
Do people wade, wash clothes, or bathe near where water is collected?
Are pit toilets or sewage close to the water source?
Is there garbage in, or very close to, the water source?
Are there snails in the water or living in the bank?
Is there slimy green plant life (algae) growing on the surface?
Black or red water
may have a lot of iron,
which can damage
pipes and cooking
utensils. Red water
can also be caused by
other minerals, or by
mining upstream.
4. C omplete the map of local water sources
and sources of contamination
After the visits, make changes to your map to
reflect what was learned. Safe water sources
and contaminated sources may be marked in
different colors, new sources of contamination
can be added, and so on. You may need to
make a new map that can be used to assess
changes in water sources in the future.
A Water Watch can lead to different kinds of
action depending on what problems are found
and what the community decides to do.