70 Protec ting Communit y Water
Testing for water safety
Water quality testing is often done by examining samples of water in a
laboratory. These tests show the type and amount of contamination and are
usually necessary to find chemical contamination.
But they can be costly. While useful, water
quality testing is usually less important than
raising community awareness of water issues
and careful protection of water sources (see
page 75).
H2S test
Some water testing kits can be used
locally to test water for germs. For
example, the “H2S test” is low cost
(5 tests cost about 1 dollar) and gives
quick results. But this test sometimes
mistakes harmless living things for
germs, and it does not show if chemicals
or parasite eggs are in the water.
Water quality tests show only
if the water was contaminated
at the time and place the water
sample was taken.
Improve Your Water Supply
Before trying to develop a new water supply, it
will probably be easier to make your current water
sources produce more and cleaner water. When
making a plan to improve the water supply, start
by making a list of local resources. Resources
include water sources, building materials, and
most important, people. Include the people with
skills to build wells or tanks or install pipes, people
who can facilitate group activities and organize
work parties, and older people who remember how
water was collected years ago.
Identify solutions
What your community does to improve the water supply may depend on
which problems are most urgent or which problems are easiest to solve first.
It is important to make a plan that addresses the root causes of the problems
and satisfies the needs of everyone in the community.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012