82 Protec ting Communit y Water
Maintain your well
Well water is easily contaminated when dirty buckets and dirty ropes or chains
are lowered into it. To keep well water clean, keep one bucket attached to the
well and use it to fill other containers. Washing hands before collecting water
and building a fence to keep animals out will also prevent contamination.
You can also protect your well water when you:
• keep the well cover in place.
• keep the platform and runoff channel clean.
• grease the handle bearing often to make it easier to use.
• do not let children play with the well or pump.
• fence the area to keep livestock out.
• have a person be caretaker of the well.
Drain runoff from wells and taps
Wherever people collect water, water spills. When
water collects in puddles, it becomes a breeding ground
for mosquitoes that carry malaria and other illnesses.
Wells, taps, outlets from storage tanks, and other water
collection areas need good drainage to allow spilled
water to flow away or to drain into the ground.
To take advantage of water that runs off, plant a
tree or a vegetable garden where the water drains.
If you cannot plant a tree or garden, make a hollow in
the ground filled with rocks, gravel, and sand for the
water to seep into. This is called a “soakaway pit.” It
will help prevent mosquitoes from breeding.
Community water tap
with drainage
Soakaway pit
Large rocks
Gravel
Sand
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012