Water and sanitation

Sanitation is the process of keeping places around the house, schools and work places clean and healthy to prevent diseases caused by contact with human waste and dirty environment

Why one should promote sanitation

– prevent spread of diseases

Cleaning the school, work place and home

The schools, work places  and home should be kept clean and tidy. The parts of the school that should be cleaned are:

1. The compound

The paths in the compound must be swept, the flowerbeds weeded and the grass cut or trimmed. Rubbish collected should be disposed of either in a dustbin or in a rubbish or garbage pit in the school.

2. The classrooms and bedrooms

The floor needs to be swept then mopped or wiped with a wet piece of cloth to remove dust and parasites like fleas and jiggers. The windows need to be wiped to remove dirt and stains that prevent entry of light. The roof should be cleaned using a cobweb remover to get rid of cobwebs and organisms such as spiders, which may be harmful. Desks and chairs need to be wiped with a damp piece of cloth to remove dust and dirt that may make books and clothes dirty.

3. Toilet, latrine and urinal

The latrines, toilets and urinals should be used properly. When using a latrine, the waste (feces and urine) must be directed into the pit. If using a toilet, the waste must be directed into the bowl of the toilet. In the urinal, urine must be directed to the trench so that away. Do not dispose any solid substances in the urinal. We should not pass waste in the bush or on the road sides.

After using the toilet, one should also clean themselves well using toilet paper or water, to remove waste.

A person should then wash his/her hands with clean water and soap after using the toilet. The toilets should be cleaned using soap, water and a brush.

The brush is used to scrub the floor. It should then be rinsed with clean water. After using the latrines, the opening should be covered to keep flies away. The toilets, latrines and urinals must be kept very dean to keep away flies and bad smell.

Latrines

They are two type latrine

 

Pit latrine

A pit latrine, also known as pit toilet or long drop, is a type of toilet that collects human feces in a hole in the ground. Urine and feces enter the pit through a drop hole in the floor, which might be connected to a toilet seat or squatting pan for user comfort. Pit latrines can be built to function without water ( dry toilet ) or they can have a water seal (pour-flush pit latrine).

When properly built and maintained, pit latrines can decrease the spread of disease by reducing the amount of human feces in the environment from open defecation.

This decreases the transfer of pathogens (disease causing organisms) between feces and food by house flies. These pathogens are major causes of infectious diarrhea  and intestinal worm infections.

The World Health Organization  recommends the pits are built a reasonable distance (about 10m 0r 32 feet) from the house, balancing issues of easy access versus that of smell.

VIP latrine

In addition to the pit, VIP latrine has a vent pipe.

The vent pipe should have an internal diameter of at least 110 mm and reach more than 300 mm above the highest point of the toilet superstructure. Wind passing over the top creates a suction pressure within the vent pipe and induces an air circulation. Air is drawn through the user interface into the pit, moves up carrying flies inside the vent pipe and escapes into the atmosphere.

The flies are trapped inside the vent pipes by a fly trap.

The drop hole of a VIP latrine should not be covered to enable air circulation.

Caring for latrines

• Cemented latrines should be kept clean by mopping with soap water and brush and then disinfection to reduce germs and bad smell while Mud latrine should be smoked instead.
• Pit latrine should be covered to prevent house flies from carrying germs from the pit to the food.
• VIP latrines should not be covered to allow air circulation and flies to be trapped in the vent.

Tools used for cleaning the compound

• brooms
• twigs
• dust pan
• cleaning rug
• rake

Rubbish pit

Decomposing rubbish like plant remains should be separated from non-decomposing rubbish like plastics.

Decomposing rubbish should be turned into compost in the dust bin to be used in the gardens.

Non-decomposing rubbish should be burned regularly.

Bathing shelter

Schools, home and work places should have bathrooms to encourage regular bathing.

Bathrooms should be washed and disinfected regularly.

Drying racks

Plates and utensils should be kept on a drying rack at least a meter from the ground to prevent dog cats and poultry from dirtying them.

Kitchen

Every home should have a kitchen to prevent inhabitant from inhaling poisonous smoke in case food is prepared in the house. The kitchen should be kept clean and tidy.

Water

Safe water is one of the most essential commodity in a home, school and place of water.

Uses of water

Drinking

Washing hands and clothes

Agriculture

Mopping

Industry

Water quality

The quality of water required depends on what it will be used for. Drinking water must be clean and safe to drink and protected from any contamination by pathogens or other pollutants. The primary concern must be to prevent the transmission of waterborne diseases. For other water uses such as for domestic washing or for agricultural or industrial uses, the quality is less critical.

Generally the quality of potable or water for drinking should

1. not be contaminated
2. Mineral rich.The natural occurring minerals in the source water are not removed through purification processes, such as reverse osmosis and distillation.
3. Have alkaline pH (7-9.5); showing that the water contains a healthy level of alkaline minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
4. Have a good taste.

 

Sources of water

1. Tap water

Tap water is relatively safe treated water from sea, lakes or rivers

2. Rain water

Rainwater is also an important source of water, although on a relatively small scale due limited harvesting capacity such as availability of water tanks and its unreliability. Collecting rain from roofs or other hard-surfaced areas and storing it until it is needed can provide a valuable source of water for many purposes.

Rainwater has several advantages. It is free, relatively clean and usually reliable, even if it rains only once or twice a year, and a rainwater harvesting system can be easily constructed and maintained at low cost. However, it may be polluted by bird’s dropping.

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3. Spring and wells

Springs and wells are important sources of water for many families in rural areas. They should protected from contamination by domestic animals, from feces and dung.

Spring water and wells should be protected from contamination in the following ways:

• The water source is fully enclosed or capped and no surface water can run directly into it.
• People do not step into the water while collecting it.
• Latrines, solid waste pits, animal excreta and other sources of pollution are located as far away as possible from the water source and on ground lower in elevation than the water source.
• There is no stagnant water within 5 metres of the water source.
• The water collection buckets or hand pump at the source are kept clean.

4. Lakes and rivers

Lake and rive water may be contaminated with excreta

5. Bore hole

These have to be deep enough to extend below the water table so that water can be drawn up by bucket or by pumping.

Characteristic of water from borehole

• It likely to be free from pathogenic bacteria
• Often has a high mineral content

Methods of water treatment

Dirty water is made clean and safe  by

1. Boiling
2. Decanting

Decantation is a process for the separation of mixtures of immiscible liquids or of a liquid and a solid mixture such as a suspension.

Dirty Water is placed in a container and time allowed for the solid particles to settle at the bottom of the container and then a clear liquid poured off gently so as not to disturb the sediment.

3. Distillation

Here dirty water is heated to the boiling point. It evaporates into steam. Steam is cooled to form pure water. Distilled water is not fit for drinking because it does not contain minerals like calcium and magnesium.

4. Filtration

This is a process used to separate solids from liquids or gases using a filter medium that allows the fluid to pass through but not the solid.

 

A simple filtration system that can be used in rural areas is shown below

Water obtained by the above filtration system may not be fit for drinking because filtration does not remove bacteria.

 

Water borne diseases

Waterborne diseases are conditions caused by pathogenic micro-organisms that are transmitted in water. These diseases can be spread while bathing, washing, drinking water, or by eating food exposed to contaminated water. They include

1. Typhoid

Symptoms include:

• A fever that increases gradually
• Muscle aches
• Fatigue
• Sweating
• Diarrhea or constipation

2. Cholera

Symptoms include:

• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Muscle cramps

3. Dysentery

Symptoms include:

• Stomach cramps and pain
• Diarrhea
• Fever
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Dehydration

4. Bilharzia

Bilharzia, or “snail fever,” is a disease caused by a parasitic worm or river fluke genus Schistosoma

It is transmitted by water snail

Symptoms of bilharzia include

• fever
• headache
• breathing difficulties
• blood in the feces
• intestinal ulcers
• blood in the urine
• painful urination

 

Water cycle

The water cycle is the path that all water follows as it moves around our planet.

Of the many processes involved in the water cycle, the most important are evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation and runoff.  

Evaporation is the change of a liquid into vapour below its boiling point.

Transpiration is the loss of water vapour from the plant through the stomata.

Condensation is process by which water vapor turns into a liquid.

Precipitation is any liquid or frozen water that forms in the atmosphere and falls back to the Earth in form of rain.

Runoff, is the waters that travel over the land surface and through channels to reach a stream.

 

Water pollution

This is the release of substances into poisonous and pathogens into water bodies lakes, rivers and ocean that interfere with beneficial use of the water.

Sources of water pollutants

1. industries
2. sewage

For revision questions and answers download PDF below

Sanitation -upper primary

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Compiled by Dr. Bbosa Science + 256 778 633 682

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