The Water Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States.
The Water Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, United States.
Sci Total Environ. 2018 Apr 1;619-620:1126-1132. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.11.183. Epub 2017 Nov 29.
In rural sub-Saharan Africa, one in three handpumps are non-functional at any time. While there is some evidence describing factors associated with non-functional water systems, there is little evidence describing the categories of water system breakdowns that commonly occur. Insufficient water availability from broken down systems can force people to use unimproved water sources, which undermines the health benefits of an improved water source. We categorized common water system breakdowns using quantitative and qualitative monitoring data from Liberia, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda (each N>3600 water systems) and examined how breakdown category varies by water system type and management characteristics. Specific broken parts were mentioned more frequently than all other reasons for breakdown; hardware parts frequently found at fault for breakdown were aprons (Liberia), pipes (Tanzania and Uganda), taps/spouts (Tanzania and Uganda), and lift mechanisms (Nigeria). Statistically significant differences in breakdown category were identified based on system type, age, management type, and fee collection type. Categorization can help to identify common reasons for water system breakdown. The analysis of these data can be used to develop improved monitoring instruments to inform actors of different breakdown types and provide reasons for system non-functionality. Improved monitoring instruments would enable actors to target appropriate resources to address specific breakdowns likely to arise based on system type and management characteristics in order to inform improved implementation of and post-construction support for water systems in sub-Saharan Africa.
在撒哈拉以南非洲农村地区，任何时候都有三分之一的手泵无法正常工作。虽然有一些证据描述了与非功能性水系统相关的因素，但很少有证据描述常见的水系统故障类别。由于系统故障导致供水不足，人们可能被迫使用未改善的水源，从而破坏了改善水源带来的健康效益。我们使用来自利比里亚、尼日利亚、坦桑尼亚和乌干达的定量和定性监测数据对常见的水系统故障进行了分类（每个国家/地区的 N>3600 个水系统），并研究了故障类别如何因水系统类型和管理特征而异。具体的故障部件比所有其他故障原因被提及的频率更高；经常出现故障的硬件部件是围裙（利比里亚）、管道（坦桑尼亚和乌干达）、水龙头/喷嘴（坦桑尼亚和乌干达）和提升机构（尼日利亚）。基于系统类型、年龄、管理类型和收费类型，确定了故障类别存在统计学上的显著差异。分类可以帮助确定水系统故障的常见原因。对这些数据的分析可以用于开发改进的监测工具，向不同的故障类型的相关人员通报，并提供系统无法正常运行的原因。改进的监测工具将使相关人员能够根据系统类型和管理特征，针对特定的故障类型分配适当的资源，以改善撒哈拉以南非洲地区水系统的实施和建设后的支持。
