Learn @WELL

Emergency Water
Supply & Sanitation
Module
 Water, Engineering and Development Centre
Loughborough University
Leicestershire
LE11 3TU UK
WELL@lboro.ac.uk

London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Keppel Street
London
WC1E 7HT
WELL@lshtm.ac.uk

IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre

P.O. Box 2869
2601 CW
Delft
The Netherlands
WELL@irc.nl

www.lboro.ac.uk/WELL

© WEDC/LSHTM/IRC, 2006

Any part of this publication, including the illustrations (except items taken from other publications
where the authors do not hold copyright) may be copied, reproduced or adapted to meet local needs,
without permission from the authors or publisher, provided the parts reproduced are distributed free, or
at cost and not for commercial ends, and the source of WELL (WEDC, LSHTM and IRC) is fully
acknowledged. The publisher and authors would appreciate being sent copies of any materials in
which text or illustrations have been used.

WELL acknowledges the following for their contributions in developing and producing this module:
Jane Bevan, Sam Treglowan, Peter Harvey, Bob Reed

Published by WEDC on behalf of WELL

WELL is a network of resource centres:

WEDC at Loughborough University, UK TREND, Kumasi, Ghana
IRC at Delft, The Netherlands SEUF, Thiruvananthapuram, India
AMREF, Nairobi, Kenya ICDDR,B, Dhaka, Bangladesh
IWSD, Harare, Zimbabwe NETWAS, Nairobi, Kenya
LSHTM at University of London, UK NWRI, Kaduna, Nigeria

This module was funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).
The views expressed, however, are not necessarily those of DFID.

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About this module
This module aims to provide a general overview of the assessment, design and implementation of
water supply and sanitation in communities affected by disasters and emergencies. Because of
its scope and length, there is probably insufficient information to enable the reader to work
unaided in an emergency situation but references are provided within the text to other sources
that contain more detailed and practical information.
The module is most suitable for technical field staff and their managers who are, or could be,
involved in emergency water supply and sanitation planning and response. The modules
assumes the reader has no prior knowledge of emergencies but past experience would always be
an advantage to learning.
Emergency water supply and sanitation is a very large sector and so this module can only give a
brief introduction to the subject. The module is divided into six units.
The first provides a general overview, including the causes and effects of emergencies and the
international standards governing organizations’ responses.
Units two, three and four describe emergency water supply. They cover all aspects of emergency
water supply including the design process, source selection, water treatment and distribution.
Unit five describes emergency excreta disposal, considering provision both in the initial stages of
an emergency and the more settled phase that follows after.
The final unit describes the emergency hygiene promotion, an essential component of water and
sanitation provision since the health benefits anticipated from good service provision will only
occur if they are used correctly.
A set of self assessment questions to help you understand the material covered is currently being
prepared and will be added after the final module.

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