Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Management of risk factors for breaking localised pathways of microbial contamination in tubewells with handpump: a case study from India

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Modeling Earth Systems and Environment Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Microbial contamination of handpump (HP) is common in developing countries like India. The WHO recommends sanitary inspection (SI) to assess the risk of water source contamination. In SI, all risks are given equal weightage. However, different mathematical models have shown that risks associated with localised pathways have a relatively higher influence on microbial contamination. This study aims to assess the efficacy of eliminating four risks associated with localised pathways and have shown a higher positive association with microbial contamination of HP than others in bivariate frequency analysis and four binary logistic regressions applied on 324 HPs randomly selected from nine districts of Uttar Pradesh, India. Analysis showed the four risks: (i) HP loose at base: (ii) apron cracked: (iii) apron < 1 m an: (iv) drainage broken have a higher positive association than others. In this study, the above four risks were eliminated from 154 HPs (safe 48 and unsafe 106) through standard civil structures keeping other risks untouched. Post-intervention thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) tests were carried out and unsafe HPs were reduced from 106 to 3. Therefore, managing the four risks associated with localised pathways is highly effective in preventing microbial contamination of HP water.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

(Source: WEDC 2012)

Fig. 5

(Source: WEDC 2012)

Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amuzu A (1993) Sanitary aspects of groundwater supplies in Ghana. Presented at 19th WEDC conference - Water, Sanitation, Environment and Development, Accra, Ghana

  • ARGOSS (2001) Guidelines for assessing the risk to groundwater from on-site sanitation. British Geological Survey Commissioned Report. London, UK. British Geological Survey

  • Ashbolt NJ (2004) Microbial contamination of drinking water and disease outcomes in developing regions. Toxicology 198(1–3):229–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tox.2004.01.030

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bain R, Gundry SW, Wright JA, Yang H, Pedley S, Bartram JK (2012) Accounting for water quality in monitoring the Millennium Development Goal on access to safe drinking-water: lessons from five countries. World Health Organ. https://doi.org/10.2471/BLT.11.094284

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bain R, Cronk R, Wright J, Yang H, Slaymaker T, Bartram J (2014a) Fecal contamination of drinking-water in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Med. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1001644

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bain R, Cronk R, Hossain R, Bonjour S, Onda K, Wright J, Yang H, Slaymaker T, Hunter P, Prüss-Ustün A, Bartram J (2014b) Global assessment of exposure to faecal contamination through drinking water based on a systematic review. Trop Med Int Health. https://doi.org/10.1111/tmi.12334

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barret MH, Johal K, Howard G, Pedley S, Nalubega M (2000) Sources of faecal contamination of shallow groundwaters in Kampala. In: Sililo OTM, Appleyard S, Barrett M (eds) Groundwater: past achievements and future challenges. Balkema Press, Rotterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Bekuretsion H, Hailekiros H, Niguse S, Asmelash T, Abdulkader M, Saravanan M, Brindhadevi K (2018) Bacteriological assessment of drinking water from hand-pump-fitted borehole sources in Kola Tembien, Central Tigray, Northern Ethiopia. J Water Supply Res Technol AQUA 67(8):790–799

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BIS (1981) Indian Standards: methods of sampling and microbial examination of water, first revision. New Delhi, Bureau of Indian Standards. https://archive.org/details/gov.law.is.1622.1981/page/n1/mode/2up

  • BIS (2012) Indian Standards: drinking water specification, second revision. New Delhi, Bureau of Indian Standard. http://cgwb.gov.in/Documents/WQ-standards.pdf

  • Calder J, Sapsford R (2001) Multivariate analysis. In: Data collection and analysis, UK

  • Census (2011) Census report-2011: main source of drinking water 2001–2011. New Delhi, Office of Registrar General and Census Commissioner, Government of India. http://www.censusindia.gov.in

  • Cronin AA, Breslin N, Gibson J, Pedley S (2006) Monitoring source and domestic water quality in parallel with sanitary risk identification in Northern Mozambique to prioritise protection interventions. J Water Health 4:333–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daniel D, Iswarani WP, Pande S, Rietveld L (2020) A Bayesian Belief Network model to link sanitary inspection data to drinking water quality in a medium resource setting in rural Indonesia. Nat Sci Rep 10:18867. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-75827-7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ercumen A, Naser AM, Arnold BF, Unicomb L, Colford JM, Luby SP (2017) Can sanitary inspection surveys predict risk of microbiological contamination of groundwater sources? Evidence from shallow tubewells in rural Bangladesh. Am J Trop Med Hyg. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.16-0489

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fewetrell L, Kauffman R, Kay D, Enanoria W, Haller L, Colford J (2005) Water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions to reduce diarrhea in less developed countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Lancet 5:42–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gebrewahd A, Adhanom G, Gebremichail G et al (2020) Bacteriological quality and associated risk factors of drinking water in Eastern Zone, Tigrai, Ehiopia, 2019. Trop Dis Travel Med Vaccines 6:15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40794-020-00116-00

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gelinas Y, Randall H, Robidoux L, Schmit J (1996) Well water survey in two districts of Conakry (Republic of Guinea) and comparison with the piped city water. Water Res 30(9):2017–2026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GOI (2019) Uniform drinking water monitoring protocol. New Delhi, Government of India. https://phedharyana.gov.in/Documents/UniformDrinkingWaterQualityMonitoringProtocol.pdf

  • Gwimbi P, George M, Ramphalile M (2019) Bacterial contamination of drinking water sources in rural villages of Mohale Basin, Lesotho: exposures through neighbourhood sanitation and hygiene practices. Environ Health Prev Med 24:33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Helsel D, Hirsch R (1992) Statistical methods in water resources. Elsevier Science Press, Amsterdam

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodge J, Chang HH, Boisson S, Collin SM, Peletz R, Clasen T (2016) Assessing the association between thermotolerant coliforms in drinking water and diarrhea: an analysis of individual level data from multiple studies. Environ Health Perspect. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP156

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Howard G (2019) Water supply surveillance: a reference manual. WEDC, Loughborough University, UK

  • Hrudey S, Huck P, Payment P, Giliham R, Hrudey E (2002) Walkerton: lessons learnt in comparison with waterborne outbreaks in the developed world. J Environ Eng Sci 1:397–407

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly ER, Cronk R, Kumpel E, Howard G, Bartram J (2020) How we assess water safety: a critical review of sanitary inspection and water quality analysis. Sci Total Environ 718:137237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly E, Cronk R, Fisher M, Bartram J (2021) Sanitary inspection, microbial water quality analysis, and water safety in handpumps in rural sub-Saharan Africa. Npj Clean Water 4:3. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41545-020-00093-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knappett PS, McKay LD, Layton A, Williams DE, Alam MJ, Mailloux BJ, Ferguson AS, Culligan PJ, Serre ML, Emch M, Ahmed KM, Sayler GS, Geen A (2012) Unsealed tubewells lead to increased fecal contamination of drinking water. J Water Health. https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2012.102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumpel E, Peletz R, Bonham M, Khush R (2016) Assessing drinking water quality and water safety management in Sub-Saharan Africa using regulated monitoring data. Environ Sci Technol 50:10869–10876

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindhe A (2010) Risk assessment and decision support for managing drinking water systems. PhD thesis, Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden

  • Lloyd B, Suyati SA (1989) Pilot rural water surveillance project in Indonesia. Waterlines 7:10–13

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luby SP, Gupta SK, Sheikh MA, Johnston RB, Ram PK, Islam MS (2008) Tubewell water quality and predictors of contamination in three flood-prone areas in Bangladesh. J Appl Microbiol 105:1002–1008

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald D, Ahmed K, Islam M, Lawrence A, Khandker Z (1999) Pit latrines -a source of contamination in perl urban Dhaka? Waterlines 17(4):6–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Misati AG, Ogendi G, Peletz R, Khush R, Kumpel E (2017) Can sanitary surveys replace water quality testing? Evidence from Kisii, Kenya. Int J Environ Res Public Health 14:152

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Okotto-Okotto J, Okotto L, Price H, Pedley S, Wright JA (2015) Longitudinal study of long-term change in contamination hazards and shallow well quality in two neighbourhoods of Kisumu, Kenya. Int J Environ Res Public Health 12:4275–4291

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Omer EO, Algamidi AA, Algamidi IM, Fadlelmula A, Alsubaie AR (2014) The hygienic-related microbiological quality of drinking water sources Al-Baha Province, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. J Health Spec 2(2):68–74

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Osborne TH, Ward SA, Ahmed KM, Santini JM (2018) Reservoirs of faecal indicator bacteria in well head hand pumps in Bangladesh. J Water Health 16:3

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parker AH, Youlten R, Dillon M, Nussbaumer T, Carter RC, Tyrrel SF, Webster J, Parker AAH (2010) An assessment of microbiological water quality of six water source categories in north-east Uganda. J Water Health. https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2010.128

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Powell K, Taylor R, Cronin A, Barret M, Pedley S, Sellwood J, Trowsdale S, Lerner D (2003) Microbial contamination of two urban sandstone aquifers in the UK. Water Res 37(2):339–352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pujari PR, Padmakar C, Labhasetwar PK, Mahore P, Ganguly AK (2012) Assessment of the impact of on-site sanitation systems on groundwater pollution in two diverse geological settings—a case study from India. Environ Monit Assess 184:251–263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-1965-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sindhu S, Malhotra S, Devi P, Gupta A (2016) Bacteriological analysis of the drinking water from different schools of Northern India: A concern in developing countries. Int J Med Res Rev 4(4):630–634. https://doi.org/10.17511/ijmrr.2016.i04.26

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snoad C, Nagel C, Bhattacharya A, Thomas E (2017) The effectiveness of sanitary inspections as a risk assessment tool for thermotolerant coliform bacteria contamination of rural drinking water: a review of data from West Bengal, India. Am J Trop Med Hyg. https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.16-0322

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Snow J (1856) Cholera and the water supply in the south districts of London in 1854. J Public Health Sanit Rev 2(7):239–257

    Google Scholar 

  • Sorensen JPR, Sadhu A, Sampath G, Sugden S, Gupta SD, Lapworth DJ, Marchant BP, Pedley S (2016) Are sanitation interventions a threat to drinking water supplies in rural India? An application of tryptophan-like fluorescence. Water Res 88:923–932

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Still DA, Nash SR (2002) Ground water contamination due to pit latrines located in sandy aquifer: a case study from Maputaland. Water Institute of South Africa. Durban, SA

  • Tesoriero A, Voss F (1997) Predicting the probability of elevated nitrate concentrations in the Puget Sound Basin: implications for aquifer susceptibility and vulnerability. Groundwater 35(6):1026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNESCO (2020) Water and climate change: the United Nations World Water Development Report- 2020. Paris, France

  • UNICEF (2017) Thirsting for a future: water and children in a changing climate. New York, USA

  • UNICEF/WHO (2009) Diarrhoea: why children are still dying and what can be done. Geneva, Switzerland

  • UPJN (1995) India Mark II and III hand-pump: manual of site selection and construction of borehole. Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

  • WEDC (2012) An engineer’s guide to apron slabs for water points. Loughborough University, UK. Water, Engineering Development Center, UK

  • WHO (1997) Guidelines for drinking-water quality: second edition, volume 3, surveillance and control of community supply. Geneva, Switzerland

  • WHO (2004) Guidelines for drinking-water quality, third edition, vol. 1. Geneva, Switzerland, World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/GDWQ2004web.pdf?bcsi_

  • WHO (2016) Quantitative microbial risk assessment: application for water safety management. Geneva, Switzerland

  • WHO (2017) Guidelines for drinking-water quality: fourth edition incorporating the first addendum. Geneva, Switzerland

  • WHO/UNICEF (2012) Rapid assessment of drinking-water quality: a handbook for implementation. Geneva, Switzerland

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of UP Jal Nigam, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Panchayati Raj Department, Government of Uttar Pradesh, MNNIT, Allahabad and NIH, Roorkee for facilitation water quality and sanitary survey and risk management.

Funding

The work has been part of the Ph.D. Program for the first author, and has not been funded by any external funding agency.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Environmental Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, MANIT, Bhopal, 462003, India

    Nagendra Prasad Singh & Mukul Kulshrestha

  2. Uttar Pradesh Jal Nigam, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, 226001, India

    Naveen Shukla

  3. Institute ED Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, 226007, India

    Vivek Mishra

  4. Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurugram, 122413, India

    Mudit Kulshreshtha

Authors
  1. Nagendra Prasad Singh
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mukul Kulshrestha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Naveen Shukla
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Vivek Mishra
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Mudit Kulshreshtha
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

NPS: conceptualised the study, methodology, fieldwork, supervision, coordination, resource mobilisation, data analysis, data curation, writing original draft. MK: idea and conceptualisation, methodology refinement, writing—review and editing, technical supervision. NS: coordination, field support, literature review. VM: methodology, compilation of results, and statistical analysis. MK: mathematical analysis, review, and editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mukul Kulshrestha.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no competing financial interests or personal relationships to the best of their knowledge that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Consent to participate

The community and individuals involved in the collection of primary data were informed (in local language) about this study and their consent was sought and obtained from each respondent before data collection commenced. Confidentiality was assured by not using names and keeping respondents anonymous wherever necessary.

Consent to publication

All authors have no objection to publishing the article in the journal.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Singh, N.P., Kulshrestha, M., Shukla, N. et al. Management of risk factors for breaking localised pathways of microbial contamination in tubewells with handpump: a case study from India. Model. Earth Syst. Environ. 8, 2513–2523 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-021-01242-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-021-01242-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation