Increasing urbanization and industrialization in the Awash River basin, Ethiopia, is impacting water quality. Physico-chemical and heavy metal spatio-temporal variability and associated risks to human health and ecology were assessed across twenty sampling stations. Contamination indicators suggest variable but significant health risks to people exposed to untreated water in the sampled area, including cancer risk from heavy metals which enter basin waters due to human activities and natural erosion.
Water Quality
When Water Quality Crises Drive Change: A Comparative Analysis of the Policy Processes Behind Major Water Contamination Events
This study explores the delayed policy response to the arsenic crisis in Bangladesh through comparison with water contamination crises in other contexts (incl. included Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Campylobacter in Walkerton, Canada; lead and Legionella in Flint, Michigan, USA; and chromium-6 contamination in Hinkley, California, USA).
Story of Change: The SafePani model: Delivering safe drinking water in schools and healthcare centres in Bangladesh
This Story of Change presents the SafePani model in Bangladesh which aims to reform existing institutional design and move towards a professional water service delivery model, with timely and independently verified performance metrics unlocking results-based funding, with a focus on schools and healthcare centres.
SafePani: Improving drinking water safety for schools and healthcare centres in Khulna district, Bangladesh
The SafePani model uses a professional water service provider operating with a Water Safety Plan (WSP) approach to improve drinking water safety in schools and healthcare centres in Khulna district, Bangladesh. This brief sets out how the WSP approach is incorporated in the SafePani model.
Cost estimates for safe drinking water in schools and healthcare centres in Khulna District, Bangladesh
This brief provides an estimation of the annual costs of professional water services for 1,700 primary and secondary schools and 300 healthcare centres in Bangladesh’s Khulna district, based on observed data from a pilot in 171 schools and 33 healthcare centres in eight unions.
Costs and benefits of improving water and sanitation in slums and non-slum neighborhoods in Dhaka, a fast-growing mega-city
This paper presents the results of a large-scale survey focusing on slum and non-slum residents’ experiences with urban water supply, water pollution and flood risks and associated costs of illness (COI).
Participatory water resource management
A para-hydrology initiative in two regions of Ethiopia trained citizen scientists to collect quantitative data on rural hydrological systems. The data has been successfully used in several peer-reviewed studies to predict and assess the impact of sustainable land management interventions.
Story of Change: Protecting groundwater for climate resilience and water security in Turkana
In Turkana County, research by the University of Nairobi around Lodwar’s underlying aquifers is addressing critical data and knowledge gaps. Groundwater quality mapping indicates areas with poor groundwater quality to inform water infrastructure investments. This work contributing to new policy and practice to protect the Lodwar Alluvial Aquifer System and enhance resilience to climate risks.
REACH Exit Strategy
REACH’s Exit Strategy scopes out actions to promote the legacy of the programme, highlighting opportunities to sustain, scale-up, and scale-out our work.
Story of Change: Improving water security through Sustainable Land Management
This Story of Change discusses the role of Sustainable Land Management activities in securing water for livelihoods and household use.
