Validity Of The Application Of Open Dug Well
Sanitary Survey Methodology In The
Development Of A Water Safety Plan In The
Maldives Islands
Author(s)
S. Barthiban & B. J. Lloyd
Abstract
As practised in the remote Maldives islands, groundwater exploitation using
open dug wells with on-site sanitation systems causes major microbial
contamination of well water. Surveys show that 75% of the Maldives population
currently rely on rainwater tanks for drinking water. Global climatic change
causes prolonged drought periods and extensive rainfall events causing flooding.
In addition to rainwater storage tanks, the very limited land area makes the
utilisation of the natural underground reservoir an essential water source for the
remote Maldives islands. Therefore, it becomes vital to protect the groundwater
quality in these islands.
Using methods published by World Health Organisation (WHO) for
combined hazard identification and faecal contamination, a surveillance study of
open dug wells was carried out in six selected islands of the Maldives. The aims
were to assess the current risks and sustainability of the open dug wells in the
study areas with respect to sanitation related health issues. The field study
involved systematically collecting data about sanitary hazards in the
neighbourhood of wells and well water quality, including thermo-tolerant faecal
coliform counts. The results showed that the great majority (83%) of wells were,
as expected, faecally contaminated. However, the expected benefit of using
combined sanitary survey and faecal contamination level assessment to prioritize
specific remedial actions to improve the microbial quality of well water was not
realized in this study, in contrast to earlier published studies. The principal
reasons for this methodological failure are:
1. the geological setting of the Maldives is extremely vulnerable overall,
particularly since there is effectively no soil layer
Keywords
groundwater, on-site sanitation, sanitary survey, well and the well head area, faecal coliforms
Related Book
Other papers in this volume
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