Small community water supply management
Community water supplies in both developing and developed countries are more frequently associated with outbreaks of waterborne disease than urban supplies. Investing in these supplies will reduce waterborne disease outbreaks and overall costs.
Guidelines were first provided in 1963 in Water Supply for Rural Areas and Small Communities. Its most recent guidance is Volume 3 of the WHO Guidelines on Drinking Water Quality (3rd edition), Surveillance and Control of Community Supplies.
Five out of the six people without access to an improved water source live in rural areas. Today's national and international policy frameworks recognize that further attention to this topic is needed in order to meet the water target of the Millennium Development Goals (7c).
The International Small Community Water Supply Network was formed to promote the achievement of substantive and sustainable improvements to the safety of small community water supplies, particularly in rural areas, as a contribution to the Millennium Development targets related to water and sanitation. Network members work together to identify common management and technical issues and problems in relation to community supplies, and find workable solutions in geographic and cultural context.