Transcript AQUATEST project - University of Bristol

AQUATEST project
Stephen Gundry
Water and Environmental Management Research Centre
University of Bristol
Community water supply……
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…looks murky…what about quality?
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…but tastes good……
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Millennium Development Goals
 Water Target:
Reduce by half the proportion of people
without sustainable access to safe
drinking water by 2015
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MDG #7 – progress report
IAS Water Workshop October 2006
MDG #7 – progress report
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MDG #7 - Definitions
 Access to safe drinking water is
estimated by the percentage of the
population using improved drinking
water sources:
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Household connection
Public standpipe
Borehole
Protected dug well
Protected spring
Rainwater collection
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AQUATEST
 Preparatory study to establish:
 needs
 technological feasibility
 funding requirements
 12 months analysis (18 month contract)
 Mid-2007: full R&D proposal
 Funding Euro 446,000 by European Union
under FP6:Global change and Ecosystems
 13 participants (Europe 6; USA 3; Africa 3
and WHO)
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Participants
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Europe
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UK: University of Bristol (Coordinator), University of
Southampton and University of Surrey
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Eire: Royal College of Surgeons Ireland
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France: Chemunex SA
Developing countries
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South Africa: University of Cape Town and CSIR
Environmentek
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Zimbabwe: Institute of Water & Sanitation Development
Third countries and international organisations
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USA: University of North Carolina, AQUAYA Institute and
MIT
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World Health Organization
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Oxfam
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University of Bristol
 WEMRC / Engineering Management
 Stephen Gundry
 Chemistry
 Prof Tony Davis
 FRPERC
 Steve James
 Policy Studies
 Prof Dave Gordon
 Computer Science
 Walterio Mayol-Cuevas
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What is it for?
 Monitoring
 Risk assessment and response
 Measuring MDG progress
 Ad-hoc surveys (inc disasters)
 People power !
 Communities take responsibility
 Households react: better HWTS
 Hygiene educational benefit
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What is currently available?
 Static laboratories
 Expensive equipment, consumables and
high calibre staff
 Long chain to get samples from field
 Field labs / portable labs
 Much cheaper, but also trained staff
 Disposable tests
 Presence/absence by H2S
 Others – expensive
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What do we want to provide?
 Low cost
 Target price: USD 0.10 per test
 Low skill
 Zero training e.g. home pregnancy test
 Better than P/A
 Not full enumeration of E. coli
 Bands of water quality: ‘traffic light’
 Links
 Water Safety Plans
 Risk monitoring systems not compliance
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Who will use it?
 Professionals
 Environmental health officers
 W&S commissioning engineers
 Survey technicians (disasters)
 Water consumers
 Non-specialist staff (e.g. clinic nurse)
 Community leaders
 Householders
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When?
 Mid-2007
 End-2007
 End-2008
 2009
 End 2009
 2010
 2011
Preparatory study complete
Full R&D funding
Complete prototype design
and lab tests
Beta test in field
Evaluation and design
modifications
Limited product availability
Full product availability and
local manufacturing support
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www.aquatest-research.org
 Website now online
 Not-for-profit organisation, BUT
 Follow on water diagnostic products,
which may have commercial
applications:
 Advanced technology version
 Other contaminant testing
 Biodiversity index
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The Lancet 2006; 368:1212
 Editorial:
“It is dangerously short sighted to
pour immense time and resources
into vaccinating children only for
them to die a few years later from
diarrhoeal illnesses.”
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