
Drink Clean Water
Make sure that the water you are putting in your body is free of contaminants and safe for drinking!


Protect Your Source of Water
Keep the areas around wells clean and tidy.
Don't allow water to pool up around the well and become stagnant as this can become a breeding area for insects, parasites, and germs.
Make sure there is no poo in the open around the well, either from humans or animals.
Don't throw rubbish into the soil around a well. It can attract flies, insects, and other animals, and the rubbish can disintegrate with certain substances seeping into the ground water.
Filter and/or Treat Your Water
Depending on what kinds of contaminants are present in your drinking water, there are many easy methods of filtering out sediment or other impurities in the water, and treating the water to remove microbes. Filters, chlorine, boiling, natural coagulants and solar disinfection are all ways to treat the water to make it safe for drinking.




images this page from CAWST: Water, Hygiene and Sanitation Presentation, February 2011.
Protect Your Treated Clean Water
Even after treating or filtering water, it can become contaminated again in the handling, transporting, storage or getting it into your cup or bottle. To prevent this, clean water should be storage in a container safely:
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Water should be collected and transported in covered, clean containers without touching people’s hands if possible.
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Small openings in the container are better than wider ones to minimize the water exposed and reduces contamination from hands, cups or ladles into the stored water.
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Containers should not have been previously used for chemicals or toxic substances, as traces will remain in the container.
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Containers should be cleaned with soap and brushes, or a chlorine solution on a regular basis.
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Once the containers reach a household or school where they will be used, it is important for the containers to be covered and not exposed to the open air.
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When collecting drinking water from the containers, the water should be poured out or tapped out of the container by a spigot, instead of dipping a cup or other object (which may already be contaminated) into the storage container and contaminating the whole container of water.