Study of water supply & sanitation practices in India using geographic information systems: some design & other considerations in a village setting.
OBJECTIVE
Availability of clean water and adequate sanitation facilities are of prime importance for limiting diarrhoeal diseases. We examined the water and sanitation facilities of a village in southern India using geographic information system (GIS) tools.


METHODS
Places of residence, water storage and distribution, sewage and places where people in the village defaecated were mapped and drinking water sources were tested for microbial contamination in Nelvoy village, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu.


RESULTS
Water in the village was found to be microbiologically unfit for consumption. Analysis using direct observations supplemented by GIS maps revealed poor planning, poor engineering design and lack of policing of the water distribution system causing possible contamination of drinking water from sewage at multiple sites.


CONCLUSIONS
Until appropriate engineering designs for water supply and sewage disposal to suit individual village needs are made available, point-of-use water disinfection methods could serve as an interim solution.
Gopal
Srila
S
Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, India.
Sarkar
Rajiv
R
Banda
Kalyan
K
Govindarajan
Jeyanthi
J
Harijan
B B
BB
Jeyakumar
M B
MB
Mitta
Philip
P
Sadanala
M E
ME
Selwyn
Tryphena
T
Suresh
C R
CR
Thomas
V A
VA
Devadason
Pethuru
P
Kumar
Ranjit
R
Selvapandian
David
D
Kang
Gagandeep
G
Balraj
Vinohar
V
D003140:Communicable Disease Control / Q000379:methods; D003672:Defecation; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005160:Facility Design and Construction; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D006798:Housing; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D009017:Morbidity; D011634:Public Health; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012722:Sewage; D012923:Social Class; D018508:Water Purification / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000592:standards*
D012722:Sewage