55. Where does the housing unit get drinking water?
[] 1 Tap inside the house
[] 2 Tap in compound, private
[] 3 Tap in compound, shared
[] 4 Outside compound, public tap
[] 5 Tap outside compound, shared
[] 6 Protected well or spring
[] 7 Unprotected well or spring
[] 8 River or lake/pond
Column 55: Where does the house get water?
Residents in the house will be asked the source of water they sue for drinking and food preparation, and based on their response one of the options given below is identified and circled. The code selected will be entered in column 55 card column 47.
1 = Tap inside the house
2 = Tap in compound, private
3 = Tap in compound, shared
4 = Outside compound, public tap
5 = Tap outside compound, shared
6 = Protected well or spring
7 = Unprotected well or spring
8 = River or lake/pond
In order to clearly identify the sources of drinking water described by codes "6" or "7" it is necessary to carefully realize the definition of "Safe water" from "well, spring".
Methods of safekeeping well water and spring water are given below.
1. There must be a wall built with cement encircling the well or spring, i.e.
a. For a well: the wall has to be a minimum of at least 2 to 4 meters deep from the ground level and 70 centimeters high above the ground.
b. For a spring: its depth extends up until hard stone is at its base and a wall built above ground as high as necessary.
2. The wall surrounding the well or the spring needs to have a firm lid built from cement or other unyielding material.
3. There must be an outlet to divert the direction of flood to prevent the flood from flowing into the well or the spring.
4. The well or the spring must be at a distance of at least 25 to 30 meters from objects such as latrine that may infect the water.
5. If the source of infection such as the one pointed in 4) above is located at a higher level from the well or the spring then its distance must be further than indicated in 4) above.
If the household gets water from the above sources then it is said the household has access to safe water. In general it can be said that the water obtained from river or lake is unsafe water, except water from the pipe. This means that households using water from river, lake or pond are not using safe water. Pipe water is generally considered safe water.