Household Water Quality with Minimal Fecal Coliforms

"This indicator measures the microbiological water quality at household level. A household is generally defined as one or more people living in shared space (a physical structure or compound) and sharing critical resources such as water, hygiene/sanitation facilities, or food preparation areas. ""Drinking water supplies"" at household level may be stored water, or where households have a piped connection directly into the structure or compound i.e. a tap. For households that do not have a tap, water stored for the purpose of drinking should be microbiologically tested. For households that do have a tap, water directly from the tap as well as any water stored for the purpose of drinking should be tested. ""Fecal coliforms"" refers specifically to thermotolerant coliforms. As thermotolerant coliforms are typically enumerated as colony forming units (CFUs) or Most Probable Number (MPN), for this indicator <10 fecal coliforms = <10 CFU = <10 MPN"

Method: beneficiary based, quantitative, representative household survey. Appropriate, field-based testing kits are encouraged, but enumerators and staff must be trained and proficient in collecting, transporting and processing water samples. You should also develop an outreach plan in advance that addresses local cultural sensitivities and any potential concerns households may have related to having their water tested. Equally you need to have a plan in place to report back to households the results of the water quality testing
Calculation: the percent is derived by dividing the number of households surveyed whose drinking water supplies have <10 fecal coliforms per 100 ml sample by the total number of households surveyed in the target population. Both numerator and denominator are reported as well as the percent
Numerator: number of households surveyed whose drinking water supplies have <10 fecal coliforms per 100 ml sample
Denominator: number of households surveyed in the target population

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q)

Water quality samples taken as part of a representative household survey; households to give their consent to samples being taken away for analysis; outreach plan in place to address any concerns, and to report back to households