Young girl in yellow drinking from a cup.

Safe Drinking Water in Schools

Photo by Michael Stulman/CRS

Ensuring Safe Drinking Water in Classrooms

We're committed to providing safe drinking water for all children and also addressing other essential needs like handwashing, menstrual hygiene management, facility cleaning, and even cooking requirements in schools with canteens, among other vital necessities.

Designing a Service for Quality Water, From Source to Sip!

Key Concepts

Source Safety First: Before construction or rehabilitation, we ensure water points are strategically located far from contamination sources, safeguarded against surface contamination.
Quality Check: Post-completion, rigorous testing guarantees our water meets national drinking water standards.
Inclusivity Matters: We make water points accessible to all, including children with disabilities.
Lightening the Load: We're always seeking ways to ease the burden of water transport, from source to storage.
Sustainable Management: We integrate water point management into our School WASH plan, securing revenue for maintenance, repairs, and spare replacements through fair water tariffs.
Safe Sipping: In each classroom, clean, covered containers with taps ensure safe water storage, accessible to all, including kids with disabilities.
BYOB (Bring Your Own Bottle) Encouraging kids to bring their own drinking bottles – a sustainable hydration solution.

A girl fills up a bottle of water in the classroom. Kom-Yilma project, Bangrin primary school, Burkina Faso. Photo by Sam Phelps/CRS

Step-by-Step Guide to Provide Drinking Water

Thirst Quotient Analysis: Estimate water demand for various school community needs—drinking, handwashing, menstrual hygiene, cleaning, cooking, gardening, dust control, and more.
Team Brainwave: Engage the school community, education authorities, technical experts, and local government in a participatory approach to identify water requirements.
Tech-Savvy Sustainability: Select technology with an eye on life cycle costs, ensuring you calculate the annual budget needed to maintain long-term water service.
Sustainable Siting: Employ scientific methods to locate water sources sustainably, ensuring adequate quantity and quality.
Procurement Precision: Develop a detailed procurement plan, covering prequalification, bidding, contract review, signing, and management.
Contract: Award contracts to experienced, qualified contractors following national standards and public sector regulations.
Data Needs: Collect hydrogeological and borehole construction data during the process, promptly submitting it to the relevant Government authority.
Defects Defense: Consider a defects liability period with a typical financial retention of 10%.
Management: Establish or support a management model adhering to national policies, proficient in administrative, financial, technical, and accountability domains.
Quality Assurance: Plan post-construction monitoring to ensure service quality across functionality, management performance, reliability, water quality, and sanitary surveying.