More than 2.5 billion people in the world have no access to improved sanitation, which causes an increasing threat to both surface and groundwater resources. Groundwater makes up 97% of the world’s freshwater (excluding inland ice and glaciers) and is a very important source of drinking water. In fact, it accounts for nearly 60% of the world’s drinking water supply, whereas in arid and semi-arid zones this rate may even reach 100%. However, groundwater utilisation for drinking water is endangered because of the uncontrolled disposal of human excreta especially in informal settlements, and the absence of sustainable sanitation concepts in exploding mega cities and their peri-urban surroundings. Therefore timely and effective protection of groundwater is of essential importance for keeping the resource clean and safe for future generations. Evidently, sustainable sanitation is a major contribution to the short- and long-term protection of groundwater.
 
The objective of this working group is to create awareness for the protection of groundwater through sustainable sanitation. A further aim is to formulate recommendations which derive from different kind of events (e.g. workshops, symposium, and conferences) or projects. For this purpose corresponding publications (fact sheets, best practice publication) are prepared.

Leads

The leads of this working group are Andrea Nick and Georg Houben:   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it BGR Zambia This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it BGR Germany

 

How to join the working group?

Individuals who are not yet registered, but are interested in joining the thematic working group, are very welcome. Please register as a member and choose the respective working group(s) you wish to join: http://susana.org/index.php/lang-en/component/register/?view=member If you are already registered, but wish to join another or more working group(s), you can easily change the details by logging in here: http://www.susana.org/lang-en/your-details Why become a member of a working group? You can work with other experts on several issues to promote sustainable sanitation You will gain access to information on working group processes You can be active by hosting SuSanA meetings and/or by organising activities/events to promote sustainable sanitation You can take part in discussions within the working group by using the e-mail mailing list This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   Note that this e-mail list is moderated in order to avoid spam. You can join and take part in stimulating discussions on the SuSanA Discussion Forum in the WG 11 section