Getting water to the home is one thing, making sure that it is safe to drink and to use for cooking, washing and domestic purposes is quite another.  The advantage of groundwater sources is that the water often needs little or no treatment to be safe - however, it can get contaminated. The two main intervention treatment options are:

• Household Water Treatment
• Centralised Water Treatment for piped systems.

Water treatment should not been looked at on its own - because it adds costs, complexity and another thing to go wrong, it is often best avoided. Therefore, the starting point should be Water Safety Planning:

• Water safety plan: A field guide to improving drinking-water safety in small communities

• Guidelines for drinking-water quality: small water supplies (2024)

• Water Safety Planning for Small CommunitiesStep-by-step risk management guidance for drinking-water supplies in small communities

Household water treatment is closely associated with the RWSN theme 'Accelerating Self Supply', however, it has its own network because this topic is so complex:

• International Network on Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage (HWTS)

HWTS includes:

• HWTS KnowledgeBase: access information about HWTS technologies, projects, research, FAQs. 

• HWTS e-learning modules: a platform with micro-learning tools related to the multi-barrier approach and HWTS. 

Other good resources include:

• Akvopedia: Water Portal
• Sustainable Sanitation & Water Management Toolbox: Water Purification
• SODIS - Solar Water Disinfection @ Eawag