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Families have fewer illnesses when they have an adequate supply of clean water and know how to keep it free of germs.
If the water is not clean it can be purified by boiling or filtering.
Clean water sources include properly constructed and maintained piped systems, tube-wells, protected dug wells and springs. Water from unsafe sources – such as ponds, rivers, open tanks and step-wells – can be made safer by boiling. Water should be stored in a covered container to keep it clean.
Families and communities can protect their water supply by:
- keeping wells covered and installing a handpump
- disposing of faeces and waste water (especially from latrines and household cleaning) well away from any water source used for cooking, drinking or washing
- building latrines at least 15 metres away and downhill from a water source
- always keeping buckets, ropes and jars used to collect and store water as clean as possible by storing them in a clean place, rather than on the ground
- keeping animals away from drinking water sources and family living areas
- avoiding the use of pesticides or chemicals anywhere near a water source.
Families can keep water clean in the home by:
- storing drinking water in a clean, covered container
- avoid touching clean water with unclean hands
- taking water out of the container with a clean ladle or cup
- having a tap on the water container
- not allowing anyone to put their hands into the container or to drink directly from it
- keeping animals away from stored water.
If there is uncertainty about the safety of the drinking water, local authorities should be consulted.
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