Groundwater and surface water represent essential sources of
drinking and irrigation water in developing countries, particularly in
rural areas where piped water supply may be limited or
unavailable and where available resources are collected by the
consumer with little or no treatment. Project activities involving
wastewater discharges, water extraction, diversion or impoundment should prevent adverse impacts to the quality and
availability of groundwater
and surface water resources.
water Quality
Drinking water sources, whether public or private, should at all
times be protected so that they meet or exceed applicable national
acceptability standards
or in their absence
the c
urrent edition of
WHO Guidelines
for Drinking
-
Water Quality
. Air emissions,
wastewater effluents, oil and hazardous materials, and wastes
should be managed according to the guidance provided in the
respective sections of the General EHS Guidelines with the
objective of protecting soil a
nd water resources.
Where the project includes the delivery of water to the community
or to users of facility infrastructure (such as hotel hosts and
hospital patients), where water may be used for drinking, cooking,
washing, and bathing, water quality sho
uld
comply with national
acceptability standards or in their absence the c
urrent edition of
with WHO
Drinking Water
Guidelines. Water quality for more
sensitive well
-
being
-
related demands such as water used in health
care facilities or food production may
require more stringent,
industry
-
specific guidelines or standards, as applicable.
Any
dependency factors associated with the deliver of water to the
local community should be planned for and managed to ensure
the sustainability of the water supply by inv
olving the community in
its management to minimize the dependency in the long
-
term.
Water
Availability
The potential effect of groundwater or surface water abstraction
for project activities should be properly assessed through a
combination of field tes
ting and modeling techniques, accounting
for seasonal variability and projected changes in demand in the
project area.