More than one billion people drink unsafe water, with children suffering most, from the illnesses and malnutrition that result.

Photo credit: Mary Kudla and Taipida Moodhitaporn

Following a disaster like earthquake, access to clean water is a priority, hastening recovery for communities, as with the water ‘sorted’, they can concentrate their energies and limited resources on other aspects of health and welfare. Thanks Oxfam, for sharing the story of these bright orange water tanks on your blog.

Unicef has its own water stories, and I particularly like this You Tube clip. Here, raintanks are fairly large and connected to the roof, building self sufficiency, as their water replenishes itself. In the rainy season, stormwater kept clean and detained in tanks is a great advantage, as water off buildings is prevented from sweeping over already waterlogged ground, minimising flood risk. In Indonesia, villagers rely on people coming to fill their tanks every day or weekly…the bright orange tanks are lightweight for carting through dense bush or damaged landscapes. The downside of this is that they can only provide water for a day or a week at a time. And the orange tanks aren’t hooked up to a catchment system like a tarpaulin or an iron roof, so the water isn’t replenished direct from the skies…Whatever the issues, the benefits are clear, water tanks provide a lifeline in and after disaster.

Thanks Oxfam for this image

To Unicef and Oxfam…keep up the epic work. And to my council in Porirua, thanks for having the wisdom to put 40 large rainwater tanks in accessible places right around our city. Water is a lifeline in an emergency, and finding joy in a ‘bright orange’ – or green or blue – watertank – is not limited to developing nations. Clean water is a must for all of us.

Here’s Unicef’s story. Safe water – all year – for communities in Paraguay:

Related link: Oxfam News Blog