Infodoc : Sciences, Techniques et Culture

Water and sanitation services in low-income areas have proved to represent a real challenge for many specialists in the subject. It has been shown that the major technological advances and the professional competence developed over years of application, must be accompanied with a deep study in the social area in order to adapt technologies to the particular needs of this sector of
services.
The main lesson from in-field experiences from large companies and experts around the world, is that this multidisciplinary work must always be accompanied by humility and understanding to serve people according to their needs, demands, habits and traditions instead of trying to accommodate them to conventional process or technological evolution. The Millennium Development Goals established in 2[...]

Water and sanitation services in low-income areas have proved to represent a real challenge for many specialists in the subject. It has been shown that the major technological advances and the professional competence developed over years of application, must be accompanied with a deep study in the social area in order to adapt technologies to the particular needs of this sector of
services.
The main lesson from in-field experiences from large companies and experts around the world, is that this multidisciplinary work must always be accompanied by humility and understanding to serve people according to their needs, demands, habits and traditions instead of trying to accommodate them to conventional process or technological evolution. The Millennium Development Goals established in 2000 year, include in their seventh point an international commitment for the reduction of the number of people without access to safe water sources and adequate sanitation. In this sense, Suez Environment (SE) has been involved in this common goal through its program "Water for All" working in low-income areas along different parts of the world. There has been positive and negative results in the processes of getting adapted to these new challenges; for that reason, exploring and discussing some relevant cases should be helpful to form a database that allows prospective players not to commit the same mistakes and to adapt some positive aspects regarding social and technological achievements.
This document summarize some of the most efficient technical options as well as the client management involved in their application, according to personal in-field visits to study the practical methods adopted by different teams before entering to a in-depth discussion.