Social and biological impact following the introduction of household piped water in rural Guatemala : final technical report

This study attempts to evaluate the social and biological impacts of piped water by comparing the time and energy saved by women in collecting piped versus unpiped water and their redistribution as well as the health and nutritional differences, in order to promote health and nutrition interventions. The specific objectives were: a. to encourage participation from the local community to assess the community water system and the general patterns of labour/time allocation of women in the community; b. to document from a user perspective; i. beliefs and attitudes towards water and its use, ii. water-related activities, iii. the extent of participation in the local water committee and other components of the water project, iv. type and amount of water used regularly and for what purposes, and v. perceived effort and duration of specific activities; c. to quantify the total amount of energy expended, level of activity and activity pattern associated with water and non-water related activities; d. to document time savings related to piped water supplies by measuring the time spent on water and non-water related activities performed by women during the day and how the time saved is allocated to specific activities; e. to assess the health and nutrition differences between mothers and children with and without piped water supplies; and f. to estimate the dietary intake among preschool children and adult women from the communities with and without piped water.