Planning for Water and Sanitation Facilities in an Emergency - A Case Study

An appropriate response to an emergency depends on whether the emergency affects people where they live such as in the case of natural disaster or whether the population is displaced as a result of other pressures such as famine or war. Although the measures may differ, planning considerations for water supply and sanitation are similar in both situations.

This paper concentrates on the guidelines available for water and sanitation provisions in an emergency and the localized approach in a real situation. The actual scenario of planning, designing and implementation of water and sanitation facilities in an emergency camp for internally displaced people due to war is described. The case study focused on the block number 3 of Manic Farm Zone 3 (Arunachalam relief village) in Vavuniya district, Sri Lanka. Important lessons learnt are shared in the article.