2016 was a year of charting new territory for clean water in Haiti. Literally.
Although Haiti Outreach had been mapping locations of community water wells we created, there was not a comprehensive tool available that showed the locations of all water points throughout Haiti. Being able to see on a map where water infrastructure (wells, fountains, springs, etc) were located had helped Haiti Outreach to establish plans that would strategically place water wells in areas to reach more people and increase potable water coverage. So if this tool was helpful for Haiti Outreach to increase Potable Water Coverage, it most definitely could be helpful to the Haitian government and other organizations participating in clean water projects.
Potable Water Survey Covers 30% of Haiti
Haiti Outreach chose to partner with World Vision to carry out the challenge of mapping all water points over 3 departments and the Island of LaGonave, about 1/3 of Haiti. A Haiti Outreach team was out in the field daily for 9 months, traveling by motorcycle throughout the departments collecting data on smart phones that registered water points GPS location, functionality, potability, among many other indicators. The data then was verified and compiled in to a map of the country, and paired with the locations of homes to geographically show access to clean water. The map pictured is of the commune of Mirebalais, Haiti. Green means the water point is functioning and red means it is not. In the photo, one of the local authorities was showing where he would put a new well according to what he saw on the map.
Mapping Creates Clean Water Access End Game
As Haiti Outreach finished the clean water survey in December 2016, our team had registered 12,035 water points. This new tool will allow not only Haiti Outreach, but all actors working to advance Clean Water in Haiti, to know who has access to potable water within 500 meters of their home. The end goal is that we can all work together, through use of this map, to increase and ensure Potable Water Coverage for all Haitian citizens.
