Water and Sanitation Training Programs: Complete 5-Day Professional Development Course

Course Overview

The Water and Sanitation Training Programs is a comprehensive 5-day course designed to address the critical intersection of water supply, sanitation systems, hygiene promotion, and public health protection in both developed and developing contexts. This integrated program covers water quality management, sanitation infrastructure, wastewater collection and treatment, hygiene behavior change, emergency WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) response, and sustainable service delivery models. Ideal for public health professionals, humanitarian workers, municipal operators, NGO staff, and community development practitioners, this training emphasizes practical solutions for improving water and sanitation services while promoting dignity, health, and environmental sustainability.

Target Audience for Water and Sanitation Training

• Public health officers and sanitarians

• Municipal water and sanitation department personnel

• NGO and humanitarian WASH program staff

• Community development workers and extension officers

• Environmental health practitioners

• Water utility operators and managers

• Rural water supply and sanitation coordinators

• Emergency response and disaster relief workers

• International development professionals

• Peace Corps volunteers and field workers

• Government ministry officials for water and health

• Engineers working in low-resource settings

• Social mobilizers and hygiene promoters

Day 1: Water Supply Systems & Safe Water Management

Morning Session: Water Supply Fundamentals & Access Challenges

Foundation for Safe Water Access:
Access to safe drinking water is a fundamental human right and essential for health, dignity, and development. Understanding water supply challenges and solutions forms the foundation for effective WASH programming.

Essential Topics:

• Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation targets

• Global water access statistics and disparities

• Urban vs. rural water supply challenges

• Water source selection: surface water, groundwater, rainwater

• Protected vs. unprotected water sources

• Spring protection and development techniques

• Hand-dug wells and borehole technology

• Handpump selection, installation, and maintenance

• Community water kiosks and standpost systems

• Piped water supply design for small communities

• Water quantity requirements: WHO recommendations (50-100 L/person/day)

• Water collection, transport, and household storage practices

Afternoon Session: Water Quality & Point-of-Use Treatment

Ensuring Safe Drinking Water:

• Water quality parameters: turbidity, pH, microbial contamination

• Waterborne diseases: cholera, typhoid, diarrheal diseases

• Fecal contamination indicators: E. coli, total coliforms

• Field testing methods: H2S strips, compartment bags, portable meters

• Chlorination: calculations, dosing, and residual monitoring

• Boiling water: fuel requirements and cultural considerations

• Solar disinfection (SODIS): bottles and UV exposure

• Ceramic filter systems: local production and maintenance

• Biosand filters: construction and operation

• Chlorine dispensers at water collection points

• Safe storage containers: narrow-mouth jerrycans

• Household Water Treatment and Safe Storage (HWTS) programs

Practical Workshop: Conducting water quality tests, calculating chlorine doses, and demonstrating point-of-use treatment technologies

Day 2: Sanitation Systems & Latrine Technologies

Morning Session: Sanitation Fundamentals & Technology Options

Dignity Through Improved Sanitation:

• Global sanitation crisis: 3.6 billion without safely managed sanitation

• Open defecation: health, dignity, and gender implications

• Sanitation ladder: unimproved to safely managed services

• Fecal-oral disease transmission routes (F-diagram)

• Technology selection criteria: soil conditions, water table, cultural acceptance

• Pit latrines: simple, ventilated improved pit (VIP), offset pit

• Pour-flush latrines and water seal technology

• Composting toilets: single and double vault systems

• Urine-diversion dry toilets (UDDT)

• Septic tank systems: design, construction, desludging

• Container-based sanitation for urban informal settlements

• Institution and school sanitation facilities

Afternoon Session: Latrine Construction & Community Mobilization

Building Sustainable Sanitation:

• Pit latrine construction: sizing, excavation, lining

• Superstructure materials: local vs. improved options

• Slab design: concrete, wooden, reinforced options

• Squat plates vs. raised seats: cultural preferences

• Ventilation pipe installation and fly screen placement

• Handwashing facilities integration: tippy taps, simple systems

• Accessibility: ramps, handrails for elderly and disabled

• Gender-sensitive design considerations

• Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) facilities

• Cost-effective construction using local materials

• Sanitation marketing and demand creation approaches

• Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) methodology

Field Exercise: Latrine site assessment, designing appropriate technology, and constructing demonstration handwashing stations

Day 3: Wastewater Management & Fecal Sludge Treatment

Morning Session: Wastewater Collection & On-Site Systems

Managing Sanitation Byproducts:

• On-site vs. off-site sanitation systems comparison

• Greywater characteristics: kitchen, bathing, laundry sources

• Greywater management: infiltration trenches, constructed wetlands

• Kitchen gardens and productive greywater reuse

• Simplified sewerage for dense urban areas

• Condominial sewerage systems: community-based approach

• Decentralized wastewater treatment systems

• Anaerobic baffled reactors (ABR)

• Septic tank maintenance and desludging schedules

• Fecal sludge accumulation rates and emptying frequency

• Manual vs. mechanical desludging methods

• Vacuum truck operations and service provision models

Afternoon Session: Fecal Sludge Treatment Technologies

Safe Fecal Waste Management:

• Fecal sludge characteristics: variability and treatment challenges

• Treatment objectives: pathogen reduction, stabilization, resource recovery

• Settling-thickening tanks for liquid-solid separation

• Unplanted drying beds: design and operation

• Planted drying beds: vegetation selection and performance

• Co-composting with organic waste: ratios and processes

• Lime stabilization for rapid pathogen reduction

• Anaerobic digestion and biogas production from fecal sludge

• Black Soldier Fly larvae composting systems

• Pelletization and agricultural reuse of treated biosolids

• Fecal sludge treatment plant design for small towns

• Regulatory frameworks and safe disposal standards

Case Study Review: Analyzing successful fecal sludge management programs in developing countries and lessons learned

Day 4: Hygiene Promotion & Behavior Change Communication

Morning Session: Hygiene Behavior Change Strategies

Creating Lasting Impact:

• Critical hygiene behaviors: handwashing, safe water handling, food hygiene

• Handwashing with soap at critical times: after defecation, before eating

• Behavior change theories: Health Belief Model, Theory of Planned Behavior

• Community mobilization techniques and participatory approaches

• Hygiene promotion messaging: designing culturally appropriate materials

• Formative research: understanding barriers and motivators

• RANAS (Risks, Attitudes, Norms, Ability, Self-regulation) framework

• Emotional drivers: disgust, nurture, aspiration

• Social norms and community influencers

• School-based hygiene education programs

• Child-to-Child methodology for behavior change

• Monitoring hygiene behavior change: observation vs. self-reporting

Afternoon Session: Menstrual Hygiene Management & Gender

Addressing Dignity and Inclusion:

• Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) challenges globally

• Cultural taboos and breaking the silence around menstruation

• Menstrual products: pads, cloths, menstrual cups, disposal options

• School WASH facilities: privacy, water, disposal, changing space

• Workplace sanitation and MHM considerations

• Gender-inclusive sanitation design principles

• Safety and lighting in sanitation facilities

• Women’s participation in WASH decision-making

• Transgender and non-binary inclusive facilities

• Disability-inclusive WASH: Universal Design principles

• Elderly-friendly sanitation and hygiene facilities

• Gender analysis tools for WASH programming

Interactive Session: Developing hygiene promotion campaigns, creating behavior change materials, and conducting participatory exercises

Day 5: Emergency WASH, Sustainability & Operations Management

Morning Session: Emergency WASH Response

WASH in Humanitarian Crises:

• WASH in emergencies: refugee camps, natural disasters, disease outbreaks

• Sphere Standards for humanitarian response: minimum requirements

• Rapid needs assessment and situation analysis

• Emergency water supply: tankering, bladders, treatment units

• Water quality monitoring in emergency settings

• Emergency sanitation: trench latrines, raised latrines, WASH facilities

• Solid waste management in camp settings

• Cholera treatment centers: WASH requirements

• Vector control: fly and mosquito breeding prevention

• Hygiene promotion in crisis contexts

• WASH cluster coordination and response mechanisms

• Transition from emergency to recovery and development

Afternoon Session: Sustainability & Operations Management

Long-Term Service Delivery:

• Sustainability challenges: functionality rates of rural water systems

• Community management models: water committees, user associations

• Cost recovery and tariff setting for O&M

• Preventive maintenance schedules and record keeping

• Spare parts supply chains and local technician networks

• Public-private partnerships for sanitation service delivery

• Social enterprise models: sanitation centers, water ATMs

• Mobile money and payment systems for water services

• Monitoring systems: functionality tracking, water quality surveillance

• National sanitation policies and enabling environments

• Budget allocation and pro-poor subsidy mechanisms

• Climate resilience and WASH: adaptation strategies

Advanced Topics: Innovation & Technology Integration

Next-Generation WASH Solutions:

• Smart handpumps with remote monitoring sensors

• Mobile applications for WASH data collection

• Geographic Information Systems (GIS) for WASH mapping

• Renewable energy for water pumping: solar, wind

• Water safety planning (WSP) approach

• Sanitation safety planning (SSP) methodology

• Circular economy approaches: resource recovery from waste

• Container-based sanitation business models

• Reinvented toilets: off-grid self-contained systems

• Decentralized treatment plants with energy recovery

• Blockchain for transparent WASH service monitoring

• Artificial intelligence for predictive maintenance

Capstone Project: Participants design a comprehensive WASH intervention for a specific community context including needs assessment, technology selection, hygiene promotion strategy, sustainability plan, and monitoring framework

Comprehensive Training Materials & Implementation Resources

Complete Course Package:

• Water and Sanitation Training manual (400+ pages)

• Technology selection decision trees and comparison matrices

• Construction drawings for latrines and water systems

• Hygiene promotion toolkit with sample materials

• Behavior change communication planning templates

• Sphere Standards handbook and quick reference guides

• WHO water quality guidelines and testing protocols

• Community mobilization facilitation guides

• Monitoring and evaluation frameworks and indicators

• Cost estimation tools for WASH infrastructure

• Gender and inclusion assessment checklists

Hands-On Learning Activities:

• Water quality testing demonstrations

• Latrine construction site visits or simulations

• Hygiene promotion role-playing exercises

• Community mapping and transect walks

• Participatory hygiene and sanitation transformation (PHAST)

• Technology selection workshops using real scenarios

• Emergency WASH rapid assessment simulations

• Financial sustainability calculations

• Monitoring tool design and data collection practice

Key Learning Outcomes:
Upon successful completion, participants will:

• Assess community water and sanitation needs comprehensively

• Select appropriate technologies for diverse contexts

• Design and construct basic water and sanitation systems

• Develop effective hygiene behavior change programs

• Implement gender-sensitive and inclusive WASH interventions

• Respond to WASH emergencies following Sphere Standards

• Establish sustainable operation and maintenance systems

• Monitor WASH program effectiveness and impact

• Apply participatory approaches for community engagement

• Navigate policy and institutional frameworks

• Integrate climate resilience into WASH planning

• Promote resource recovery and circular economy principles

Professional Certification & Recognition:

• Certificate of Completion in Water and Sanitation

• 40 continuing education hours

• Recognized by international WASH organizations

• Applicable toward public health certifications

• Professional networking with global WASH community

• Access to ongoing technical support and resources

Training Methodology:
Participatory learning approach featuring interactive lectures, field demonstrations, hands-on construction exercises, community engagement simulations, group discussions, case study analysis, role-playing activities, video presentations, technology exhibitions, and collaborative problem-solving.

Alignment with Global Frameworks:

• Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6)

• WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme indicators

• Sphere Humanitarian Standards

• WHO Water Safety Plan framework

• UN-Water Global Analysis and Assessment of Sanitation and Drinking-Water (GLAAS)

• Human Right to Water and Sanitation principles

Enroll in Water and Sanitation Training Programs and gain the practical knowledge and skills to improve water access, sanitation coverage, and hygiene practices in communities worldwide. Join the global movement working to achieve universal access to safe water and adequate sanitation, protecting public health, promoting dignity, and contributing to sustainable development for all.