LEARN / GLOSSARY

The language
of water.

From aquifer to WASH — the words you’ll meet when you learn about clean water and community wells, explained simply.

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Apron #: The concrete platform built around a well or hand pump. It drains spilled water away and stops dirty surface water seeping back into the well.
Aquifer #: An underground layer of rock, sand or gravel that holds water and lets it flow. Boreholes are drilled to reach an aquifer.

Basic drinking water service #: An improved water source within a round trip of 30 minutes, including queuing, as defined by the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme.
Borehole #: A narrow, deep well drilled by machine and lined with casing. Most modern community water wells are boreholes.

Casing #: Pipe, usually PVC or steel, that lines a borehole so it does not collapse and so surface water cannot enter.

Gravel pack #: Clean gravel placed around the well screen that acts as a natural filter, keeping sand out of the water.

Hand pump #: A manually operated pump that lifts groundwater to the surface. Simple and repairable locally, but limited in how much water it can deliver.
Household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) #: Methods families use at home — such as boiling, chlorination and filtration, plus clean covered containers — to make water safer to drink.
Hydrogeological survey #: A study of local geology and groundwater, often using geophysical measurements, to choose the best place to drill.

Improved water source #: A source that, by its design, is protected from outside contamination — for example a borehole, protected well, protected spring, rainwater collection or piped water.

Jerrycan #: The plastic container commonly used to carry water. A full 20-litre jerrycan weighs about 20 kilograms.
JMP (Joint Monitoring Programme) #: The WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, established in 1990, which tracks global progress on SDG targets 6.1 and 6.2.

Limited drinking water service #: An improved water source where collecting water takes more than 30 minutes for a round trip.
Living water #: A biblical image Jesus used for the eternal life and Holy Spirit He gives (John 4:10–14; 7:37–39) — water that ends a thirst ordinary water cannot.

Pump test (yield test) #: Pumping a new well at a set rate and measuring how the water level falls and recovers, to learn how much water it can reliably supply.

Safely managed drinking water #: The highest JMP service level: an improved source located on premises, available when needed and free from faecal and priority chemical contamination.
Sanitary seal #: Grout placed around the top of the well casing so contaminated surface water cannot run down the outside of the pipe into the aquifer.
SDG 6 #: The UN Sustainable Development Goal to “ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all” by 2030.
Solar pump #: A pump powered by solar panels, usually lifting water into a raised storage tank that feeds taps.
Surface water #: Water taken directly from rivers, lakes, ponds, streams or irrigation channels — the lowest rung of the drinking water service ladder.

Unimproved water source #: A source not protected from contamination, such as an unprotected dug well or unprotected spring.

WASH #: Short for water, sanitation and hygiene — the three services that together prevent most waterborne disease.
Water committee #: A group of local people responsible for a community water point: fair access, collecting funds for repairs, and arranging maintenance.
Water table #: The level below the ground where the soil or rock is saturated with water. It can rise and fall with the seasons.
Waterborne disease #: Illness spread through contaminated water, such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio.
Well screen #: A slotted section of casing placed at the water-bearing depth that lets water in while keeping sand and gravel out.

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