Skip to main content Skip to local navigation

Safe Water Optimization Tool

Safe Water Optimization Tool

Project

Last Updated on 18 November 2020

Visit project website

SWOT logo

Humanitarian operations have little in place to ensure that water quality complies with safety guidelines at the point of consumption, a significant oversight in response efforts.

Chlorination is the most widely practised water treatment technique used to supply safe water to refugees and internally displaced persons. If well managed, it can ensure residual contamination protection from the point of water dispensation to the point of water consumption in the household.

Humanitarian agencies prioritize water safety and routinely collect, monitor and report residual chlorination data. Little is done, however, to leverage this information to ensure that water quality complies with safety guidelines at the point of consumption, a significant oversight in response efforts.

The proper management and analysis of routinely collected residual chlorine data, using appropriate statistical techniques, will provide humanitarian field workers with high-quality, site-specific, and evidence-based operational guidance. The Safe Water Optimisation Tool (SWOT) is being developed with this primary objective. It aims to:

  • Improve public health by reducing the incidence of water borne disease
  • Establish site-specific guidance to ensure stricter compliance with chlorination standards at the household level
  • Improve accountability to populations and donors
  • Highlight problematic areas or practices towards which resources can be focused during water supply interventions or outbreak control

With Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders

Themes

Global Health & Humanitarianism

Status

Active

Related Work

N/A

Updates

Recap – Fact-based optimism and other lessons from Bruce Mau's first Massive Action seminar | 5 January 2023

York U researchers’ revamped AI tool makes water dramatically safer in refugee camps | 4 November 2022

DI Researchers Contribute to New Report on Scaling Humanitarian Innovations | 3 November 2022

Check out the SWOT at the UNC Water and Health Conference | 19 October 2022

Hot Off the Press – Modelling residual chlorine in humanitarian response in PLOS WATER | 6 September 2022

Research Fellow Syed Imran Ali Presented the Safe Water Optimization Tool at York’s Academia to Industry (A2I) Event | 15 June 2022

Highlighting the SWOT’s Risk-Based Approach at the 2022 Emergency Environmental Health Forum | 25 April 2022

Opportunity: Back-end Developer, Safe Water Optimization Tool Project | 12 May 2021

Safe Water Optimization Tool (SWOT) featured in Compendium of Water Supply Technologies in Emergencies | 6 May 2021

Safe Water Optimization Tool featured as Bold Innovations Helping People in Conflict | 21 April 2021

Opportunity: P/T Junior Developer, Safe Water Optimization Tool Project | 26 January 2021

Opportunity: Technical Advisor - SWOT and Humanitarian Water Engineering | 15 December 2020

New Research Grant: Safe Water Optimization Tool awarded WASH Evidence Challenge Grant from the Humanitarian Innovation Fund/Elrha | 10 December 2020

Virtual Launch of Safe Water Optimization Tool | 7 December 2020

New Publication: Dahdaleh Institute researchers publish groundbreaking study on safe water and public health in refugee camps | 30 November 2020

Dahdaleh Institute Fellow Syed Imran Ali featured on the Globe and Mail as part of their "Stepping Up" series | 30 November 2020

Safe Water Optimization Tool featured in two national magazines | 16 November 2020

Innovative new data analytics technology to help improve access to safe water in refugee camps | 5 November 2020

Hiring: Graphic Designer, Safe Water Optimization Tool | 25 June 2020

SWOT at MSF Scientific Days Conference (virtual) | 11 May 2020

Dahdaleh Institute Members Contribute to Doctors Without Borders Internal Newsletter | 2 April 2020

SWOT Second All-Team Meeting Moves Project Forward | 25 February 2020

Opportunity: Junior Developer, Safe Water Optimization Tool | 15 January 2020

Dahdaleh Researchers in China, Ireland, Bangladesh and USA | 27 June 2019

WASH Project Showcased in London at Humanitarian Innovation Fund Meeting | 27 February 2019

Design is not just a pretty interface - and other lessons from Emergency Data Science | 20 February 2019

People

James Orbinski, Director
Usman T. Khan, Faculty Fellow, Lassonde School of Engineering
Syed Imran Ali, Research Fellow, Global Health and Humanitarianism
Matthew Arnold, Technical Advisor, Safe Water Optimization Tool
Saad Ali, Data Science Specialist, Safe Water Optimization Tool
Ngqabutho Zondo, Graphic Design, Development
Mohamed Moselhy, Lead Developer, Safe Water Optimization Tool
Michael De Santi, Dahdaleh Global Health Graduate Scholar, Global Health & Humanitarianism
James Brown, Associate Course Director, Humanitarian Water Engineering; Technical Advisor, Safe Water Optimization Tool
Mike Spendlove,
Mike De Santi, York University
Jeff Fesselet, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF)
Katie Thomson, Research Assistant, Global Health and Humanitarianism [W20]
Kanishk Singh, Research Assistant, Humanitarian Engineering

You may also be interested in...