Dr Sally Weston, a Research Associate in Environmental Engineering, Climate Change and Health at the University of Bristol, travelled up to the Houses of Commons on 4 March 2024 for the STEM for BRITAIN event which sees 120 early stage or early career researchers present research posters to be judged by a panel of professional and academic research.
Dr Weston’s presentation highlighted the work she has undertaken in Kenya investigating how different water supply schedules affect household public health and wellbeing.
Dr Weston explained: “Almost half of all piped water networks globally are unable to operate 24/7. This means more than a billion people worldwide receive a limited supply of drinking water, in some cases only a couple of hours each week.” These ‘intermittent water supplies’ (IWS) systems create a severe public health risk, with more than 17 million cases of waterborne infection attributed to IWS each year. Preliminary results of the Machakos survey showed that where residents live in the town affects how much water they receive and when they receive it. A third of households suffer from gastrointestinal illness and households with less water supply are more likely to suffer from typhoid.