Improving the method for district safe water coverage estimation in Uganda

The clean, safe and available water is collected from protected and improved water facilities by rural communities Worldwide for their daily use. However factors such as functionality, water quality, population density, walking distances, assumptions and separations between water facilities have been identified challenges to safe water coverage estimation; leading to inaccurate Safe Water Coverage estimation. Water facilities were plotted on a map using their coordinates; walking distances of 1km radii buffered on each water facility using ArcGIS software forming rings. The rings of maximum walking distances together with water sources separation, population density were then used to derive formulae to improve Safe Water Coverage estimation. Serere District was sampled and studied to adequately assess peoples’ access to safe water. This method is better than the current one because all the factors affecting safe water accessibility were considered; the results reflected water facilmities’ and population distribution.