VZCZCXYZ0008
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHPU #0076/01 0220514
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 220513Z JAN 10
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK IMMEDIATE 0050
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0245
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA IMMEDIATE
INFO RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE
RHMFISS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHDG/AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO IMMEDIATE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 000076 
 
AIDAC 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ECON PGOV PINR PREL PREF HA
SUBJECT: Post-Earthquake Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Status in 
Haiti 
 
REF: PORT A 0054; PORT A 0058; PORT A 0060; PORT A 0072 
 
¶1. Summary.  Disruptions in water service and availability remain a 
significant concern for earthquake-affected populations in 
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that 
struck the capital on January 12.  However, USAID Office of U.S. 
Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) Disaster Assistance Response 
Team (USAID/DART) staff report that sufficient water production 
capacity currently exists and note significant progress in 
addressing fuel and trucking shortages to support water tankering 
efforts in recent days.  USAID/DART staff emphasize the need for 
increased water storage capacity at distribution sites, as well as 
the need to increase sanitation and hygiene interventions to 
prevent the spread of water-borne disease among affected 
populations.  USAID in coordination with the U.S. Department of 
Defense (DoD), the Government of Haiti (GoH), the U.N., and relief 
organizations are rapidly scaling up response measures to address 
water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) needs.  End summary. 
 
 
 
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WATER AVAILABILITY 
 
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¶2.  The earthquake damaged significant portions of urban water 
piping networks, contributing to an increased reliance on water 
tankering in affected areas.  However, most hand-pump wells 
survived the earthquake undamaged and many gravity spring-fed 
systems remain operational.  Water shops also remain open in many 
locations, but with a reduced capacity to produce water.  Overall, 
USAID/DART staff report sufficient water availability in 
metropolitan Port-au-Prince to meet population water needs, but 
emphasize that augmented resources to transport and store water at 
key locations are required at this time.  U.N. WASH cluster 
participants together with the private sector are capable of 
delivering more than 1 million gallons of water per day, a 
sufficient amount to address gaps in water availability at key 
locations in metropolitan Port-au-Prince. 
 
 
 
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WATER DISTRIBUTION SITES AND WATER TRUCKING 
 
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¶3.  The need for water services is most acute at sites where 
significant numbers of displaced populations have gathered and at 
hospital and clinic locations. The GoH's National Directorate for 
Potable Water and Sanitation (DINEPA) and the U.N. Children's Fund 
(UNICEF), as lead and co-lead of the U.N. Water Cluster 
respectively, have prioritized these areas and has made significant 
progress in expanding the number of established water distribution 
sites in recent days.  As of January 19, the WASH Cluster had 
established 82 water distribution sites, supplied by 130 water 
trucks, providing water for 180,000 beneficiaries, according to 
USAID/DART staff. 
 
 
 
¶4.  Recent fuel pledges by the UNICEF and the private sector to 
support water trucking interventions have permitted augmented water 
trucking capacity.  On January 19, UNICEF and DINEPA reported that 
the private sector pledged to set aside 8,000 gallons of fuel daily 
to support water distribution activities.  On January 20, UNICEF 
announced plans to provide an additional 5,000 gallons per day to 
facilitate water truck operations.  As a result, the water tanker 
fleet provided more than 1 million liters of water to distribution 
sites on January 19, representing the largest distribution to date. 
Enhanced humanitarian coordination is expected to further improve 
trucking capacity in the coming days. 
 
 
¶5.  USAID/DART staff also emphasize then need for increased water 
storage capacity at distribution sites. Relief partners are working 
to install additional water bladders to increase storage capacity 
at the sites, with 20 bladders installed as on January 20. 
 
 
 
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SANITATION 
 
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¶6.  Sanitation infrastructure at areas where displaced populations 
have spontaneously congregated is urgently needed.  According to 
the USAID/OFDA WASH Advisor, WASH cluster partners have constructed 
an unconfirmed number of trench latrines serving approximately 
50,000 people to date, a number expected to double in the coming 
days.  The U.N. WASH Cluster estimates that a total of 3,000 
latrines are needed at this time for spontaneous settlement sites. 
However, USAID/DART staff note ongoing challenges to augmenting 
latrine construction, including crowded site areas with limited 
space availability, and GoH reluctance to support pit and trench 
latrine construction at public sites where displaced populations 
have gathered. 
 
 
 
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HYGIENE 
 
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¶7.  In recognition of the need to increase hygiene education and 
activities in concert with water and sanitation interventions to 
prevent an increase in disease outbreak, the U.N. WASH Cluster has 
created a hygiene working group to establish standards and 
recommended practices for hygiene promotion and household level 
water treatment.  The U.N. WASH cluster hygiene working group is 
developing a hygiene promotion awareness campaign that will include 
bill boards, leaflets, posters, and other communication products. 
The DINEPA has invited partners to share existing materials, 
preferably in Creole, which can be used in the campaign.  U.N. WASH 
cluster partners report that additional hygiene items, including 
soap, water containers, and cups, are also needed in settlement 
 
sites.  WASH cluster partners are coordinating with the shelter 
cluster to determine the distribution process. 
 
 
 
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USAID/OFDA WASH COMMODITIES 
 
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¶8.  As part of USG response efforts, USAID/OFDA has supported 
multiple flights of emergency relief commodities that include water 
chlorination tablets, water purification units capable of providing 
15,000 liters of clean water per hour, as well as water containers 
and hygiene kits. 
 
 
 
¶9.  On January 19, two USAID/OFDA-funded flight carrying emergency 
relief supplies arrived in Port-au-Prince.  Commodities included 
35,400 water containers, 12,096 hygiene kits, and 6 water 
purification units.  Subsequently on January 20, an additional two 
USAID/OFDA-funded flights delivered 250 rolls of plastic sheeting, 
384 hygiene kits, and 192 kitchen sets. 
 
 
 
¶10.  As of January 19, USAID/OFDA implementing partner the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) had delivered the 
 
 
following USAID/OFDA-funded emergency relief supplies to affected 
populations:  240,600 aquatabs, 3,300 water containers, and 1,920 
hygiene kits to neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince, including the 
Primature, Villa Creole, Place Boyer, Delmas 33, and Canape Vert. 
In addition, UNICEF has delivered the following on behalf of IOM in 
Jacmel: 18,000 aquatabs, 600 water containers, 300 hygiene kits, 
300 kitchen kits, 600 mosquito nets, 300 plastic sheets, 600 
sleeping mats, and 300 tarpaulins. 
 
 
 
¶11.   USAID/DART staff continue to monitor evolving water, 
sanitation, and hygiene conditions on the ground and coordinate 
with USAID/Haiti, DoD, GoH, U.N., and relief organization partners 
to address critical water and sanitation needs of 
earthquake-affected populations. 
MERTEN