Annotated Bibliography

Addisen Rowles

UWRT 1104

Professor Malcom Campbell

March 12, 2019

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Annotated Bibliography

Gootnick, David. “Millions of Beneficiaries Reported in Developing Countries, but Department

of State Needs to Strengthen Strategic Approach.” United States Government

Accountability Office, May 2010. Accessed 12, Mar. 2019.

https://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10957.pdf

This clinical case study is about the study that branches off the Senator Paul Simon Water

for the Poor Act of 2005. “In this report GAO (1) describes USAID’s accomplishments;

(2) describes USAID’s obligations of funds for water and sanitation assistance in fiscal

years 2006-2009; (3) assesses the Department of State’s (State) development of a U.S.

water and sanitation strategy; and (4) examines State’s designation of high priority

countries.” This report looks at the specific regions of sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle

East and North Africa, and Asia and the Pacific. The USAID program designated 36

countries in 2008 and 31 countries in 2009 to be high priority for water and sanitation

assistance. Half of these countries were in sub-Saharan Africa and more than one-fourth

of these countries were in Asia and the Pacific regions. Before help could be received, the

countries had to meet two specifications: the need for water and sanitation improvements,

and the existence of conditions that would provide for sustainable water and sanitation

solutions.

I would say that overall this is an extremely accurate source. The government has access

to all sorts of information and the publishers of this article would not be allowed to

publish anything with the government again or have more severe punishments if the

information published was false. Outside influencers can publish any false information

that they want to with little to no consequences but when publishing to represent the
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government, the information must be accurate. Besides being published by a government

agency, the information in the article is reliable and accurate because all the information

is cited correctly throughout the article.

As far as usefulness goes, I think this will be the most useful article that I have found so

far. I can know that without a doubt, I am using reliable information that is based on facts

and statistics. This article will contribute to my research in multiple ways, in that it will

increase the depth and quality of the research, as well as provide insight and background

to how to government has helped to solve this global issue. None of the articles can really

change my viewpoints, but I think it is important to look at options from every angle to

evaluate which solution is the best fit for each region.

Starkl, Markus, et al. “Why Do Water and Sanitation Systems for the Poor Still Fail? Policy

Analysis in Economically Advanced Developing Countries.” Environmental Science &

Technology, vol. 47, no. 12, 1 May 2013. Accessed 12, Mar. 2019

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es3048416

This review article that analyses water and sanitation systems in India, South Africa, and

Mexico. These countries are studied because of their advanced economy because they

can support the improved water infrastructure. The article leads into what classifies a cast

study and how many were used. Case studies were only used in the research when

implemented in full swing, which means that no lab scale studies were used. After the

project was fully implemented, results were documented. Contingencies were observed

and noted to keep in mind for the trials that followed the initial 60 case studies. Potential

factors that caused the implementations to fail were taken in account to the next trials to

be completed. Having a lot of trials will improve the effectiveness of the final product.
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Sixty case studies implementing water resource solutions with twenty-five different types

of technology to purify water, such as gravity filters, were observed to gather the

information. The authors are credible, and the information is valid because the data

shown proves it. At the end of the article, all the references used in the article are cited

and listed. The multiple references help increase the credibility of the article.

This article helped open my eyes to just how severe water and sanitation problems are in

other parts of the world. It does not change my view of the topic; however, it does help

backup my other research which observes why these problems are still occurring with the

technology accessible today.

Sy, Jemima, et al. “Tapping the Markets: Opportunities for Domestic Investments in Water and

Sanitation for the Poor”. World Bank Publications, 2014. Accessed 12, Mar. 2019.

https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/16538/9781464801341.pdf

This case study examines every aspect of my topic proposal question. It begins by

analyzing statistics that show the breakdown of the percentage of the world’s population

that is with unimproved quality of drinking water, and what percent of the population

practice open defecation. Open defecation is the practice of using the bathroom wherever

you want, not having a designated area to do this. Both of these statistics were much

higher than I initially thought. 2.5 billion people use shared sanitation facilities that do

not meet minimum sanitation requirements. With this number so high, the number of

people who are stricken with disease is also high. These numbers corelate for a reason:

without sanitation measures in place, germs will spread more quickly thus infecting more

people. The countries that have this problem the most need help from outside countries
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and influencers because they cannot clean up by themselves. This source studies

countries with a water issue and those with a sanitation issue. The countries assessed for

piped water include Bangladesh, Benin, and Cambodia. For on-site sanitation, the

countries assessed are Bangladesh, Indonesia, Peru, and Tanzania. These countries are all

willing to pay to improve their conditions but if they pay for it, they want quality work

and solutions that will last them a long time.

This source was published by the World Bank. The World Bank is an organization that

provides funding to countries for capital projects. If the World Bank published false

information, I feel confident that they would be held accountable for that and have to pay

the consequences for it. The other reason I believe this source is accountable is that it is a

published source. If the information was false, it most likely wouldn’t have been

published.

This source as well as the GOA source above this one is the most important sources I’ve

looked into so far. They provide me the most information to write the most practical

research paper. This resource is strengthening my knowledge and perspective on this

topic. I know that this information is going to help me in the long run, whether in

engineering or on mission trips.