In Sarawak, source of water supply for isolated rural communities are mainly from gravity feed schemes, rainfall harvesting and to a lesser extent, groundwater.

There is a need for a rapid assessment to be conducted in order to gain detailed knowledge concerning current and potential issues faced by the gravity feed schemes. Of particular concern to the State is whether the waters from the various State Health Department GFS are still safe for the rural populations given the rapid development that has been taking place in the rural areas over the past decades.

The main objective of this rapid assessment is to obtain the updated information on GFS for the purpose to improve rural water supplies planning and program of the State. Specifically, the Study aims to achieve the following:

• To update, including the state of functioning and utilization of water supplies of GFS;
• To recommend measures to protect water sources of GFS; and
• To formulate standard guidelines for GFS water sources demarcation

An inventory of GFS throughout the state was achieved by collating the data from the various divisions in Sarawak.  The water quality was also determined by analysis of several relevant water quality parameters.

Most of the water quality is relatively clean and minimal exceedances when compared to the Ministry of Health’s Drinking Water Quality Standard. Microbiological analyses do show levels of TCC and FCC for some of the samples. Hence, the water must be boiled before consuming.

From the health aspect, the early findings showed that the community that was surveyed did not experience any of the common water borne diseases. Therefore, it is assumed that the water was acceptable for consumption.