In this, the final installment in the series discussing water infrastructure, the emerging needs of the developing world will be discussed. In the first two parts of this series, the current state of water infrastructure in the developed world was discussed. Additionally, a snapshot of new tools that can be used by planners and water managers to update and maintain those systems was presented. The needs of the developing world present unique challenges, however. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1.1 billion people lack access to an improved water source as of 2002 and 2.6 billion lacked access to improved sanitation . While the layman may consider an ‘unimproved source’ or ‘ unimproved sanitation’ to be marginally acceptable, what these figures actually say is that 1.1 billion people do not have access to a even a dug well or rainwater collection for their drinking water and 2.6 billion people do not have access to a basic pit latrine.
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