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The WHO gives estimates for diarrheal disease risk reductions associated with transitions from different water sources/service to household treatment and storage.

There are many studies that have found a positive health impact of WASH, but Wolf-Peter Schmidt recently wrote that these are all unreliable, especially the Dean Spear study you mention. You will find an overview of major health impact studies in Schmidt's article.

Earlier Schmidt & Cairncross wrote that there was insufficient evidence to justify scaling up of household water treatment studies. SODIS interventions in Bolivia have proved to be unsustainable, just as the use of household arsenic filters in Bangladesh. Even the highly promoted Tata Swach has received many user complaints.

For info HWTS projects in India, I suggest you contact any of the following Indian members of the Household water treatment and safe storage network (sorry but I don't have contact addresses for contact persons):

• Alternative Water Systems Project, India

• BAIF Development Research Foundation, India

• Basic Water Needs, India

• Environze Global Limited, India

• Gomukh, India Hindustan Lever Limited, India

• Institute of Rural Research and Development, India

• Institute of Sustainable Development, India

• National Institute of Communicable Diseases, India

• NEERMAN, India

• Planet Kerala, India

• Rajputana Society of Natural History (RSNH), India

Please also check a recent IRC blog on "Reflecting on the 'Future perspectives for rural water supply' debate" on the "death of the handpump".