Technical Guidelines for the Construction and Maintenance of Hand Dug Wells. Country/Territory Sierra Leone Document type Miscellaneous Date 2014 Source FAO, FAOLEX Subject Land & soil, Water Keyword Access right Drainage/land reclamation Land tenure Land-use planning Soil pollution/quality Soil rehabilitation Authorization/permit Community management Education Environmental standards Equity Freshwater pollution Indigenous peoples Standards Water quality standards Water supply Waterworks Well sinking/boreholes Pollution control Protection of environment Geographical area Africa, Least Developed Countries, North Atlantic, Western Africa Abstract These are the first in a series of Water supply, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) guidelines to be developed in Sierra Leone. Their application is meant to safeguard both public and private investment in water supply. The guidelines set out the minimum standards that are expected in the construction of hand dug wells for village water supply, self-supply, and semi collective water supply as defined in the Rural Water Supply and Small Towns Strategy (RWSSTS) Document. Some of the provisions of the Technical Guidelines document are mandatory. However, due to the variety of local conditions and socioeconomic circumstances across the country, as well as the need for communities and households to select options that work best for them, some provisions are recommendations, and their adoption is left to discretionary judgement. Full text English Website www.wsp.org