How exactly is water brought to the site of the tap/well and how is it sanitised?
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Nothing is brought from anywhere.
When they install taps in remote areas, they are drilling wells deep down to access underground water. So that water is just part of the underground water table/aquifer, nothing man made is bringing it there.
And what sanitizes it? Also nothing really. As long as that underground source of water is not contaminated by something, there is no need to treat or sanitize the water, because there is nothing harmful down in the water, all the soil above it has acted like a filter and filtered it out.
You wouldn’t bring water to a well, a well naturally supplys it’s own water from underground sources called aquifers.
Specialists like, geologists, hydrologists etc.. would be hired by those organizations that you mentioned to find a safe and reliable underground source of water.
A hole is dug at those locations and the water can then be brought to surface using a pump. Filters and chemicals such as chlorine can be used to clean or filter water before consumption or use.
They use the existing sources. Charity water for example will provide towns or schools with the labor, parts and tools to convert a contaminated pool people have been using. They’ll build protection around it, relocate, dig deeper or whatever it takes to get cleaner water to the surface.
The village wouldn’t be there unless there was a water source nearby anyway.
They’re doing it the old fashioned way: A Well
They look for an underground layer of water called an “aquifer”. Drill down, install a pump, and the job is done
So long as nothing has seeped into the ground, and into the water, that water is 100% clean.
Plus, aquifers can be massive. Some can be as large as oceans. So it’s not likely they’ll dry up anytime soon in communities of that size
Another thing I remember happening was r/atheism funded a massive water tank that could collect rain water.
Doesn’t work the same way, and doesn’t help in droughts, but it is another option
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Just to add some context. Boreholes (aka “wells” or taps) are super common and essential part of life in Africa (at least from my experience in northern Uganda and west Kenya). Generally, only women gather the water for the family which involves travel to the tap (often over a mile), waiting in line, pumping the water, and carrying the fully loaded jerry cans back to the home. This process easily takes an hour or more and it’s usually done twice a day. Men do not (or very seldom) do this… in fact, if a man goes to get water, they will be looked at funny and often people in line will just let the man go first. Part of it is due to the patriarchal village society but also, the bore hole is seen as a women-only space. Waiting in line is a social affair and many women take this time away from the home to socialize and enjoy not being under the constant eyes of men.
I’ll just caveat that this observation is my personal experience living in a remote village. Obviously, I’m this is not universal but it is common.
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