If you get water from a spring, put a fence around it and build a stone or cement wall at least 50 cm high around the spring with a pipe from the wall. Only take water from the pipe. Such activities should be separated, or moved downstream from the source of drinking water. If you use rainwater, the roofs and gutters should be kept clean. After a long period without rain, you should let a little rainwater run off the roof and clean it before starting to fill the tank.
People often forget about their water storage tanks and cisterns.
They too can be polluted or get dirt on the bottom, and should be cleaned out each year during the rainy season when it is easy to fill them again. Tanks should also be covered and screened to keep out dirt, rats and mosquitos. The weather can sometimes be very strange, and some years many islands may not have enough rain. Wells can be low, rivers may dry up, and water can be very hard to get. Even in normal years there is often a long dry season.