Appropriate water supply and sanitation technology for developing countries in tropical monsoon climates

Summary In the past, the water supply and sewage services for the urban regions of developing countries have been provided, in the main, only for the more affluent areas of these cities. This paper, dealing especially with those countries with tropical monsoon climates, advocates the construction of more comprehensive systems.Experience drawn from a wide range of projects and a review of the relevant literature provokes the authors to emphasise the need for suitable manuals of appropriate technology for use in these developing countries. These manuals should provide a full set of environmental guidelines for the design of water supply and sewage/sanitation systems for use in these countries.Dr Harvey F. Ludwig is Chairman and Greg Browder is Environmental Engineer for SEATEC International Consulting Engineers, Bangkok, Thailand.     

Financing water supply and sanitation under Agenda 21

This paper assesses the financing challenges which have to be met by developing countries if water resources are to be managed efficiently, if the quality of the aquatic environment is to be improved and if water related services are to be delivered in a responsive, efficient and equitable way. This paper takes the view that attaching 'price tags' to water supply and sanitation, as was tentatively done in Agenda 21, is a misguided approach and that what is needed is articulation of clear principles which should underpin the financing of water supply and sanitation investments. To illustrate the approach the paper focuses heavily on experiences from World Bank water supply, sanitation and urban development projects over the past 30 years. The challenge is to develop appropriate institutional and financial arrangements. The essence of such arrangements is that they ensure that societies mobilize appropriate levels of resources for providing water related environmental services and that these resources are used in the most efficient and effective way possible .     

A model of costs and resources for rural and peri-urban water supply and sanitation in the 1990s

This article develops a model of cost and financing strategies for rural and peri-urban water supply and sanitation. It suggests that significant progress towards the World Summit for Children's goal of universal access to water supply and sanitation can be made if a combination of strategies is adopted. On the cost side, significant cost reductions should be possible through efficiency in resource use and reduction of system management costs. On the financing side, it suggests restructuring the financing of the sector with improved efficiency and greater cost recovery in urban services; full recovery of operation and maintenance costs; cost sharing through community contributions in kind such as local labour and financially in rural and peri-urban water supply for basic levels of service depending on willingness and ability to pay and full cost recovery for higher levels of service; a high degree of cost recovery in rural and peri-urban sanitation; development of institutional structures for both collection and management of revenues; development of alternate financing mechanisms such as rural credit schemes and revolving funds, adapted in specific country contexts, including the required institutional mechanisms; and additional allocations from governments and external support agencies. Additional government or external financing alone, while critical, will not of itself lead to effectiveness in the use of resources. Equally, cost recovery alone cannot lead to universal access and sustainable solutions. A composite set of actions is needed within which building capacities of institutions and people is necessary for sustainability .     

Private Sector Participation in Urban Water and Sanitation Provision in Ghana: Experiences from the Tamale Metropolitan Area (TMA)

African governments, like most countries in the developing world, face daunting tasks in their attempts to provide effective and equitable water and sanitation services for their ever increasing urban populations. Consequently, the past few years have witnessed increased private sector participation in urban water and sanitation provision, as many African governments strive to improve access to water and sanitation services for their citizens in line with Millennium Development Goal 7 (MDG7). Since the early 1990s, the government of Ghana and many local authorities have entered into various forms of public-private partnerships in urban water and sanitation provision. This article examines the outcome of such partnerships using the Tamale Metropolitan Area (TMA) as a case study with the aim of providing policy guidelines for the way forward. The article argues that the public-private arrangement for water supply and sanitation infrastructure management in the Tamale Metropolis has done nothing that an invigorated public sector could not have possibly achieved. It concludes that there can be no sustainable improvement in water and sanitation provision without political commitment, stakeholder ownership, and strong support for community driven initiatives.     

Universal access to water and sanitation: Why the private sector must participate

Against the background of the current state of provision of drinking water and sanitation in the world — with one billion lacking safe water, and 2.2 billion not having adequate sanitation — this article argues that private participation is necessary. The most important issues for the management of water utilities in the 21^st century are identified as mobilizing investment for the highly capital intensive operation of water supply and sanitation infrastructure, and achieving efficiency in the delivery of services. The article highlights the issues that need to be raised if private investment is to be seriously considered as an alternative. Case studies, especially from Latin America (Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia), illustrate different modes of private participation, and possible reasons for successes and failures are discussed. The article stresses that regardless of the modality of private sector involvement, on‐going government regulatory responsibility in the water sector is crucial. It suggests that regulatory policy must go beyond just setting tariffs, to develop standards for drinking water quality and waste treatment, as well as other standards. In conclusion, the article recognizes that numerous and increasingly difficult challenges face utilities in fulfilling their responsibility to deliver drinking water of adequate quality, in sufficient quantity, and at affordable prices, as well as safe and sustainable disposal of wastewaters for members of urban and rural communities.     

The International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade in retrospect and implications for the future

In global terms this paper reviews the progress made during the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade. There has been considerable progress. In terms of percent receiving water services, the urban areas made good progress: 77% in 1980 to 82% in 1990. In the rural areas progress was even greater, 30% had water services in 1980 versus 63% in 1990. There was also considerable progress in institutional terms. A positive trend towards better linkage betweeen authorities dealing with water supply and sanitation and those dealing with economic development, was one. Another was the awareness of the need for community involvement. In some cases progress was hampered by fragmentation of governmental authorities dealing with water and sanitation at the rural and/or urban level. In the 1990s an important issue will be financing the infrastructure needed to bring water and sanitation services to those not already covered and to an increasing population. Institutional issues will continue to be important as well.     

Water supply and sanitation services for all: global progress during the 1990s

The Earth may be largely covered with water, but over one billion people are estimated to be without safe drinking water and almost 2.5 billion (40% of the world's population) without adequate sanitation at the outset of the new millennium. The provision of safe water and sanitation for all poses several serious institutional and economic challenges at international, national and local levels. Despite the various political commitments made from the late 1970s onwards, these commitments have remained largely unfulfilled. Even though some efforts to expand coverage have been made over the past two decades, much of those efforts have been undermined by socioeconomic problems and growing population, particularly in the urban areas of developing countries. The water supply and sanitation sector is actually in acute need of new investments for expansion and maintenance of facilities. Nonetheless, some positive trends can be discerned, such as, for example, the increasing recognition of integrated water resources management, environmental sanitation, public-private partnerships and women as a key for improvement and expansion of services.     

Design of environmentally and socially conscious water metering tariffs for the UK

England is one of the few industrialised countries where water metering is not compulsory. Most households instead pay a fixed charge regardless of use. Yet water consumption is already at the limit of resources and beyond them in some regions. Despite the need to control demand, compulsory water metering has not been implemented largely because of concerns about the regressive impact on poorer households. This research analysed new data from Anglian Water on household water consumption and income to examine the distributional impacts of ten different hypothetical tariff designs. It was found that it was possible to design revenue-neutral metered tariffs that would cause only a small percentage of low-income households to lose and most to gain. With sensitive design, the social concerns about compulsory water metering can be dealt with.     

Sanitation workers at the frontline: work and vulnerability in response to COVID-19

ABSTRACT

The absence of a vaccine and effective treatment for COVID-19 has created public panic and burdened the health systems in most countries. Along with health workers’, sanitation personnel are also working at the frontlines in the war against the disease by keeping cities clean. Sanitation workers are engaged in Drudgery, Dangerous, Dirty and Dehumanising work that makes them vulnerable for developing the chronic respiratory diseases due to the exposure of various hazardous materials and toxic gases that are emitted from the solid waste. The sanitation workers working on a contractual basis are excluded from the labour policies and welfare programs who are playing a vital role in fighting the pandemic. Women sanitation workers are even more vulnerable because most of them are non-literate, poor in financial management and under-represented in the sanitation employee’s union. The local and state governments should protect and safeguard sanitation workers by providing them with adequate protective equipment, ensure payment of paying adequate salaries and provide them with health insurance.     

Beyond 'coverage'

Full integration of projects and programmes for rural water supply and sanitation has yet to take place in most developing countries, thus contributing to a situation in which long-term success in the sector has been difficult to demonstrate. It is suggested that full integration in individual countries will require reorientation of project planning procedures, and the development of a community support programme (CSP) to provide backup to communities after project completion. Ultimately, full integration of projects and programmes is an iterative process, requiring the evaluation of past efforts in the field. Experience in the International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade (1981–90) has demonstrated that coverage alone — as the de facto indicator of success — is not sufficient (particularly in rural areas). The 1990s represent a fresh chance to modify indicators for success, and to go beyond coverage by integrating projects and programmes for rural water supply and sanitation.     

For the quality of life — evolution of and lessons learnt from water and sanitation services in Porvoo, Finland, 1900–2000

The paper describes and analyses the 100 year development of water supply and sanitation and the lessons learnt in Porvoo, a municipality of 46,000 people on the southern coast of Finland. In urban areas the municipality‐owned utility has always dominated. Over 90 per cent of the investments for the recent wastewater treatment plant went into services, equipment and goods bought from the private sector through 12 tenders, all based on competition. In the neighbouring rural areas, recently merged with the city, there are nine consumer‐managed, non‐profit water cooperatives that buy water in bulk from the city water utility. Although the solutions are based on local conditions and subsidiarity, some more general principles are also highlighted and discussed. Past decisions inevitably also affect future development options.     

Potable Groundwater Supplies and Low-cost Sanitary Engineering — How Compatible?

Many developing countries are counting on groundwater to supply an increasing proportion of their demand for drinking. There is currently a drive, in many of these same countries, for major improvements in excreta disposal, involving the intensive use of unsewered sanitation or sewage treatment in stabilization ponds with effluent reuse. Under certain hydrogeological conditions these low-cost technologies may be in conflict with the use of groundwater for potable supplies. The principal potential hazards are identified, discussed and illustrated. A more detailed understanding of these problems, coupled with improved design, careful siting and integrated planning of the installations involved, is required to reduce the groundwater pollution hazard.     

Past and future sustainability of water policies in Europe

The article contributes to a discussion on two global issues on water: water resources management, and water supply and sanitation. Focusing on Europe, it traces the legal roots of current systems in history: as a resource, water is considered as a common property, rather than a market good; while as a public service it is usually a commodity. Public water supply and sanitation technologies and engineering have developed under three main paradigms: quantitative and civil engineering; qualitative and chemical/sanitary engineering (both on the supply side); and the most recent one, environmental engineering and integrated management (on the demand side). The cost of public drinking water is due to rise sharply in view of the two‐fold financial challenge of replacing an ageing infrastructure and keeping up with ever‐rising environmental and sanitary quality standards. Who will pay? Government subsidies, or water users? The author suggests that apparent successes with privatisation may have relied heavily on hidden government subsidies and/or the healthy state of previously installed water infrastructure: past government subsidies are still felt for as long as the lifetime of the infrastructure. The article stresses the importance of public participation and decentralized local management of water and sanitation services. Informing and involving users in water management decisions is seen as an integral part of the ‘ethics’ side of the crucial three E's (economics, environment, ethics). The article strongly argues for municipal provision of water services, and hopes that lessons learnt and solutions found in the European experience may serve water services management efforts in other regions of the world.     

Institutional Aspects of Water Supply and Sanitation in Africa

The provision of water supply and sanitation services requires a judicious balance of technological, organizational, managerial and legal measures. National policies should be spelled out and embodied in national sectoral planning, produced under the direction of a co-ordinating central body. Implementation agencies should follow the plan and directives laid down by the sectoral plan. Planning criteria for programme and project assessment should emphasize the need to consider different alternatives for augmentation of available water supplies. Sectoral planning and organization of executing agencies must take into account the active participation and support of users. Operation and maintenance can be improved through appropriate monitoring, rehabilitation and special training. Adequate operation, maintenance and rehabilitation will reduce investment needs. Legal rules should be precise, flexible and objective-orientated. Properly designed education campaigns are the most cost-effective alternative for improving drinking-water supply and sanitation programmes.     

THE UNITED NATIONS GROUND WATER EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME - A FIFTEEN YEAR PERSPECTIVE

The United Nations ground water exploration and development programme during 15 years of active life, has resulted in substantial socio-economic benefits to 57 developing countries through some 100 ground water projects. Systematic study, development and use of this important resource have contributed to intensification of agricultural production through supplemental irrigation from ground water; alleviation of water shortages in urban and industrial areas through construction of supply wells; improvement and stabilization of pastoral and rural economies, thereby counteracting in some measure adverse demographic trends of migration to the cities; and other related benefits in training, institutional development, and development of national water policies and plans.     

How multilateral financial institutions promote sustainable water infrastructure planning through economic appraisal: case studies from coastal cities of China

Sustainable urban water infrastructure planning is vital for all cities in developing countries, where rapid urbanization has exacerbated the increasingly burdened environment. Water sustainability is a prerequisite for economic growth, social equity, and living quality in urban areas. This paper documents the current challenges and summarizes the solutions adopted in water infrastructure planning and management. Then, case studies of how multilateral financial institutions have promoted sustainable water infrastructure planning through economic appraisal and the novel approaches adopted for sustainable water infrastructure planning and asset management, are presented for the three cities of Jiaozhou, Cixi, and Fangchenggang. Conclusions are made based on the comparison and analysis of the experiences drawn from the case studies of how economic analysis could help promote sustainable water infrastructure planning and management. It is illustrated that economic analysis that considers ecosystem services supply should be employed more in water infrastructure planning, operation, and management in China.     

A decision model for selecting sustainable drinking water supply and greywater reuse systems for developing communities with a case study in Cimahi, Indonesia

Capacity Factor Analysis is a decision support system for selection of appropriate technologies for municipal sanitation services in developing communities. Developing communities are those that lack the capability to provide adequate access to one or more essential services, such as water and sanitation, to their residents. This research developed two elements of Capacity Factor Analysis: a capacity factor based classification for technologies using requirements analysis, and a matching policy for choosing technology options. First, requirements analysis is used to develop a ranking for drinking water supply and greywater reuse technologies. Second, using the Capacity Factor Analysis approach, a matching policy is developed to guide decision makers in selecting the appropriate drinking water supply or greywater reuse technology option for their community. Finally, a scenario-based informal hypothesis test is developed to assist in qualitative model validation through case study. Capacity Factor Analysis is then applied in Cimahi Indonesia as a form of validation. The completed Capacity Factor Analysis model will allow developing communities to select drinking water supply and greywater reuse systems that are safe, affordable, able to be built and managed by the community using local resources, and are amenable to expansion as the community's management capacity increases.     

Affordability of residential water tariffs: Alternative measurement and explanatory factors in southern Spain

Using information on a basic or “lifeline” level of domestic water use obtained from a water demand function based on a Stone–Geary utility function, a minimum water threshold of 128 m³ per household per year was estimated in a sample of municipalities in Southern Spain. As a second objective, water affordability indexes were then calculated that relate the cost of such lifeline to average municipal income levels. The analysis of the factors behind the differences in that ratio across Andalusian municipalities shows that the relative cost of purchasing the lifeline appears inversely related to average income levels, revealing an element of regressivity in the component of water tariffs affecting the least superfluous part of the household’s consumption. The main policy recommendation would involve redesigning water tariffs in order to improve access for lower income households to an amount of water sufficient to cover their basic needs. The proposed methodology could be applied to other geographical areas, both from developed and from developing countries, in order to analyze the degree of progressivity of the water tariffs currently in effect and in order to guide the design of more equitable regulatory policies.     

积极稳妥地开展中水回用

我国是世界上13个贫水国之一,水资源紧缺的问题在一些地区已制约经济和社会的发展。中水主要是指城市污水或生活污水经处理后达到一定的水质标准,可在一定的范围内重复使用的非饮用杂用水。中水的水质介于上水和下水之间,是水资源有效利用的一种形式。开展中水回收工作,已经显现出开源和减轻水污染的双重功能。     

Developing a sustainable energy strategy for a water utility. Part I: A review of the UK legislative framework

Increasing political effort to improve water quality across the UK and Europe has led to water and sewerage companies investing heavily in high-tech wastewater treatment plants capable of producing high quality effluents. Consequently, amounts of bought-in electricity used for wastewater treatment has and will continue to increase significantly over coming years, while greater provision of enhanced sewage treatment also produces greater volumes of sewage sludge requiring treatment and disposal. Over the same period, tougher controls on the quality of biosolids applied to agricultural land have also been introduced, while there has been an international attempt to reduce the use of fossil-fuel derived power sources because of concerns over global warming. The latter has brought about the introduction of financial instruments, such as the Climate Change Levy, to curb energy use, promote energy efficiency and encourage the development of renewable energy technologies. These factors are set to drive-up the costs of providing adequate sewage treatment services, while at the same time, a tough regulatory line taken to control profits on regional monopolies held by the UK water companies will significantly reduce their revenues over the period 2000-05. The result is that, financially, UK water and sewerage companies face their most challenging period since privatisation in 1989. This paper briefly outlines the current regulations relating to water quality and energy use that will affect water company operations over coming years.