Problems and Prospects of Meeting the Basic Energy Needs of Rural Communities in Developing Countries Through the Utilization of Wind and Solar Energy Systems

The problems and prospects of solar and wind energy technologies for rural energy supply in developing countries are examined, followed by an overview of key attributes of these technologies. The application of wind and solar systems for cooking, water pumping, drying, water heating, and electric power supply are reviewed. Two detailed case studies are given, the first discussing the potential of solar and wind systems for rural water pumping in Morocco, and the second, examining the "wind farms" producing electric power in California and the potential for their use in developing countries.     

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.     

Financing investments in water supply and sanitation

Financing investments in water supply and sanitation has been a perennial problem in all countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The contribution to capital funding derived from the income of operating companies has been very small, a direct consequence of unrealistically low tariffs. The situation has worsened with the increasing need to provide sewage treatment to reduce the gross pollution of most water bodies in the vicinity of large cities. This paper, on the basis of recent studies conducted in EC LAC, explores the practicability of the self-financing of water supply and sanitation services, including sewage treatment, through the income derived from tariffs. If this is to be achieved then it is important that the entire population pays for services, an issue of some importance given the unequal distribution of income in most cities of the region. The conclusion reached is that on the basis of the available information on costs, together with the experience of some countries, financing through tariffs is feasible, particularly if subsidies are provided to the poorest households. Tariff based financing is probably the only means of achieving universal coverage by the year 2000 as well as sewage treatment, the rehabilitation of existing systems, maintenance and the necessary institutional development .     

Salt enrichment of municipal sewage: New prevention approaches in Israel

Wastewater irrigation is an environmentally sound wastewater disposal practice, but sewage is more saline than the supplied fresh water and the salts are recycled together with the water. Salts have negative environmental effects on crops, soils, and groundwater. There are no inexpensive ways to remove the salts once they enter sewage, and the prevention of sewage salt enrichment is the most immediately available solution. The body of initiatives presently structured by the Ministry of the Environment of Israel are herein described, with the aim to contribute to the search for a long-term solution of salinity problems in arid countries. The new initiatives are based on: (1) search for new technologies to reduce salt consumption and discharge into sewage; (2) different technologies to cope with different situations; (3) raising the awareness of the public and industry on the environmental implications of salinity pollution; and (4) an elastic legal approach expressed through new state-of-the-art regulations. The main contributor to the salinity of sewage in Israel is the watersoftening process followed by the meat koshering process. Some of the adopted technical solutions are: the discharge of the brine into the sea, the substitution of sodium by potassium salts in the ion-exchangers, the construction of centralized systems for the supply of soft water in industrial areas, the precipitation of Ca and Mg in the effluents from ion-exchangers and recycling of the NaCI solution, a reduction of the discharge of salts by the meat koshering process, and new membrane technology for salt recovery.     

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。     

Considerations of the skilled manpower needs for water supply systems

Summary This paper describes an approach to the determination of skilled manpower requirements for the water supply industry. It outlines a training programme presented in five modules: resource exploitation and distribution; meter maintenance; leak detection; electrical/mechanical equipment, and sewage systems. This training curriculum is based on a detailed analysis of what is needed in a particular country. Though the proposals are specific, in this case Turkey, the approach is general and as such will have a wide application in discussions of what types of skills are required, and what is necessary to develop the necessary capabilities of the programme.Dr Gregor Watters is a qualified engineer with a special expertise in the design and construction of water supply and sewage treatment systems. His present appointment is Regional Officer for Basic Sanitary Measures at the World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe. He has experience of projects in Nigeria, Tanzania, Iraq, Yugoslavia and Turkey.     

The Role of the Private Sector in Providing Water in Developing Countries

The purpose of this article is to describe the role of the private sector in the supply of water in developing countries. In addition to citing some of the advantages to private supply, the paper discusses some of the objections to private provision, namely 'Natural Monopoly', 'Externalities', and the alleged inability to charge for water. It is concluded that the main obstacles to the private supply of water services are political rather than technical or financial, and that the French Affermage system (or variations thereon) seems to be suitable for many developing countries. There also appears to be considerable scope, in both towns and villages, for consumer co-operatives, and for the enhancement of water vending.     

Use of Escherichia coli BOX-PCR fingerprints to identify sources of fecal contamination of water bodies in the State of São Paulo, Brazil

Repetitive element sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) is one of the commonest methods used to identify sources of fecal contamination of water systems. In this work, BOX-A1R-based repetitive extragenic palindromic-PCR (BOX-PCR) was used to discriminate Escherichia coli strains originating from different animals and water sources, and the suitability of the technique for bacterial source tracking (BST) was evaluated. A total of 214 strains from humans, 150 strains from animals, 55 strains from sewage and 77 strains from water bodies were analyzed by the BOX-PCR technique. When maximum similarity between the fingerprints was used, a correct classification rate of 84% was achieved for strains from human and animal sources. Furthermore, 95% of the strains found in sewage were classified as being from human sources by at least one of the four classification tools used. Classification of the strains found in water bodies in the State of S?o Paulo was based on the fingerprints obtained for human and animal sources. Most of the sampling sites appeared to be affected by mixed sources of fecal contamination. The use of BOX-PCR for BST could be especially valuable in developing countries, where simplicity and cost are important considerations.     

Practical and ethical considerations of agricultural research assistance for the Third World

The right to eat and to an adequate standard of living for everyone motivates agricultural research assistance to developing countries with the primary objective of assuring sufficient food supply. This article focuses on aspects of food production and related agricultural research with specific examples from animal production. It discusses ethics of agricultural research in light of the utilitarian theory and compares livestock production in developing and developed countries. Major reasons for low outputs of animal production in developing countries are identified, and the potential for increasing the productivity of original, extensive production systems is evaluated. The article reviews the current status of biotechnology in developing countries and discusses several advanced animal technologies. The conclusions emphasize the need to involve local professionals in all phases of research and technology transfer in developing countries, avoidance of research that may worsen the situation of the recipients, sustainability of production systems, and the need for detailed assessment of potential impacts of technology on recipients.     

WATER AND WATER PROBLEMS IN THE SOUTHWEST FLORIDA WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT AND SOME POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS1

ABSTRACT: It is estimated that by about 1984 water demand in the District will nearly equal Nature's average annual replenishment of the supply and that, thereafter, unless means are developed to augment our in-District resources, water mining will be required on a grand scale. Sources of augmentation include: (1) reduction of wastes; (2) industrial recycling of previously-used water; (3) use of municipal sewage effluents; (4) desalination of brackish ground water; (5) aquifer recharge from all available, high-quality sources, particularly flood waters; and (6) importation of excess waters from such out-of-District sources as the lower courses of the Suwannee and Apalachicola Rivers. To achieve maximum beneficial uses of in-District sources a regional water and sewer authority is needed that can develop and transmit water from all available sources to the various county and city systems on a wholesale basis. It is envisioned that such a supply system would tie together all production sources, much as the electrical generation and supply systems are currently organized into regional electric power hookups. At least two bills are currently before the Florida Legislature to achieve these goals.     

Pricing of Natural Gas in Developing Countries

The uncertain supply and increasing cost of petroleum products since 1973 has spurred on the development of alternative forms of energy. Natural gas is a major source of energy in over 50 developing countries. In these countries natural gas has many uses as a substitute for other fuels or as a feedstock. This paper discusses the economic concept for pricing of natural gas, in particular marginal costs, and estimates the economic cost of natural gas in developing countries under a wide range of conditions. The marginal cost of natural gas estimated for these countries is far below the border price of competing fuels. Because natural gas is in its early days of development, gas supply costs are not expected to rise in these countries within the next two decades as already proven reserves are tapped.     

Experience with Rainwater Catchment Systems in Kenya and Botswana

Rainwater catchment is a valuable but frequently neglected alternative a domestic water supply in the developing world. In the arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya and Botswana a number of water supply programmes which depend wholly or in part on rainwater catchment are currently being implemented. This paper discusses this experience and describes the various construction techniques being used. It has been found that rainwater catchments has a number of very unique advantages and relatively few disadvantages. It is argued that more consideration should be given to the inclusion of rainwater catchment systems, especially in rural water supply programmes.     

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 .     

Community‐based water supplies in Cikarang,Indonesia: are they sustainable?

Community‐based water supply (CBWS) is an example of how a community manages common pool resources (CPR). This results in an alternative approach to solve water supply problems in developing countries by enhancing community participation in managing water supply. This research evaluates the sustainability of five CBWS projects in Cikarang, Indonesia by using Ostrom's design principles, with additional sustainability factors found in the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on drinking water and groundwater sustainability. Quinn et al. (2007) criteria were used in the analysis, and the results show that the management of four CBWS institutions were absent and one CBWS institution was weak. With regards to the SDG's drinking water target, the CBWS institutions were unable to comply with safe water standards, and in terms of groundwater sustainability, efforts to monitor and sustain groundwater tables were absent. Results from this research suggest that more focus must be placed on water quality and groundwater sustainability for CBWS projects.     

WATER SUPPLY AND WASTEWATER DISPOSAL IN RURAL AREAS OF INDIA1

ABSTRACT: Piped water supply and sewerage have been taken almost for granted in the developed countries. However, most people in the United States have little knowledge of the condition of public health amenities in the developing countries. The paper reviews the importance, background and current status of water and wastewater facilities in India. The relative situation in urban and rural areas, conventional practices in environmental hygiene, the programs for improvement and the problems involved with possible solutions are given. The case history of a town is also included for illustrative purposes.     

应建立城市供水与污水处理的一体化企业经营模式

本文论述了城市供水及污水处理中存在的问题,提出了解决城市供水和污水处理问题的基本原则,进而提出建立供水与污水处理一体化企业经营模式,以解决城市污水处理问题。     

Seeking calm water: Exploring policy options for India's water future

This paper seeks to identify some promising policy options which could be part of a strategic and holistic effort to address India's future water challenges. Significant increases in agricultural water productivity would be a major factor in reducing the need for developing new water sources. Crop diversification, appropriately targeted to account for the present agricultural systems and available water resources, will increase productivity. Furthermore, much more emphasis needs to be placed on effective management of the groundwater resources through renewed efforts to enhance artificial recharge and conservation. Also, efforts should be revived to improve the existing surface irrigation systems. In particular, systems could be reconfigured to provide a more reliable water supply and allow effective community level management, where appropriate. Finally, while some of the increasing demands from domestic and industrial users will be met by the development of groundwater and reallocation of water from the agricultural sector, this will not be sufficient. Given that such conditions are emerging in states with high economic growth and relatively water scarce basins, this will require the further development of water resources. In some cases, these conditions along with the demand for reliable water for high value crops, will be part of the justification for inter‐basin transfers.     

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.     

长庆油田水处理新技术研究

长庆油房庄油田水经过处理后仍具有较高的矿化度、较多的悬浮物及残留油,同时其SRB严重超标。现场处理水质不稳定,在进行回注时与地层的配伍性较差。针对这些情况,研究了一种新型的水处理工艺技术。对成垢离子调整剂、水质净化剂和成垢离子钝化剂进行了筛选,并对含油污水的成垢离子含量及比例进行了调整。运用这种技术,使油房庄油田水经处理后达到回注水的标准,且提高了与地层的配伍性。同时提出了新型水处理技术的工艺流程。     

Water quality and Health

There is still serious impact of inadequate and unsafe water supply on human health in many countries, and not only in developing ones. Waterborne diseases, such as diarrhoea, are responsible for more than 3 million deaths per year. Vector-borne diseases, such as malaria and schistosomiasis, are still rampant in the tropics causing severe human suffering and economic losses. Chemical hazards related to water are not only due to the presence of toxic substances, such as pesticides or heavy metals, but also due to excessive or deficient amounts of natural substances such as fluoride or iodine. Chemical risks have to be balanced with biological risks, and disinfection practices enforced without compromises. There is a long way to go, however, to fill the gaps in service coverage for water supply and sanitation, particularly in the rural areas and in the impoverished periurban areas. Various international programmes are in place or being initiated to this end.