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.     

Assessing hygiene and health related improvements of a rural water supply and sanitation programme in northern Ghana

A case control study was carried out to assess hygiene and health related improvements of the Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Programme in the Upper East Region of Ghana. Hygienic improvements were measured in terms of sources of water collection and storage arrangements, waste disposal, hand washing, food storage arrangements, and defecation and practices associated with faeces. The perception of women on the mode of transmission and treatment of selected water and sanitation related diseases were the criteria used to assess health related improvements. Comparison of the results in the programme and non-programme communities indicates that the water and sanitation programme has achieved some degree of success in the areas of water use and water and food storage for the beneficiaries. However, little has been accomplished in changing people's attitude towards the disposal of household, animal and human waste. In addition, the programme has so far been minimally effective in enhancing women's knowledge about the transmission and treatment of water and sanitation related diseases.     

Computer and mobile phone waste in urban India: an analysis from the perspectives of public perception,consumption and disposal behaviour

Sustainable management of Electronic waste (E-waste) is a major challenge for contemporary India, an emerging economy burdened with both the domestic generation and illegal import of E-waste. Considering the ever-increasing complexities of E-waste in Indian cities, this paper aims to evaluate the current trends, opportunities and challenges associated with consumption of electronic items (with respect to computers and mobile phones) and disposal of E-waste in urban India. Bangalore, a city popularly known as the ‘Silicon Valley of India’, is considered as a case study in order to evaluate public awareness, household consumption and E-waste disposal behaviours. The city profile of Bangalore indicates that it has a rapidly emerging market for electronics and thus, has the potential to act as a ‘model’ for evaluating the issues concerning E-waste in metropolitan India. Questionnaires were distributed originally among 300 households with an effective response rate of 63.3%. The results indicate that the majority of households (59.3%) still retain their obsolete electronics due to lack of knowledge about proper E-waste management. High awareness about E-waste and high willingness to recycle/repair their E-waste (above 80% in both cases) are yet to be translated into responsible disposal/recycling behaviour as 95.8% of households have no knowledge about the presence of any formal recycling centre. Income, education, age and gender dimensions associated with E-waste disposal behaviour and awareness were also evaluated. Although we found no gender differences for most of the parameters, there have been some interesting correlations in age and income-wise segregation of disposal behaviour. We noted that the city of Bangalore still possesses some typical Indian socio-cultural characteristics, such as considering E-waste as ‘valuables’, changing several hands before final disposal, defying ‘brand’ or ‘looks’ consciousness, etc., which could be directed towards responsible E-waste disposal behaviours. We suggest that establishing appropriate and convenient E-waste collection/recycling facilities, ensuring responsible household disposal behaviour, implementing effective laws and legislation, and organizing mass E-waste awareness campaigns would aid in addressing the current E-waste concerns in the city.     

A value proposition: Resource recovery from faecal sludge—Can it be the driver for improved sanitation?

There is currently a lack of access to affordable sanitation in urban areas of Sub-Saharan Africa. This study evaluated the potential for resource recovery from innovative faecal sludge treatment processes to generate a profit that could help sustain the sanitation service chain. A total of 242 interviews were conducted in Accra, Ghana; Dakar, Senegal; and Kampala, Uganda to compare markets in different cultural and regional contexts. Products identified to have potential market value include dry sludge as a fuel for combustion, biogas from anaerobic digestion, protein derived from sludge processing as animal feed, sludge as a component in building materials, and sludge as a soil conditioner. The market demand and potential revenue varied from city to city based on factors such as sludge characteristics, existing markets, local and regional industrial sectors, subsidies, and locally available materials. Use as a soil conditioner, which has been the most common end use of treated sludge, was not as profitable as other end uses. These findings should help policy and decision makers of sanitation service provision to design financially viable management systems based on resource recovery options.     

Public consultation on artificial aquifer recharge using treated municipal wastewater

A questionnaire was prepared and distributed among professionals from various fields, in an effort to gather public perception regarding recharge of groundwater using treated municipal wastewater. This was done as part of a study to assess the feasibility of implementing Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT) using treated municipal wastewater in parts of central India. This paper presents the perception of people toward artificial recharge and determines the primary concerns among members of the public, so that these can be addressed while carrying out pilot studies. This is the first such public survey that has been carried out in India.The questionnaire was sent to approximately 500 people through e-mail and was uploaded on a popular online portal that deals with water and sanitation issues. 194 correctly filled questionnaires were collected, the results of which are presented in this paper. 87 (45%) questionnaires were filled by environmental professionals including members of the research community, teachers and public health and municipal corporation officials. The rest were filled by members of the general public, including 15 students and 48 non-environmental professionals. Out of 194 respondents, 64.4% were in favor of using treated municipal wastewater for artificial recharge of groundwater, 28.4% opposed and 7.2% remained indifferent.This survey revealed that the primary concern among respondents was the effectiveness of wastewater treatment in India, and not the recharge technique itself. More than 50% of those who support SAT expressed uncertainty as to whether secondary effluent from wastewater treatment plants is being treated to a quality suitable for injecting into the aquifer.     

The consequences of backcountry surface disposal of human waste in an alpine, temperate forest and arid environment

Surface disposal of human waste by the smear method, a suggested but heretofore unexamined technique, was tested in three environments and examined for reductions in fecal mass and fecal indicator bacteria. Substantial reduction in fecal mass was observed after six and fourteen weeks of exposure in all environments, but extensive reduction in fecal indicator bacteria was observed in only the arid and alpine environments. Although surface smears appear favorable to cathole techniques in terms of indicator bacteria reduction, the application of this method is limited by several other factors common to backcountry sanitation situations. It is therefore likely that surface disposal would only be applicable in very remote, low use, alpine and arid settings where lack of soil development precludes the use of catholes and carry-out techniques are otherwise impractical.     

Municipal Solid Waste Management in the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana

Municipal solid waste management in Accra, Ghana, is at present delivered in an unsustainable manner. Due to uncontrolled urbanisation, large quantities of waste are generated daily in Accra, and this exerts much pressure on an over strained solid waste management system. Coupled with weak institutional capacity, and lack of resources, both human and capital, the city authorities face difficulties in ensuring that all the waste generated in the city is collected for disposal. Home collection of waste is limited to high and, some middle income areas while the poor are left to contend with the problem on their own. This leads to indiscriminate disposal of waste in surface drains, canals and streams, creating unsanitary, and unsightly environments in many parts of the city.     

Quality of life in selected slums of Kolkata: a step forward in the era of pseudo-urbanisation

Urbanisation is the proportionate increase in the urban population with respect to the total population. In India urbanisation was never a result of a strong economic base of cities. It was distress and poverty in rural areas that resulted in a huge influx of rural migrants into urban areas. The pace of urbanisation gained momentum after 1941 with the percentage of people living in urban areas increasing to 31.16% in 2011. The pattern of urbanisation is characterised by continuous concentration of population in the megacities and in Class I cities. India’s urbanisation is best described as pseudo-urbanisation, a condition in which a large city is formed without a functional infrastructure to support it. Migration and pseudo-urbanisation lead to demographic explosion and a progressive concentration of poor migrants in the cities, followed by misery, poverty, unemployment, exploitation, rapid growth of slums and degradation in the quality of urban life. Slums are usually characterised by poor housing conditions, inadequate physical infrastructure, deprivations in socio-economic conditions, health, hygiene and lack of safety and security. Two slums were chosen within the Kolkata Municipal Corporation for assessing the quality of life. Despite government initiatives the condition of the slum dwellers has not improved much.     

The Causes,Effects, and Disease Burden Attributable to Water Quality and Sanitation Conditions in the Kassena Nankana Municipality,Ghana

The goal of this study was to assess water‐ and sanitation‐related diseases in the Kassena Nankana municipality using surveys and laboratory analyses. A total of 152 heads of households were contacted for both quantitative and qualitative research analysis. The study showed that the causes of water and sanitation diseases in the municipality were open defecation, 78 (51%); indiscriminate solid waste disposal, 31 (20%); closeness of households to refuse dumps (within 50 meters [m]), 89 (59%), and lack of access to pipe‐borne water, 93 (61%). Further analysis of water samples from pipes, boreholes, and wells revealed that out of the 20 samples, 15 (75%) tested positive for both total and fecal coliforms with values between1 and 6 colony‐forming units (CFU) per 100 milliliter (mL) sample. There is also increasing evidence that malaria contributes the greatest disease burden in the municipality, being responsible for around 23.1% of all disability adjusted life years (DALYs) between 2009 and 2013. Diarrhea and typhoid have the second and third highest disease burden rates and were responsible for approximately 19.5% and 1.2% of all DALYs between 2009 and 2013, respectively. A major recommendation of this study is that education on good sanitation be intensified, as 75 (49%) of the respondents did not attend child care programs where education on how to maintain good sanitation is given.     

An illicit economy: scavenging and recycling of medical waste

This paper discusses a significant illicit economy, including black and grey aspects, associated with medical waste scavenging and recycling in a megacity, considering hazards to the specific group involved in scavenging as well as hazards to the general population of city dwellers. Data were collected in Dhaka, Bangladesh, using a variety of techniques based on formal representative sampling for fixed populations (such as recycling operatives) and adaptive sampling for roaming populations (such as scavengers). Extremely hazardous items (including date expired medicines, used syringes, knives, blades and saline bags) were scavenged, repackaged and resold to the community. Some HCE employees were also observed to sell hazardous items directly to scavengers, and both employees and scavengers were observed to supply contaminated items to an informal plastics recycling industry. This trade was made possible by the absence of segregation, secure storage and proper disposal of medical waste. Corruption, a lack of accountability and individual responsibility were also found to be contributors. In most cases the individuals involved with these activities did not understand the risks. Although motivation was often for personal gain or in support of substance abuse, participants sometimes felt that they were providing a useful service to the community.     

A case for urban liveability from below: exploring the politics of water and land access for greater liveability in Kampala,Uganda

ABSTRACT

Improving urban liveability and prosperity is commonly set as a priority in urban development plans and policy around the world. Several annual reports produced by international consulting firms, media, and global agencies rank the liveability of cities based on a set of indicators, to represent the quality of life in these cities. The higher is the ranking, the more liveable is the city. In this paper, we argue that such quantitative approaches to framing and addressing urban liveability challenges leave little room to reflect on people's experiences of this liveability, which cannot be expressed through numbers. To illustrate our argument, we draw on empirical evidence of urban liveability challenges in access to water and land in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda, ranked recently as the most liveable East African city by various global agencies and media outlets. By showing that increasing the number of water connections does not guarantee improved access to water and sanitation in the long run, first, we demonstrate how urban liveability challenges are tightly linked with land-title issues in the city. Second, we highlight the political game-playing between the central government, the opposition, the traditional leadership, and the slum dwellers in governance processes of service delivery. Finally, by arguing that urban liveability can be enhanced by broadening political participation in city development planning, we discuss some of the strategies that can be used by communities to make collective claims towards improving their quality of life and the environment.     

Alternative treatment for septic tank sludge: co-digestion with municipal solid waste in bioreactor landfill simulators

Co-disposal of septic tank sludge had a positive effect on the municipal solid waste (MSW) stabilisation process in Bioreactor Landfill simulators. Co-disposal experiments were carried out using the Bioreactor Landfill approach aiming to solve the environmental problems caused by indiscriminate and inadequate disposal of MSW and especially of septic tank sludge. The simulator receiving septic tank sludge exhibited a 200 days shorter lag-phase as compared to the 350 days required by the control simulator to start the exponential biogas production. Additionally, the simulator with septic sludge apparently retained more moisture (>60% w/w), which enhanced the overall conversion of organic matter hence increasing the biogas production (0.60 m3 biogas kg(-1)VS(converted)) and removal efficiency of 60% for VS from the simulator. Alkaline pH values (pH>8.5) did not inhibit the biogas production; moreover it contributed to reduce partially the negative effects of NH(4)(+) (>2 g L(-1)) due to NH(3) volatilisation thus reducing the nitrogen content of the residues. Associated risks and hazards with septage disposal were practically eliminated as total coliform and faecal coliform contents were reduced by 99% and 100%, respectively at the end of the experiment. These results indicate that co-disposal has two direct benefits, including the safe and environmentally sound disposal of septic tank sludge and an improvement of the overall performance of the Bioreactor Landfill by increasing moisture retention and supplying a more acclimatised bacterial population.     

枣庄市医疗废物处理对策研究浅析

通过对医疗废物的危害和相关处理技术等问题的研究,提出枣庄市医疗废物处理对策的研究方案,为建立枣庄市医疗废物集中处理中心提供参考,可作为政府及相关业务主管部门的决策依据。     

Public Perception of Flood Hazard in the Niger Delta,Nigeria

Summary Our study had the aim of understanding how floodplain dwellers regard the risk of flooding. About 500 questionnaires were administered to landowners in the selected settlements in the study area using systematic random sampling. The results of analysis show, among other things, that the population regards most important the causes of floods as heavy, prolonged rainfall and river overflow. Nevertheless, they have little knowledge of the frequency of severe floods, and flood alleviation schemes. Most flood victims do not get compensation or relief during flood disaster, and the reason why they remain in the study area is influenced by their occupations, especially fishing, subsistence agriculture, and the presence of crude oil in the region which has attracted many migrants who cannot afford the high cost of accommodation and are therefore forced to live in vulnerable areas of the floodplain. Finally, the study concludes that flood control in the region needs the cooperation of government, community efforts and an enlightenment programmes through environmental education and mass media.     

Evaluation Criteria for Implementation of a Sustainable Sanitation and Wastewater Treatment System at Jiuzhaigou National Park, Sichuan Province, China

The administration of Jiuzhaigou National Park in Sichuan Province, China, is in the process of considering a range of upgrades to their sanitation and wastewater treatment systems. Their case history involves an ongoing series of engineering design flaws and management failures. The administration of the Park identified sustainability, environmental protection, and education goals for their sanitation and wastewater treatment system. To meet the goal of sustainability, environmental and economic concerns of the Park’s administration had to be balanced with socio-cultural needs. An advanced reconnaissance method was developed that identified reasons for previous failures, conducted stakeholder analysis and interviews, determined evaluation criteria, and introduced innovative alternatives with records of successful global implementations. This evaluation also helped the Park to better define their goals. To prevent future failures, the administration of the Park must commit to a balanced and thorough evaluation process for selection of a final alternative and institute effective long-term management and monitoring of systems. In addition, to meet goals and achieve energy efficient, cost-effective use of resources, the Park must shift their thinking from one of waste disposal to resource recovery. The method and criteria developed for this case study provides a framework to aid in the successful implementation of sanitation projects in both underdeveloped and developed areas of the world, incorporating socio-cultural values and resource recovery for a complex group of stakeholders.     

Potential health hazard of drinking water in restaurants and tea stalls

Potable and equitable drinking water (DW) is a fundamental human right and essential for human health. This study is conducted to assess the groundwater and jar water quality of the roadside restaurants and tea stalls used for drinking by the local people around the Gazipur City area in Bangladesh. Water samples from 173 restaurants and tea stalls are collected. The physico-chemical and biological parameters are analyzed according to the guidelines and standards. The results illustrate that the color, EC, and Mn of 41%, 80%, and 62% of the samples, respectively, exceed the WHO and Environmental Conservation Rules (ECR) standards. In addition, E. coli and total coliform exceeding the threshold standards are found in 47% and 64% of the water samples, respectively. The contamination of DW by fecal coliforms is confirmed and supported by prior studies, which indicates that the DW supplied in restaurants and tea stalls are unsafe because of the possible presence of pathogens. These may cause potential health hazards to consumers from various water-borne diseases. Poor sanitation, unhygienic practices, and improper disposal of wastewater are responsible for the microbial contamination of DW. So, the authorities in charge of these places should take the right regulatory steps, such as regular sanitation inspections, DW quality monitoring, hand-washing practices, and better sanitation in these places.     

Gravity model formulation for an extensive National Parkway Site

The purpose of this study was to collect specific information on the characteristics and intensity of local Blue Ridge Parkway use and to use that information to develop a recreation use model of local Parkway visitation. Data were obtained from a self-administered mail-back questionnaire sent to a random sample of people living in the 29 counties adjacent to the Parkway.We developed two recreation use projection/demand models that employ three variables (distance, alternative recreation sites, and population density) to predict visitation to different Parkway areas from various local origins. The derived model estimates indicated that about one-fourth of all Parkway visits in 1978 were one-day visits made by area residents.     

城市生活垃圾处理能力提升的驱动因素研究——基于2004—2020年30个省份的实证分析

提升末端生活垃圾处理能力,走出城市“垃圾围城”之困,一直是地方政府关切的核心议题。为探究城市生活垃圾处理能力的影响因素及其时空差异,从“政府能力系统”视角出发,围绕需求驱动、经济驱动、政策驱动、技术驱动四个维度,提出相关研究假设,并运用2004—2020年30个省份的面板数据进行实证检验。研究发现：生活垃圾清运量、人均GDP、地方环保支出、政策文本出台数量、无害化处理厂数量以及市容环卫专用车辆数均对城市生活垃圾处理能力的提升具有促进作用。在时间变化上,2004—2007年为生活垃圾处理能力初创阶段,受到经济、政策与技术驱动因素的显著影响; 2008—2016年为生活处理能力缓慢提升和局部发展阶段,持续受到技术驱动因素的显著作用;2017—2020年为处理能力全面提升阶段,需求、经济与技术因素均呈现出显著促进作用。在区域变化上,经济驱动的影响效应由东部向西部逐渐减弱,需求驱动、政策驱动因素只在东部地区影响显著,技术驱动因素对不同区域的生活垃圾处理能力均具有显著促进作用。最后,研究从源头减量、资金投入、政策倾斜与技术创新等方面,对促进中国城市生活垃圾处理能力的发展提供了相应的政策建议。     

南充市城郊农村居民的环境法律意识调查与分析

本文通过采用问卷调查和走访调查的方法,对南充市两县三区的城郊农村居民进行了抽样调查。调查结果发现,当地城郊农村居民环境法律“知”的水平中等、个体差异较大,环境法律“行”的水平偏低,“知”与“行”之间存在脱节现象。这与当地城郊农村居民的文化程度和所处地域有关。为此,提出了从“知”和“行”上加强当地城郊农村居民的环境法律知识教育和环境维权意识教育的建议,这也是提高城郊农村居民环境法律意识的途径所在。     

The cost of water

Summary For all too many developing countries, it is a case of “Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink”. In many of the Least Developed Countries, safe drinking water and excreta disposal facilities are sadly inadequate. Published by kind permission ofWorld Health, WHO, Geneva, Switzerland. Miss Uma Ram Nath is a freelance journalist from New Delhi, India, writing on Third World development themes.