Sanitation: What’s the Real Problem?

Duncan Mara, University of Leeds

It can’t be technology!

We have a small range of proven sanitation technologies:• Arborloos

• Single-pit VIP latrines

• eThekwini latrines

• Pour-flush latrines

• Household-level biogas latrines

• Simplified sewerage

• Low-cost combined sewerage

• Community-managed sanitation blocks

An urbanizing world

It can’t be technology!

We have a small range of proven sanitation technologies:• Arborloos

• Single-pit VIP latrines

• eThekwini latrines

• Pour-flush latrines

• Household-level biogas latrines

• Simplified sewerage

• Low-cost combined sewerage

• Community-managed sanitation blocks

Simplified sewerage

Rigorous hydraulic design based on:

• a minimum sewer diameter of 100 mm

• a minimum tractive tension of 1 N/m2

• a minimum value for peak wastewater

flow of 1.5 litres/second

This results in a minimum gradient of 1

in 200, and a 100 mm dia. sewer being

able to serve 234 households of 5 people

with a water consumption of 100 litres/

person day (or 10 people @ 50 lpd).

Simplified sewerage

Rigorous hydraulic design based on:

• a minimum sewer diameter of 100 mm

• a minimum tractive tension of 1 N/m2

• a minimum value for peak wastewater

flow of 1.5 litres/second

This results in a minimum gradient of 1

in 200, and a 100 mm dia. sewer being

able to serve 234 households of 5 people

with a water consumption of 100 litres/

person day (or 10 people @ 50 lpd).

Small flows flow better in small pipes

Simplified sewerage

Rigorous hydraulic design based on:

• a minimum sewer diameter of 100 mm

• a minimum tractive tension of 1 N/m2

• a minimum value for peak wastewater

flow of 1.5 litres/second

This results in a minimum gradient of 1

in 200, and a 100-mm dia. sewer being

able to serve 234 households of 5 people

with a water consumption of 100 litres/

person day (or 10 people @ 50 lpd).

Best option

in

poor areas

Natal,

Northeast

Brazil, 1983

Simplified

sewerage

Simplified sewerage Monthly cost to householder

State of Rio Grande do Norte in northeast

Brazil, January 2008:

Minimum water tariff:

BRL 18.10 (USD 10.00)

35% surcharge for simplified sewerage

BRL 6.34 (USD 3.50)

(1.7% of minimum wage)

Simplified sewerage Monthly cost to householder

State of Rio Grande do Norte in northeast

Brazil, January 2008:

Minimum water tariff:

BRL 18.10 (USD 10.00)

35% surcharge for simplified sewerage

BRL 6.34 (USD 3.50)

(1.7% of minimum wage)

Dublin Statement“The basic right of all human

beings to have access to clean water and sanitation at

an affordable price”

Community-managed sanitation block

in Kibera

Capital cost:USD 8 per person

Community-managed sanitation block

in Kibera

Capital cost:USD 8 per person

Actually it’s awater & sanitation

block

Payment on a per-use basis

GBP 1 = KES 130USD 1 = KES 80

Use toilet: 2pShower: 4p

20 litres water: 2p

Where does the blame now lie?

… the blame for:

• the 1−2 billion without an adequate water supply

• the 3−4 billion without adequate sanitation

• the 1.15 billion open defecators

• the very low %age of wastewater treated

Where does the blame now lie?

… the blame for:

• the 1−2 billion without an adequate water supply

• the 3−4 billion without adequate sanitation

• the 1.15 billion open defecators

• the very low %age of wastewater treated

Where does the blame now lie?

… the blame for:

• the 1−2 billion without an adequate water supply

• the 3−4 billion without adequatesanitation

• the 1.15 billion open defecators

• the very low %age of wastewater treated

Where does the blame now lie?

… the blame for:

• the 1−2 billion without an adequate water supply

• the 3−4 billion without adequatesanitation

• the 1.15 billion open defecators

• the very low %age of wastewater treated

Where does the blame now lie?

… the blame for:

• the 1−2 billion without an adequate water supply

• the 3−4 billion without adequatesanitation

• the 1.15 billion open defecators

• the very low %age of wastewater treated

The blame now rests with …

The blame now rests with …… developing-country gov’ts

The blame now rests with …… developing-country gov’ts• that have chosen not to invest in

water & sanitation for all their citizens and to passively accept the resulting morbidity and mortality

The blame now rests with …… developing-country gov’ts• that have chosen not to invest in

water & sanitation for all their citizens and to passively accept the resulting morbidity and mortality

• and chosen not to treat wastewater and not to prevent the use of untreated wastewater for crop irrigation

Plenty of very fine words, but not much action

However, some countries have done very well

Some countries have done very well

MALAYSIA in 2008Urban: 96% improved and 4% shared sanitation

Rural: 95% improved and 4% shared sanitation and 1% OD

THAILAND in 2008Urban: 96% improved and 4% shared sanitation

Rural: 95% improved and 4% shared sanitation and 1% OD

Some countries have done very well

MALAYSIA in 2008Urban: 96% improved and 4% shared sanitation

Rural: 95% improved and 4% shared sanitation and 1% OD

THAILAND in 2008Urban: 95% improved and 5% shared sanitation

Rural: 96% improved and 4% shared sanitation

Have MALAYSIA and THAILAND (and all the industrialized countries) done so well because they “think clean”?

Quite a few countries don’t seem to think clean …

Have MALAYSIA and THAILAND (and all the industrialized countries) done so well because they “think clean”?

Quite a few countries don’t seem to think clean …

Countries with >20% ODers in 2008

AFRICA: Angola (23%), Benin (60%), Burkina Faso (64%), Cabo Verde (42%), Central African Republic (20%), Chad (65%), Côte d’Ivoire (27%), Eritrea (85%), Ethiopia (60%), Ghana (20%), Guinea (22%), Guinea-Bissau (31%), Lesotho (40%), Liberia (49%), Madagascar (32%), Mauritania (53%), Mozambique (42%), Namibia (53%), Niger (79%), Nigeria (22%), São Tome & Principe (55%), Senegal (19%), Sierra Leone (24%), Somalia (54%), Sudan (41%), Togo (55%), Zimbabwe (25%)

ASIA: Cambodia (64%), India (54%), Indonesia (26%), Laos (38%), Nepal (52%), Pakistan (27%), Timor-Leste (43%), Yemen (25%)

LATIN AMERICA & CARIBBEAN: Bolivia (21%), Haiti (30%)

Devloping world as a whole: 21%

What’s stopping other countries doing as well as Malaysia and Thailand?

Probably several/many reasons − for example:

• Politicians and senior civil servants don’t think that ‘thinking clean’ is that important

−“No solutions without political solutions”

• Technical ignorance of local engineers and planners

• Too much corruption in the water sector

What’s stopping other countries doing as well as Malaysia and Thailand?

Probably several reasons − for example:

• Politicians and senior civil servants don’t think that ‘thinking clean’ is that important

−“No solutions without political solutions”

• Technical ignorance of local engineers and planners

• Too much corruption in the water sector

What’s stopping other countries doing as well as Malaysia and Thailand?

Probably several reasons − for example:

• Politicians and senior civil servants don’t think that ‘thinking clean’ is that important

− “No solutions without political solutions”

• Technical ignorance of local engineers and planners

• Too much corruption in the water sector

What’s stopping other countries doing as well as Malaysia and Thailand?

Probably several reasons − for example:

• Politicians and senior civil servants don’t think that ‘thinking clean’ is that important

− “No solutions without political solutions”

• Technical ignorance of local engineers and planners

• Too much corruption in the water sector

What’s stopping other countries doing as well as Malaysia and Thailand?

Probably several reasons − for example:

• Politicians and senior civil servants don’t think that ‘thinking clean’ is that important

− “No solutions without political solutions”

• Technical ignorance of local engineers and planners

• Too much corruption in the water sector