Engineering and Development: Good Intentions and Real Solutions – Water and Sanitation

1. Engineering and Development: Good Intentions and Real Solutions – Water and Sanitation Thomas Soerens tsoerens@uark.edu

2. Outline • Background: what’s the problem? • Case Studies: • Maldives • Amazon • China • Lessons and Issues

3. Oct 17, 1989 • 7.0 earthquake hits Bay Area, Cal • 63 people killed • Jan 12, 2010 • 7.0 earthquake hits Haiti • 230,000 people killed • What’s the difference • Infrastructure • Symptom of poverty

4. Next 2 slides from:

5. Luby, 2009

6. Luby, 2009

7. Background: What’s the problem? • The need for clean water • 1.1 Billion people on earth lack improved water source (pipe, well, or protected spring). • 2.7 billion lack sanitation • 3.4 million people, mostly children, die each year from waterborne diseases. • Twenty 747s full of children per day • Millions of people, mostly women, must walk for miles and hours to get water.

8. Water supply coverage 0%~25% 25%~50% 51%~75% 76%~90% 91%~100% Missing data Water Supply Coverage (2000) Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 Report (WHO and UNICEF)

9. Sanitation coverage 0%~25% 25%~50% 51%~75% 76%~90% 91%~100% Missing data Sanitation Coverage (2000) Global Water Supply and Sanitation Assessment 2000 Report (WHO and UNICEF)

11. Access to sanitation is one of the strongest determinants of child survival: the transition from unimproved to improved sanitation reduces child mortality by a third

12. Myths, Ironies, Barriers • Myth: They develop immunity • No they don’t, they die. • Myth: They’re happy • They don’t want their kids to die. • Irony: High rainfall areas lack clean water • But quantity = quality to a certain degree • Irony: Poor people pay more for water than rich people

13. 85% of the richest 20% of the population have access to water. Only 25% of the poorest 20% do. • In many places,the poorest people get less water, and they also pay some of the world’s highest prices. note: $1.25 per 20 oz bottled water = $2113 per cubic metre = ~ 2000 times cost of tap water

14. Barriers • Barrier: Lack of hygiene knowledge • Barrier: Not a perceived priority • Barrier: Hard to break tradition • Counterpoint: everyone who has money has decent water and sanitation.

15. Possible Solutions - Water • Terms: WatSan, WASH • Wells • Improved, sealed • Handpumps • Cost, maintenance • Playpumps – lessons learned • Storage • Unintended consequences • Africa: deforestation, etc. • Bangladesh: Arsenic poisoning

16. Possible Solutions - Water • Rainwater Catchment • Large or small scale, public or household • traditional, but currently underutilized • Practicality and economics depend on • Amount and timing of rain • Scale of application • Other water sources

17. Possible Solutions - Water • Spring capture • Hydraulic ram (uses energy of stream) • Storage and distribution systems • Well, spring, surface water • May include treatment, e.g., filter • Urban • e.g, Bogotá • With money, this will ~always result

18. Possible Solutions - Water • Household water treatment – (WHO) • Household filters • Biosand filters (cawst.org) • Ceramic filters • Potters for Peace • Solar disinfection - SODIS • Chemical additives (Pur) • Education • Knowledge of hygiene • Maintenance of systems

19. Possible Solutions - Sanitation • Latrines, pit toilets • appropriate? • Septic systems • infiltration?

20. Possible Solutions - Sanitation • Sewer systems • small-bore sewers • can do at any scale • treatment! • O&M • discharge • enough water? • Health and Hygiene education

21. Costs

22. Case Study: Maldives • Private project in 1988-89 • Where’s Maldives?

23. Maldives

24. Maalhos Island

25. Our Island

27. Maldives Project • RAEMAS - Research And Education in Mariculture and Agriculture Systems • Water and Sanitation • People want septic systems • but would contaminate well water • Strategy • build rainwater tanks • use drain fields instead of pits

41. Keeping it real • do you have this on your island? • Huriha dhon mihun bo sakarai • what did your mother teach you?

42. Results • Septic tank conclusions • given: people were going to build septic systems • we came up with a way that reduces the effects on well water quality • can educate, influence, but cannot totally change people

43. Appropriate Technology • Don’t just export your own technology • culturally, economically, and technically appropriate • Sustainability • “sustainability” is broader but includes much of what we used to call “appropriate tech” • Five factors (McConville, 2006) • Socio-cultural Respect • Community participation • Political cohesion • Economic sustainability • Environmental sustainability • McConville, J.R. 2006, “Applying Life Cycle Thinking to International Water and Sanitation Development Projects: An assessment tool for project managers in sustainable development work”, Michigan Tech, Environmental Engineering MS Report.

44. Culturally Appropriate?

45. Appropriate Technology • Counterpoint • “Appropriate technology … means good things for rich people and sh*t for the poor” • Father Lafontant, “Mountains Beyond Mountains” • “Appropriate technology is dead” • Paul Polack: must have market solutions • Maldive mistakes • elevated pit toilets • community toilets

46. Case Study: Amazon • Indigenous (Ticuna and Yagua) villages near Leticia, Colombia, including Brazil and Peru • At the request of missionaries • December ’04 to August ‘06

47. Leticia, Colombia

48. Amazon Project - Background • At request of Christian missionary who works with indigenous pastors • Children were dying of waterborne diseases. • Unclean water during rainy season • Use river during dry season

49. Amazon Project – Constraints and Assists • Solution needs to make it to village by canoe • Note: Leticia is 500 miles from nearest highway • Many villages already have water tanks • Most villages do not have sand available • Each village is a little different • Accessibility, Resources, Buildings, Country • Have relationship in villages through pastors • some have church buildings

50. On the Amazon on the way to villages