WASH Response to Urban Floods

1. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF WASH Response to Urban Floods Session 3 Plan and Response to Urban Floods

2. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Session overview UF3

3. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Stakeholders in planning for the WASH response in an urban floods setting Identify key stakeholders in planning the WASH response? Role of each group in planning for the response? UF3

4. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF • Additional items may be included in the non-food item (NFI) / hygiene kits e.g. impregnated mosquito nets, oral rehydration salts * • Additional messages for communication efforts: • Management of diarrhoea, malaria, urinary infection • Operation and maintenance of facilities given high groundwater levels • Hygienic waste disposal - avoiding drainage systems and waterways becoming blocked with waste • Specific targeting of different groups, distinguishing between those residing in camps and those in dwellings • * Approach to managing diarrhoea to be agreed with MoH and Health Cluster Hygiene Promotion – considerations in an urban flood setting UF3

5. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF • Inform the WASH Cluster / sector agencies • Acquire resources • Start clearing the mud and evacuating stagnant water • Repair the electrical system • Repair or replace damaged pumps and valves • Repair the water treatment tanks and reservoirs • Provide chemical reagents and treatment agents • Repair the pipes Water supply – basic repairs to water treatment works (WTWs) Source: Branched distribution network (WEDC) UF3

6. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Switch on power and verify electrical functioning Check functioning of each pump or group of pumps Set in motion the water treatment process Measure the flow and dosage of the treatment chemicals Perform the ‘Jar test’ Measure the turbidity of water Check residence time in each treatment stage Check water quality • Turbidity: should not exceed 2 NTU • pH: between 6.8 and 7.2 to allow effective chlorination. • Microbial contamination: 0 thermotolerant coliforms per 100 ml. • Residual aluminium: <0.5mg per litre. • Heavy metals and organic pollutants: Refer to‘WHO guidelines for Water Quality’, (WHO, 2006). Water supply – restart of machinery UF3

7. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Water supply – immediate measures UF3

8. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF • Pit latrines • Chemical “Portaloo” toilets • Pour-flush toilets • Storage tank latrines • Packet latrines • Bucket latrines • Floating latrines • Rapid kit (type) latrines • Raised urine-diversion (UD) toilets • Repair existing excreta disposal facilities • Temporary latrine structures installed directly over the sewer inspection covers • Overhung latrines Exercise – identify excreta disposal options suitable for immediate response UF3

9. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF • Pit latrines • Chemical “Portaloo” toilets • Pour-flush toilets • Storage tank latrines • Packet latrines • Bucket latrines • Floating latrines • Rapid kit (type) latrines • Raised urine-diversion (UD) toilets • Repair existing excreta disposal facilities • Temporary latrine structures installed directly over the sewer inspection covers • Overhung latrines Excreta disposal - immediate measures UF3

10. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF A floating latrine in an urban flooded city of Borneo: A coping mechanism with poor public health implications Excreta disposal – lesson learned Source: ACF UF3

11. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF • Response options: • Chemical vector control • Environmental sanitation measures • Personnel protection measures Vector control – immediate measures UF3

12. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Case Study: Gonaïves, Haiti, 2008 Source: UNICEF UF3

13. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Gonaïves floods: First response • Deployment of heavy bulldozers (D9-D10) and trucks to remove mud and gain access to the city • Water trucking to provide emergency supply • US Coast Guard airlifts water, hygiene kits, food and shelter Source: The Boston Globe

14. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Gonaïves floods: Examples of appropriate WASH response • Installation of 2Km flexible pipeline equipped with 15 tap stands • Distribution of POU filtering kits • Utilisation of urban population density to support more efficent water distribution schemes A standpipe installation supplying about 1000 inhabitants UF3

15. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Gonaïves floods: Examples of appropriate WASH response cont. • Collaboration with Government and other stakeholders to broadcast hygiene messages via radio • Distribution of packet latrines for those remaining in their homes • WASH Cluster used as a forum for solving WASH technical problems Source: Waves of Change: Haiti Community Radio UF3

16. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Good practice – be innovative Source: ALNAP, 2009 Registering a beneficiary with a handheld device Source: Dhaka Ahsania Mission A Chulli Water Purifier, local technology in Bangladesh UF3

17. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF • Between agencies including NGOs and government agencies (national and international) • With the private sector (national and international) • Between donors and implementers • With local communities and CBOs • With researchers and academics Good practice – creative partnerships UF3

18. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Prioritise use of local materials, similar to those used previously, to repair and rehabilitate infrastructure. With replacements, use similar locally-available parts e.g. electrical devices, pumps, valves, and pipelines, wherever possible. Good practice – use of local materials Source: Oxfam UF3

19. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF • Consider community mobilisation for post-flood clean up: • Blocked urban drainage systems • Accumulation of mud and flood related debris in the streets • Flooded homes containing silt and flood-related debris • Disposal of destroyed household possessions Good practice – community mobilisation Source: ACF UF3

20. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF In areas at risk of recurrent flood emergencies, it is important to incorporate DRR activities into the response Good practice – disaster risk reduction Source: ACF UF3

21. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Water source protection e.g. raising hand‐pumps may be more cost‐effective than providing additional supplies Good practice – water source protection Source: ACF UF3

22. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Specific targeting and tailoring the response to different groups affected by the floods Cross-cutting issues – good practice UF3

23. WASH Cluster – Emergency Training UF Key Learning Points • Importance of coordination and partnership building with local authorities, water boards and suppliers • Interventions should focus on getting municipal supplies operating as quickly as possible • There are a range of immediate short term WASH solutions appropriate in an urban flood setting • The response should be tailored for different groups affected differently by the flood • Main problems often ‘software’ rather than ‘hardware’ • Emergency preparedness is an essential consideration in urban contexts. UF3