Asia: reducing lost water could bring water to millions

Millions of people in Asia and the Pacific could have access to clean water if leaks were plugged and water utility reforms adopted, says a new study by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

“By cutting the amount of lost water in half, 150 million people could be supplied with treated water”, said ADB’s Vice President for Knowledge Management and Sustainable Development Bindu Lohani.
ADB estimates that 29 billion cubic meters of water is lost each year in the region, causing Asia’s water utilities to lose more than US$ 9 billion in revenue each year.

The ADB study, which showcases eight of the best-performing water utilities [2] in Asia, shows that current unaccounted for water (UFW) levels in the region of up to 60%, can be brought down to less than 20%. Phnom Penh even managed to lower its UFW level to just 6% in 2008.

Good Practices: The Success Framework for Urban Water Utilities. Source: ADB publication “Good Practices in Urban Water Management”

The study developed a Good Practices Success Framework (see figure above) with seven key elements that urban water utilities need to address. Regarding one of these elements, empowering the poor, the study notes that each of the eight water agencies studied provided some kind of subsidy for obtaining a water connection and, in deserving cases, for the use of water as well.

[1] Chiplunkar, A., Seetharam Kallidaikurichi and Tan Cheon Kheong (eds), 2012. Good practices in urban water management : decoding good practices for a successful future. Mandaluyong City, Philippines: Asian Development Bank. xx, 206 p. Available at: < http://www.adb.org/publications/good-practices-urban-water-management>

[2] Bangkok, Thailand; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Jamshedpur, India; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Manila, Philippines; Phnom Penh, Cambodia; Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; and Singapore.

Related news: Higher water tariffs are associated with lower water loss, E-Source, 06 Dec 2011

Related web site: World Bank – Urban Water

Source: ADB, 03 Jul 2012

Bangladesh: WaterAid gets Swiss and Swedish grants for WASH projects

WaterAid has signed funding agreements with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) for two WASH projects in Bangladesh.

Photo: WaterAid/ Abir Abdullah & ASM Shafiqur Rahman

SDC and WaterAid signed a grant agreement on 30 November 2011 for a 316 million Taka (US$ 3.84 million) three year rural WASH programme. SDC will provide 265.5 million Taka (US$ 3.23 million), and WaterAid the rest. If successful, SDC will extend support for another 3 years.

Most of the funding will go the ‘Promotion of water supply, sanitation and hygiene in hard -to-reach areas of rural Bangladesh’ project, which aims to provide safe drinking water to 500,000 rural people, latrines to 1.3 million and hygiene education to another 1 million people. WaterAid’s inclusion and climate change programmes will also benefit.

India, Gujarat: state govt approves slum rehabilitation project in Ahmedabad

Amraiwadi, a crime-prone slum area of Ahmedabad, is set for a makeover as nearly 1200 families will get one-bedroom flat with good drainage, separate toilets, a drinking water supply, a landscaped garden and a school.

This is the first project to be approved by the state Urban Development Department (UDD) under its new Slum Rehabilitation Policy [1]. Under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model, UDD has contracted the Ahmedabad-based realty firm, Safal Realty Pvt Limited (HN Safal) to implement the project.

Gujarat has based its policy on the Mumbai Dharavi slum development project plan.

[1] UDD – Regulations For The Rehabilitation and Redevelopment of the Slums 2010

Source: DailyBhaskar.com, 18 Jul 2011 ; Indian Express, 15 Jul 2011

India, Delhi: residents to pay for using sewers

The Delhi Jal Board (city water board) has approved levying sewerage development charges on those premises which do not have a DJB water connection, or have a cut-off connection, but discharge sewage into its sewer system.

The monthly levy will be in the range of 150 to 2,500 Indian rupees [US$ 3.30 to US$ 55] depending on the size of the premises.

Property owner who clear outstanding dues within the next three months would get a 20 percent rebate on sewerage development charges.

The board also decided to set up a ‘Sewer Gang’ force in every constituency to deal with blockages in sewer lines.

The board announced an amnesty scheme for regularisation of unauthorised water connections on payment of 500 India rupees (US$ 11) instead of the regular fee of 3,000 India rupees (US$ 66).

Officials said DJB charges sewer charges for three years to regularise an unauthorised connection but under the scheme fees for only six months will be levied.

The board also decided to extend a special scheme till March 31 [2011] under which a certain segment of consumers was given upto 70 per cent rebate on their outstanding dues last year.

The board also approved installation of multi jet meters on its major water pipelines.

The Board is calling in the private sector to privatise billing and meter installation, starting in South Delhi. In the new system, customers will be able to pay their bills online. Private parties will be responsible for installing new water meters and for maintenance of the meters for the coming five years.

Source: Indian Express, 14 Jan 2011

Sri Lanka: US$ 164 million project to address water, sanitation issues in conflict-affected areas

The Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Sri Lankan government are jointly financing a US$ 164 million project to restore water supply and sanitation infrastructure to the conflict-affected Northern Province. The ADB has approved US$ 90 million in loans and technical assistance, AFD is expected to provide US$ 40 million and the Government of Sri Lanka will provide over US$ 34 million for the project.

The Jaffna and Kilinochchi Water Supply and Sanitation Project aims to serve both current residents and returning internally displaced people in target areas of the Jaffna Peninsula.

After 30 years of civil conflict ended at the end of 2009, much of the key infrastructure was damaged or has deteriorated as a result of neglect. Adding to these problems are over extraction of groundwater, aquifer pollution and the absence of effective water resources management.

The project will rehabilitate and improve reservoir headworks, and construct a water treatment and distribution system serving the Jaffna and Kilinochchi Districts. The new water distribution system will provide access to household connections and metered community water facilities. On the sanitation side, funds will be used to build a sewage collection and treatment system for the Jaffna Municipality; and construct low-cost household and communal latrines in poor communities.

Support will be given to the Jaffna Water Resources Management Committee to carry out a study and to draw up a comprehensive, integrated water resources management plan. Assistance will also be given to other resource bodies and local authorities, to develop groundwater quality and quantity monitoring and management systems, and to conduct public conservation, environmental protection and hygiene awareness campaigns.

A technical assistance grant of $600,000 from ADB’s concessional Technical Assistance Special Fund will be used for a needs assessment and to establish training courses on service delivery for relevant agencies and local authorities. The Government of Sri Lanka will finance US$ 65,000 equivalent for a total cost of US$ 665,000.

The Ministry of Water Supply and Drainage and the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Council are the executing agencies for the project, which is due for completion by February 2017.

For more information read the Jaffna Water Supply and Waste Water Management II project information document

Source: ADB, 01 Dec 2010

India, New Delhi: rights of children violated at Commonwealth Games building sites

Children of over 400,000 construction workers at the Commonwealth Games sites are deprived of basic rights like sanitation, schooling and healthcare, said a report released by NGO Child Relief and You (CRY) on 4 August 2010.

“We found children living in the workers’ temporary camps living without quality food, safe water, sanitation, quality formal schooling or daycare, healthcare and a safe environment – basically without a childhood,” CRY director Yogita Verma said.

Children are dropping out of school due to poverty-linked migration to work at the construction sites, the NGO said.

A woman greets her children as she arrives at her temporary tent dwelling after a day's work. Photo: Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

Indonesia, Jakarta: slums struggle with sanitation

In Jakarta’s northern Muara Angke coastal area, a lack of access to piped water has forced people to bathe and wash clothes using murky grey water from fish ponds.

“I don’t feel disgusted at all. I’ve gotten used to it,” Ibu Nunung, who shells mussels for a living, told IRIN outside her house in Muara Angke Blok Empang, a slum in the area.

Nunung said residents, many of whom live on less than US$2 a day, had to fork out the equivalent of up to $1 daily to buy clean water for drinking and cooking from vendors transporting water in jugs.

She admitted that itchy skin was a common problem among locals.

Jakarta, a city of 10 million people, is dotted with slums like the one in Muara Angke.

Many people live without running water in shanty towns built in the shadow of gleaming skyscrapers, and gutters are clogged with rubbish, causing foul smells.

“Poor sanitation, lack of access to clean water, overcrowding and poor nutrition are among [the] major problems in Jakarta, and the government’s commitment is needed to address these problems,” said Erlyn Sulistyaningsih, a project manager with Mercy Corps Indonesia.

Less than 50 percent of Jakarta’s residents have access to piped water, according to the NGO, which runs water, sanitation and health programmes in the city.

More than 75 percent of the city’s residents rely on shallow groundwater, but an official study found that 90 percent of shallow wells are contaminated with coliform bacteria or heavy metals, Mercy Corps said in a 2008 publication entitled Urban Poverty Reduction Strategy.

Jakarta produces 6,000 tons of waste each day, but can only manage 50 percent of it, it said.

Sulistyaningsih heads a project aimed at increasing access to sanitary facilities, including toilets, providing access to clean water, and educating child caregivers about nutrition in several villages in Jakarta and neighbouring Bekasi District.

“Our programme seeks to prevent diseases which are spread by the faeces-to-mouth route, and we hope it can be replicated by other communities,” she told IRIN.

Premature deaths

A study released by the World Bank’s Water and Sanitation Programme in 2008 revealed that only 57 percent of Indonesian households had easy access to a private and safe place to urinate and defecate in 2004.

Poor sanitation, including poor hygiene, causes at least 120 million disease episodes and 50,000 premature deaths annually, the report said.

The study also found that poor sanitation costs the Indonesian economy $6.3 billion per year, or equal to 2.3 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

Nugroho Tri Utomo, head of the subdirectorate of drinking water and waste water at the National Development Planning Agency, said part of the problem was a lack of funding, with spending on sanitation accounting for only 1 percent of the city’s budget.

“Both the general public and authorities have yet to realize the importance of sanitation, not only to health but also to the economy,” he said.

Improvement plans under way

The government last month launched a programme to provide access to adequate sanitation to 80 percent of urban households by 2014.

The Settlement Sanitation Development Programme, estimated to cost $5.5 billion, aims to develop waste water services in 226 cities, build sanitary landfills serving 240 urban areas, and stop inundations in strategic urban locations covering 22,500 hectares.

Under a separate programme called the National Strategy for Community-Based Total Sanitation, launched in 2008, the government aims to provide access to sanitation and introduce more effective water treatment methods in 10,000 villages by 2012.

See also:

• Mercy Corps Indonesia - Ibu Rumyati, Making Behavior Change Possible in Urban Slums
• Community-led Total Sanitation – Indonesia
• Portal Sanitasi Indonesia

Source: IRIN, 16 Apr 2010

India, Mumbai: largest sanitation project nearing completion

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has completed 80% of the country’s largest sanitation project, Nirmal Mumbai Metropolitan Region Sanitation Abhiyan. “After conducting surveys, we found that the backlog between the demand and supply was around 25,000 seats,” said Ashwini Bhide, joint metropolitan commissioner, MMRDA. The project was started in February 2008 with the intention of providing areas with community toilets. The completion date is May 1. Of the 24,000 toilets planned, which includes urinals, 19,000 are ready for use. The project covers five municipal corporations and 13 municipal councils in the metropolitan region, which includes the suburbs and Thane.

“Most toilets are built by demolishing the defunct ones,” said CK Patil, chief of Nirmal Abhiyan. There are separate toilets for women, men, children and handicapped people, bathrooms and washbasins, and a room for the caretakers. The centres have continuous water and electricity supply, and have a usage charge of Rs30 to Rs50 [Euro 0.50 t0 0.83] per month, per family. Passes are given to each family and records are kept by the caretaker.

Source: Joanna Lobo, DNA, 7 Apr 2010

Nepal: Preparing the Improved Water Quality, Sanitation, and Service Delivery in Emerging Towns Sector Development Program

Finnish Consulting Group International … [et al.] (2009). NEP : Preparing the Improved Water Quality, Sanitation, and Service Delivery in Emerging Towns Sector Development Program : technical assistance consultant’s report : final report. Manila, Philippines, Asian Development Bank. 6 vol.

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This Final Report is the fourth and final main output from the ADB PPTA 4972-NEP for the preparation of a sector development project to attract loan and grant funding from the Asian Development Bank for reform of the urban water supply and sanitation sector in Nepal, with a focus on small towns, and a project for the provision of water supply and sanitation infrastructure and service delivery in emerging towns throughout Nepal. The Sector Development Program (SDP) will include investment in capacity building and institutional strengthening of various organisations involved in management and service delivery at national and local level, and the project will include investment in infrastructure and operational capacity at town level.

Contents:

• VOLUME 1: Final Report: Sector Development Program (SDP) Rationale and Strategy
• VOLUME 2: Appendices: COMPONENT 1 – Sector Development Program Design
• VOLUME 3: Appendices – Finance and Economics
• VOLUME 4: Appendices COMPONENT 2 – Small Towns Services Project
• VOLUME 5: Sub-Project Feasibility Studies
• VOLUME 6: Initial Environmental Examinations (IEE) of Khandbari, Duhabi and Sukhad and Summary Initial Environmental Examination

Asian sanitation data book 2008 – achieving sanitation for all

The overall city sanitation picture in Asia is not bright. Sanitation has not been given sufficient priority and certainly lags behind provision of drinking water. This is one of the findings of a survey of 27 cities published by the Asian Development Bank in the “Asian sanitation data book 2008“.

The first data book on sanitation for the Asia and Pacific region, this book features raw data and analyses on the sanitation situation in 27 cities. The cities are members of CITYNET and participants in the Water for Asian Cities Program of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT).

Of the 27 cities, 1 is in Bangladesh, 3 are in the People’s Republic of China, 4 are in India, 1 in Indonesia, 3 in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR), 5 in Nepal, 3 are in the Philippines, 2 in Sri Lanka, and 5 in Viet Nam

Although the information collected was not complete for all cities, the book draws a number of conclusions from the data.

Based on the survey, the key findings are the following:

• Lack of sanitation and household wastewater treatment facilities is polluting ground and surface waters.
• Sustaining public health is an expected outcome of having adequate sanitation, but over half of the cities were unable to report key health statistics. Those that did reveal increasing diarrheal cases when the share of household wastewater increases.
• Far too many cities still have incidences of open defecation (ranging from 10%–40%) and sanitation coverage depends on private householders investing in toilets and septic tank systems.
• Although almost all cities are aware of their sanitation problems, only 40% of responding cities have sanitation plans, and few were able to provide information on capital expenditure and operations and maintenance costs.
• Most cities that provide sanitation services rely on government funding to pay for capital and operating costs, with only 10% indicating that sanitation fees and charges can cover their costs.
• Multiple agencies have responsibilities for some aspects of sanitation. However, local government seems to be the primary organization. These organizations were operating under at least several national laws and one local law. These institutional arrangements may frustrate action and reduce accountability.

The findings, despite qualifications about data quality, point to several priority actions that government and other stakeholders need to undertake:

• Initiate city sanitation plans, including setting targets for sanitation outcomes and coverage.
• Simplify institutional arrangements to strengthen accountability and avoid multiple-agency involvement that can cause delays in taking action; set in place a coordinating mechanism.
• Review operation and maintenance expenditures and cost recovery policies to ensure sanitation providers can sustain operations and extend services.
• Improve sanitation benchmark indicators and set in place a sanitation information management system that will be regularly updated to help planners and decision makers make investment and operations decisions.
• As significant investment is needed, consider sourcing funds from beyond government sources—such as the private sector and user fees, and other revenue-generating mechanisms.

ADB (2009). Asian sanitation data book 2008 : achieving sanitation for all. Manila, Philippines, Asian Development Bank. x, 134 p. : 2 fig., 27 tab. ISBN 978-971-561-808-3
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