Case studies

Suntura, C., Sandoval, B.

2012

Case study of sustainable sanitation projects, SuSanA, Fundación Sumaj Huasi, Stockholm Environment Institute

This case study describes the project of UDDTs construction in El Alto, Bolivia. The project developed by the NGO Fundación Sumaj Huasi (La Paz) and had financial support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), technical support from Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and political support from Ministry of Environment and Water of Bolivia, Vice Ministry of Potable Water and Basic Sanitation, Federation of Neighbourhood Association of El Alto city (Fejuve), and local sub municipalities The project constructed 897 UDDT units and benefited around 4,485 persons. It was implemented the District 7, a peri-urban area with an estimated population of roughly 27,000, composed mainly of Aymara indigenous people. The technology applied is a UDDT toilet with container, treatment of grey water at the household level, and collective management of the urine and faeces. Further tests with the sub-products guarantee total safe reuse of the nutrients and water. The EcoSan approach was chosen due to its basic principle of zero or minimal use of water, an important adaptation measure in the face of rising temperatures and other climate change impact, while closing loops of water and nutrients. EcoSan also has been shown to be effective and lower in cost than centralised sanitation technologies. Further elements components of the project include collection, treatment and collective management of the products.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Kwikiriza, L., Asiimwe, A. Nuwamanya, H., Schattauer, H.

2012

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

The South Western Towns Water and Sanitation (SWTWS) project was created in 1995 to provide water supply and improve sanitation in 19 small towns and rural centres in South West Uganda. Implementation of the program started in 1996 with a grant from the Austrian Government. The main focus was on providing water and sanitation systems with low operation and maintenance costs to ensure sustainability given the low income levels of the beneficiaries. Basic sanitation (at least a pit latrine with a sanitation platform, sanplat) for each house hold was the mandatory requirement before water was supplied to a town. Pit latrines which were commonly used were not suitable for all areas. In some areas they polluted the underground source of drinking water while in water logged areas the pits collapsed. It was then that ecological sanitation (ecosan) technology was identified as a possible solution for such areas. However, an attempt to introduce ecosan was met with stiff resistance, by the communities as it was unheard of to reuse human excreta. The first units that were constructed were made of partially underground composting toilets, where urine and faeces mixed, but these were later abandoned in favour of the dehydrating above the ground types (UDDTs). Maintaining compost toilets was difficult for the community. Since they looked more like the traditional pit latrines people either failed or neglected to add dry material (ash, soil or compost) to the vaults after defecation. At other times ground water would found its way into the chambers and turned them septic. From the experiences in the south western region, workshops and discussions were held and it was agreed that Ecological sanitation concepts would be beneficial for the entire country especially the problematic areas. The technology being promoted by the project is a double vault urine diverting dehydrating toilet (UDDT). UDDTs are preferred over the traditional pit latrines that have been common in the area because: they do not contaminate ground water sources, faeces can be recycled for use in gardens and they do not smell or attract flies. Faecal phobic attitudes in communities are fading as people are now readily eating food, which they know has been grown using treated human wastes. Number of toilets built: 927 (6 persons per household) Number of people with access to toilets: 5562 Total investment for sanitation part: EUR 420,000 Number of people covered with water supply: 530,093 (this is the total population in the project towns (regional growth centres and small towns)) Start of construction: 1996 End of construction: Toilet construction is an ongoing process (15 days to construct one toilet) Start of operation: Directly after construction of each toilet Project end: 2013 (funds for four more years beyond 2013 might be forthcoming) This project has so far gone through three phases: South Western Towns Water and Sanitation Project (SWTWSP): SWTWSP I 1996 - 2002 SWTWSP II 2002 - 2006 SWTWSP III 2006 - 2013

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von Münch, E., Ingle, R. (eds.)

2012

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, Germany

The Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA) publishes case studies of sustainable sanitation projects from around the world to demonstrate the wide range of available technologies for sustainable sanitation systems. This case study book only comprises those project examples which are from African countries. The currently existing 25 case studies in Africa are compiled together in this book, with descriptions of well-running projects as well as of less successful projects so that we can learn from past mistakes. Table of contents (sorted by country): Algeria: Greywater treatment in an oasis town Béni Abbès, Béchar Botswana: Rural urine diversion dehydration toilets (after 6 years), Hanahai and Paje villages Burkina Faso: Urban urine diversion dehydration toilets and reuse, Ouagadougou Chad: Household pit latrines with urine diversion, Farchana refugee camp Egypt: Community-managed wastewater treatment system El-Moufty El-Kobra, Kafr El-Sheikh Ethiopia: - Urine-diverting dry toilets at Adama University Adama, Ethiopia (draft) - Fossa alterna for household sanitation, Arba Minch - Greywater tower for peri-urban areas, Arba Minch Ghana: Co-composting of faecal sludge and organic solid waste, Kumasi Kenya: - UDDTs implemented via CBOs and Water Services Trust Fund, Nyanza, Western and other provinces - Public toilet with biogas digester and water kiosk, Naivasha - Urine diversion dehydration toilets for schools, Nyanza, Western and other provinces in Kenya - UDDTs and greywater treatment at secondary school, Nakuru - UDDTs at church and nursery school, Nakuru Mali: Peri-urban urine diversion dehydration toilets (abandoned), Koulikoro Mozambique: Household UDDTs in flood-response resettlement project, Guara-Guara, Sofala province Namibia: Otji-Toilets for peri-urban informal households, Omaruru Rwanda: Urine diversion dehydration toilets in rural schools, Huye and Ngororero Districts

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Jana, B.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is about pilot research study of the reuse of human urine from a community-based sanitation facility in carp farming in West Bengal, India. Urine is collected from about 250 inhabitants. The total investment in Euros was of 6,000 for research equipment and labour. The project was planned and executed by the International Centre for Ecological Engineering, University of Kalyani, Kalyani with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via the former Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), current Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The study used groundwater stored in 4500 L holding tanks. Fish growth in such farm ponds is dependent upon the input of macro and micro nutrients in the form of either chemical fertilisers or manure. Optimum levels of major nutrients such as phosphate, nitrogen and carbon, and water quality parameters, such as pH, dissolved oxygen, alkalinity, etc play a vital role in fish production. It is thought that human urine, containing all the essential nutrients for phytoplankton production, can play an important role at the base of the grazing food chain for farmed fish. In order to collect the urine at the university, where the experiments took place, separate plastic pipes were installed at the water-flushed urinals used by the male students. Through these pipes urine was directed into 10°L plastic containers. The urine was applied diluted, as high dosages of urine caused severe fish mortality in pilot studies. Fresh urine without storage and 8 month old stored urine was applied to the culture tanks in two different dilutions: 0.01% and 0.02%1. The dilution occurred directly in the 4500°L tanks after adding the urine. The 0.01% dilution was applied every week, whereas the 0.02% dilution was applied every two weeks. Further research is required to investigate any pathogenic microbial hazards to human beings and the health impact on fish due to antibiotics, pharmaceutical drugs and other hormonal residues that may be present in human urine especially from people receiving medical treatment. A very basic cost-benefit analysis was based on per tank unit. The costs involved are fish, labour and manure/urine, and the profits are calculated on the basis of market price of harvested fish from each tank. Considering environmental economics and aesthetic view as well, it can be postulated that the use of human urine is cost effective, that it can protect the environment and can support employment opportunities.

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Heijnen, M., Heijnen, H., Zandee, M.

2012

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

The case study describes a 2 phased pilot project initiative in the village of Sabaithuwa in the Parsa District in Nepal. The pilot project promoted ecological sanitation with the main objective to improve the local sanitation situation in Sabaithuwa village. The concept of urine and faeces reuse in agriculture was introduced to the community. It was planned to assess the acceptance and potential benefits in this particular community of reuse, but there was little documentation on this aspect. The project was planned by the Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS), Kathmandu, Nepal and executed by the Community Development Forum (CODEF) in collaboration with local Jyoti Youth Club with the support from WHO (financial) and DWSS (technical). The total budget for this project was 25,900 Euro (NPR 2,410,498). The minimum criteria for selection of households for this project were: possession of agricultural land; acceptance to handle decomposed manure; and willingness to apply human manure on agricultural fields. As a consequence, the first Ecosan adopters, who received toilets for their private use, were comparatively rich people in the community, as they already owned land. Since those first toilets were 100% subsidised, the applicability of the model with lower subsidies and for poorer households will have to be proven. The subsidy and the possibility to use urine as fertiliser were the main motivation to build Ecosan toilets. A pour-flush urine-diversion toilet was designed particularly for Terai, in which urine is collected separately and the human faeces are simply disposed alternatively in twin pits lined with concrete rings. The technology chosen was deemed to be a low-cost option, since the adoption of dehydration technology would require elevated chambers due to the high ground water table, which in turn implied in higher construction costs. The basic design of an Indian Sulabh pour flush latrine with two external pits was used, and modified for urine diversion by the local community themselves. Although the initial vision of the pilot project included safe reuse of dried faeces, the main focus of this project has been the reuse of urine. Urine is collected, stored in 20 or 30-L jerricans, diluted with water and then used without further treatment for all types of vegetables. Construction of the substructure including two storage pits, slab, urine-diversion pan and all connections cost approximately NPR 6,000 (€ 65). For the superstructure, the use of local materials is recommended. The complete construction of the substructure and a brick and mortar superstructure cost about € 110. The owners are responsible for the maintenance or repair works. Due to the use of cement in the early pans, cleaning was found to be difficult. Almost all owners of a UD latrine are quite satisfied. A lack of handwashing stations near the UD latrines was noticed and also needs to be addressed in the near future. Though the long term project aim was to increase the sanitation coverage in the village to 100%, this has proven to be too ambitious. The process is hindered by financial restrictions as well as cultural or religious reservations or a lack of information about (ecological) sanitation issues. Even if the demand is high, many people cannot afford to purchase and to construct an appropriate latrine. From the economical point of view, the pilot project experience is not representative for the chances of a large scale adaptation of ecosan due to the high subsidies for the first latrines. There are still a number of open questions at the end of each subsection, so please treat this version as a draft. If you are able to contribute you can discuss these questions or other related to the case study on the SuSanA forum follow the link below.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Wafler, M., Heeb, J., Olt, C.

2009

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is about the improvement of sanitation, specifically in rural areas. Navsarjan Trust aims to implement, evaluate and disseminate socially and culturally acceptable, sustainable and hygienically safe sanitation, treatment and reuse concepts for human excreta (urine and faeces) and greywater. The project offered vocational training institute with variable number of students (up to approx. 240) and guests attending meetings, workshops; 22 pour-flush toilets and biogas digester. The project was planned by seecon gmbh (Swiss consulting firm) and Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH, GTZ (currently Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH, GIZ) Sustainable sanitation - ecosan program and executed by the Indian NGO Navsarjan Trust with the support from the Swiss Agency for Development and Co-operation (SDC) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) via GTZ. The objectives of this project were to find technical solutions that can help in the elimination of manual scavenging practices, which is a caste-based occupation in India and a source of discrimination; to improve the sanitation situation at this rural training institute; to provide Navsarjan Trust with first-hand experiences on sustainable sanitation concepts and further dissemination of knowledge on ecosan in the state of Gujarat. The new sanitation concept includes the following components: - Water supply: the entire water used at the campus is groundwater from lower depth(approx. 200 m). The water is pumped into a surface storage tank and then pumped to an overhead storage tank. Due to its high salinity, water used for cooking and drinking is treated in a reverse osmosis plant. The brine (approx. 3,000 litres/d) resulting from the production of approx. 1,000 litres of drinking water per day is collected on the roof of the kitchen building and used as flushing water for the pour-flush toilets. Water spent for non-portable purposes such as showering, etc. is not pre-treated but used directly. - Pour flush toilets and biogas plant: A new and conveniently located (75m from Community Training Centre and less than 75m from the Hostel ) common sanitation complex was built for the approx. 250 people staying on the campus on an average. The sanitation complex consists of 22 toilet cabins (11 for females and 11 for males) arranged in a circular shape around a biogas plant located in the centre. - Urinal Centre: The former common toilet centre has been converted into a urinal centre. Two independent enclosures provide urinals for ladies and gents (9 and 13, respectively). The urine is collected in 4 tanks and pumped to storage / hygienisation tanks when full. This is done to make the urine available by gravity while being transported to the fields with jerry cans or container carts. - Greywater from dishwashing and kitchen area: A new stall for dishwashing was built. It was planned to lead the dishwashing stall effluent via a vertical flow organic filter (filter material: rice husk) to a storage tank. - Greywater from showers: 2 new shower blocks comprising shower facilities (total number: 40), washbasins and laundry facilities have been constructed behind the hostel building and next to the Community Training Centre to serve people staying at the campus. - Sludge drying beds: The slurry (digestate) from the biogas plant is led to a drying bed, composted and then stored for a further reuse as soil conditioner. - Organic solid waste management: Kitchen waste is disposed of in a landfill and grass clippings are used to cover the sludge drying beds. These materials could however be fed to the biogas plant provided they are chopped before. But due to lack of time and staff this is presently not done. The following products are being reused: biogas, urine and greywater. Operation and maintenance is a major issue in the success of any sustainable sanitation project. Therefore trained institute staff does operation and maintenance. Two gardeners and one “ecosan person” are responsible for the maintenance of the grounds. Three years after its implementation, the sanitation system on the DSK campus is working satisfactorily even though the operation team aims at further improvements.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Kinobe, J., Kulabako, R., Olweny, S.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study shows the use of greywater towers as a tool for household sanitation in Uganda. The project serves 40 inhabitants in Kitgum Town, Uganda. The project has been realized within the ROSA project which aims to develop adaptable, affordable and replicable sanitation solutions in Africa. The investment is EUR 63 per tower garden (including labour) for 21 greywater towers, giving a total of EUR 1323. The project was planned by the ROSA Project Uganda: Kitgum Town Council, Makerere University and Ecosan Club, Austria and executed by Kitgum Town Council with the European Union support. Three greywater tower gardens were set up at each of the selected seven households (a total of 21 towers). The study households were trained by the research team on how to set up the tower gardens as well as on the operation and maintenance aspects for effective performance. To show the effects of this irrigation/fertilisation method, a control tower garden set up in exactly the same way as the other greywater towers and planted with the same vegetables, was irrigated with groundwater instead of greywater. Another project component consisted of gathering information about the impact of greywater on the soil. For that, soil samples were collected from each sample household prior to greywater application and analysed for pH, organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content. The effect of greywater application on the soil characteristics was not significant with respect to potassium, organic matter and nitrogen content. Tower gardens were operated in such a way that collected greywater from bathing and washing clothes was applied on a daily basis. The daily amount of greywater produced per household varied between 48 and 60 litres. Some of this greywater was used for cleaning the house as well as pit latrines, hence, not all of it was used for the tower gardens. The tower gardens are used to grow vegetables, mainly tomatoes and onions. The clear advantage of a tower garden is the reuse of greywater for vegetable growth where there is limited land and a family cannot have a big garden. A walk through the area revealed fifteen additional households that set up greywater towers after realising the benefits associated with the study units. Through the introduction of tower gardens people got an understanding of the advantages of reusing greywater. In consequence, more households set up small vegetable gardens on their land and applied greywater directly to the plants, probably motivated by the fact that there was no extra investment required compared to that for a tower garden costing EUR 63.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Shewa, W., Geleta, B.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is about the Fossa alterna as resource-oriented household sanitation in Arba Mich, one of the fastest growing towns in Ethiopia. The project has been realised within the ROSA (Resource-Oriented Sanitation concepts for peri-urban areas in Africa) project which aims to develop adaptable, affordable and replicable sanitation solutions in Africa. In total, 30 fossa alterna were built, covering 177 inhabitants. The total investment was 2600 euros. The project was planned and executed by the Arba Minch Town Water Supply and Sewerage Enterprise (ARB) and Arba Minch University (AMU), with Jupiter construction micro and small enterprise and Daylight construction micro and small enterprise. The project had the support from the European Union (EU). Since its inception in October 2006, the ROSA project has introduced different resource oriented sanitation systems that include three types of toilets, greywater treatment units, a biogas unit and composting schemes. At the moment there are 15 urine diversion dehydration toilets (UDDTs), 30 Fossa alternas, 9 Arborloos, 9 greywater towers, 1 biogas unit and more than 5 composting schemes. In this case study Fossa alternas are described. It is a double pit compost toilet and is made up of six parts (Morgan, 2007): two pits, two ring beams to protect the two pits, a single concrete slab which sits on one of the ring beams and the toilet house which provides privacy. In this type of toilet urine is not separated from faeces. The Fossa alterna is one sanitation option which is easy and affordable for many inhabitants of Arba Minch. Such construction would provide improved sanitation in places facing problems with rocky ground and pit collapsing as is the case in central parts of town. The absence of credit facilities for households which are interested to construct the demonstrated innovative toilet options has constrained efforts for further scaling-up of the implementation. The project has recently worked to generate seed money from other sources with a 50 % grant scheme from the Dutch government and 50 % loan arrangements to facilitate credit access to households who are willing to construct the toilets. The total amount of money is about one million Euro and this money will be used as a revolving fund. In Fossa alternas the contents of the filled pit can be emptied easily and applied in the compound of the household as compost. If there is no space for applying this compost in the household’s compound it will be collected by solid waste collectors. The feedback from the users indicates that using the compost in the compound is the best option. Compared to the other types of resource oriented toilets tested in Arba Minch the Fossa alterna has been accepted to a larger extent. The main reason is the similarity of the toilet to the traditional toilet. Adaptations on design were made upon users’ request.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Shewa, W., Geleta, B.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study shows the use of greywater towers as a tool for household sanitation in peri-urban areas in Arba Minch, Ethiopia. The project built 9 greywater towers in private compounds that serve 47 inhabitants and coasted 180 euros. The project has been realized within the ROSA project (Resource-Oriented Sanitation concepts for peri-urban areas in Africa), which aims to develop adaptable, affordable and replicable sanitation solutions in Africa, and was executed by the Arba Minch Town Water Supply, and Sewerage Enterprise (ARB), the Arba Minch University (AMU), Jupiter construction micro and small enterprise and Daylight construction micro and small enterprise. A greywater tower was selected as one of the methods that can be adopted to treat and safely reuse greywater, in which the grey water can be used for growing vegetables successfully. The construction of the units does not require skilled labor. The aim was to raise awareness about the unit in the community of Arba Minch and promising demand has been created. The greywater tower is a circular bag which has got soil, ash and compost mixture in it and a gravel column at the center. It is used to treat and reuse greywater, water that has been used for bathing, washing clothes and utensils. Leafy plants or vegetables are planted in holes cut in the sides of the bag itself and each day the available greywater from a household is poured directly on the gravel column. The material required to construct one greywater tower included: bucket without bottom, five poles 2m in height, 1m x 2.5m shade cloth. 0.05 m3 soil, 0.2m3 compost, 0.14 m3 ash and 0.085 m3 gravel. The absence of sufficient finance for households interested to construct the demonstrated innovative option has constrained efforts to further scale-up implementation. The project team has recently acquired additional funding from other sources. The SPA–Programme (Sanitation Programme Africa) offers 50 % grant from the Dutch government and 50 % loan arrangements to facilitate credit access to households who would like to construct sanitation facilities including greywater. Two of the greywater towers were built for demonstration purposes. These units were considered as first testing units and the construction costs were covered fully from ROSA project budget. The other seven units were built with cost sharing whereby 75% of the total construction cost was covered by the households and the remaining 25% was covered from ROSA project budget. The units can be operated and managed by the users. There is not any waste emission caused by the unit. The unit can serve for more than one year without any problem. After one year strengthening the unit and planting new leafy plant seedlings may be required. This can all be done by the household. The system is successfully adopted in Arba Minch town.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Gjinali, E., Niklas, J., Smid, H.

2012

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is about a constructed wetland system for wastewater treatment and reuse in the SOS children’s village in Sauk, a suburb in the South of Tirana, Albania, constructed in 2009. In the village 70 children live permanently with their „mothers“ and „aunts“. Together with external children visiting the school and the nursery of the village and the stuff, around 500 people are every day in the village. This number of persons produces wastewater and was transformed into 220 PE (population equivalent). The flow rate for the project design was 16.8 m3/d of domestic wastewater. The pilot plant, one of the first established in Albania, consists of a "Dortmund tank" (a settling tank with vertical flow) combined with another settling tank for pre-treatment, two vertical filter beds that are fed alternately by pump and one horizontal filter bed. Effluent is collected for reuse purposes. For sludge treatment, a planted sludge drying bed was implemented. The total area used for the plant is around 1,600 m2. As several problems with plant operation occurred in the beginning, reconstruction works were done in 2010. After a site visit and sample taking in the end of 2011, it can be stated that the plant is working very well at the moment. The constructed wetland plant was financed by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (at that time called GTZ) and the Albanian General Directorate of Water Supply and Sewerage. Construction was done by a local company. Recommendations for reconstruction were given by a German specialist.

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Urine diverting dry toilets in a rural area, Tututepec, Oaxaca, Mexico - Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Ysunza Ogazon, A., Lopez Nunez, L., Martinez Murillo, M., Diez-Urdanivia Coria, S.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

Este caso de estudio describe Sanitarios de separación de orina y de deshidratación en una área rural en Tututepec, Oaxaca, México con el objetivo de implementar un programa de saneamiento ecológico en la costa del Pacífico Sur mexicano, con el propósito de hacer un uso racional del agua, producir alimentos, evitar la contaminación del suelo y el agua y sus consecuencias negativas sobre la salud comunitaria. 195 sanitarios han construido para aproximadamente 1000 personas. Los sanitarios secos con separación de orina (SSSOs) tienen dos compartimentos ventilados para la deshidratación de las heces fecales. Las heces están cubiertas con una mezcla de tierra, ceniza y cal en partes iguales, la cual se aplica sobre las heces inmediatamente después que se utiliza el sanitario. La taza con separador de orina, está conectado a través de un sistema de mangueras para la recolección de la orina conectado aun bidón de plástico de 20 l; así mismo el urinario para hombres está conectado a ésta red de mangueras al bidón antes mencionado. Para después recolectarlo en un tanque de almacén a la sombra a temperatura ambiente durante 30 días para logara el proceso de sanitización y el desdoblamiento de los minerales para poder ser absorbidos como nutrientes. Las tazas y los urinarios están construíos de cerámica y producidos por una compañía privada llamada Anfora. Usando 1 litro de orina más 5 litros de agua y se riegan las plantas. El riego se aplica alrededor de la planta, no sobre la planta. Se riega con orina cada 15 días y de preferencia por las tardes. Para reutilizar las excretas humanas (orina y heces) de las 195 SSSOs están implementado huertos comunitarios y huertos biointensivos a nivel familiar. Instituciónes de Planificación: Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición “Salvador Zubirán” (NNSZ) – Centro de Capacitación Integral para Promotores Comunitarios (CECIPROC) Institución ejecutora: Centro de Capacitación Integral para Promotores Comunitarios (CECIPROC) Agencias de Apoyo: Indesol, Sedesor, Fundación Herdez, Fundación Comunitaria de Oaxaca y Fundación W. K. Kellogg

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Reuse of the effluents of a man-made wetland system , Trujillo, Peru - Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Miglio, R.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

Este estudio de caso describe un sistema de humedales artificiales en Milagro-Trujillo, Perú. El diseño se realizó para tratar los efluentes generados por 200 alumnos que estudian en el colegio Toni Real Vinces, generando 200 m3/día de agua residual domestica. El objetivo del proyecto era contribuir con el mejoramiento de las condiciones de enseñanza en el colegio a través del tratamiento y aprovechamiento de las aguas residuales producidas, para la generación de áreas verdes en el entorno del colegio, localizado en una zona desértica costera, en el norte del Perú. Las precipitaciones son escasas, y por encontrarse en una zona periurbana con altos niveles de pobreza, carece de servicios de agua potable y saneamiento. Actualmente el colegio se aprovisiona de agua mediante camiones cisterna, y hasta antes del inicio del proyecto, los desagües eran descargados al suelo mediante pozos de infiltración. En el marco del proyecto se planteó la instalación de una planta de tratamiento mediante la tecnología de humedales artificiales subsuperficiales de flujo horizontal. Se utilizaron dos especies vegetales comunes en la zona, la totora (Scirpus californica) y el paraguitas (Cyperus alternifolius). El agua residual tratada, es almacenada en una cisterna donde se desinfecta con cloro. Paralelamente a la construcción del sistema de tratamiento, se realizó un taller para la capacitación de los niños y profesores del colegio, así como profesores de colegios vecinos e interesados del lugar, dirigido por los coordinadores de las universidades involucradas en el proyecto. Para el año de la construcción (2009), el costo de materiales fue de S/. 11,510 (once mil cinco cientos diez soles) y mano de obra para la construcción de la planta de tratamiento fue de 6,520 (seis mil cinco cientos veinte soles); en total S/. 18,030 (dieciocho mil cuatrocientos treinta soles) o al tipo de cambio $ 6,513 (seis mil cinco cientos trece dólares americanos). Algunos de los criterios utilizados para la sostenibilidad fueron: operación por gravedad, no usar energía eléctrica, facilidad de mantenimiento, cuidado de la salud e higiene. Respecto a la minimización de impactos se buscó que no se generaran olores, reducir la presencia de insectos vectores y evitar el probable contacto de los estudiantes con el agua residual. Para definir el sistema de tratamiento, se evaluaron diferentes opciones, buscando aquella con mayor sostenibilidad en el tiempo y con la generación de menores impactos. Algunos de los criterios utilizados para la sostenibilidad fueron: operación por gravedad, no usar energía eléctrica, facilidad de mantenimiento, cuidado de la salud e higiene. Respecto a la minimización de impactos se buscó que no se generaran olores, reducir la presencia de insectos vectores y evitar el probable contacto de los estudiantes con el agua residual. Instituciones Planificadoras: Universidad de Islas Baleares, Palma de Mallorca, España y Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Perú. Financiamiento: Cooperación Universitaria al Desarrollo ‐ Gobernación de Islas Baleares; Universidad de Islas Baleares; Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina

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System appropriate for the reuse of urine, Esperanza, Argentina. Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Bertaina, L., Buraschi, G., Hock, D.

2011

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

Este estudio de caso se trata de sistema de reutilización de orina humana en Esperanza, Argentina. 300 personas se beneficiaron del proyecto. Tipo de proyecto: Implementación del concepto de saneamiento ecológico, protección al medio ambiente y educación ambiental–proyecto piloto escolar. La Escuela de Agricultura, Ganadería y Granja (EAGG), se sitúa en un área periurbana de Esperanza y cuenta con más de 300 alumnos, 50 docentes y el personal administrativo y de servicios conforman actualmente la comunidad educativa de la Escuela. El proyecto consiste en colectar la orina en los mingitorios de los sanitarios de varones y conducir el efluente a tanques de almacenamiento para su posterior como fertilizante. La escuela hoy no esta utilizando la orina como fertilizante por malas experiencias hechos en forma de una aplicación incorrecta. Sin embrago queda la idea de realizar el reuso en un futuro pronto. Debido a su alto pH y la concentración, la orina almacenada no debe aplicarse directamente a las plantas. Durante septiembre 2008 y el primer semestre del año de 2009 se tuvieron lugar reuniones con profesores, tutores y estudiantes. En los seminarios también se les dio una introducción al saneamiento ecológico y el uso de la orina como fertilizante, con el fin de ejecutar el proyecto en la escuela. El costo para la instalación de los dos tanques fue de aproximadamente de US$ 750. Los gastos con respecto a la mano de obra estan desconocidos. La gestión del proyecto se lleva a cabo gracias a la colaboración de los docentes, preceptores y el aporte de un alumno de ingeniería ambiental de la Facultad de Ingeniería y Ciencias Hídricas, que realiza una pasantía ad honorem. Institución de planificación y ejecutivo: Secretaria de Aguas, Santa Fe, Argentina.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Sayre, E., von Münch, E.

2009

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study shows a pilot scale rural community and school toilets. 23 UDDTs were constructed to serve the community and the schools in the municipalities of Libertad, Initao and Manticao in the province Misamis Oriental, Philippines. Roughly 1,000 people use these toilets. The project was planned and executed by Water, Agroforestry, Nutrition and Development Foundation Inc. (WAND) with the support of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through the German Doctors for Developing Countries. Double-vault urine diverting dehydration toilets (UDDTs) are used: urine and faeces are collected separately in waterless toilets. People who use water for anal cleaning ensure that this water is collected in a separate container (this water is directly used for plants and gardens). The sites where the ecosan UDD toilets are built are selected during a 2-stage process whereby local officials or school officials submit a letter of interest to the WAND Foundation, and then WAND’s field staff conducts a local assessment. The total cost of building the 23 double-vault UDD toilets was pesos 600,000 or roughly € 9,000 Euro, which includes costs for monitoring, training and general management (equivalent to € 390 per UDD toilet, including “software”). The community members are in charge of operation and maintenance of the UDDTs since these are community toilets. A local committee is in charge of the maintenance and mainly the women do the cleaning. In the case of UDD toilets in schools (see Table 2), the school headmaster takes over responsibility of the operation and maintenance of the system. A guideline produced by the GTZ-Philippines detailed the steps on how to start an ecosan initiative (see Section 13). These steps were helpful even though it turned out that the steps, consisting of awareness raising, launching, baseline study, social preparation, decision making and implementation, do not take place in a chronological order but as an iterative process. Lessons learnt and successful factor are further explored in this case study.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Zimmermann, N., Wafler, M., Thakur, P.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study discusses the decentralised reuse-oriented wastewater management project at Adarsh Vidyaprasarak Sanstha’s College of Arts & Commerce, India. The project serves 2,600 student and other beneficiaries who visit the school on several occasions. The prime objective of the project is to meet the sanitation needs of the students and the people attending special programmes. In addition, it shall protect the environment and raise awareness amongst the students about the importance of water and sanitation in promoting health and hygiene. This school project is a pilot project demonstrating alternative decentralized sanitation solutions to the Badlapur Municipality Council. The council plans to replicate the concept in other areas after evaluating the findings of decentralized reuse-oriented school sanitation project. A single-storied sanitation block having two independent enclosures for ladies and gents has been constructed next to the school building. Each enclosure is equipped with 4 bucket-flush squatting-type toilets and 1 western-style cistern-flush pedestal (for the physically challenged). Waterless urinals are provided in the gents’ toilet block, while the ladies’ toilet block has an increased number of toilets. Sufficient numbers of washbasins are provided in each toilet block. Blackwater along with greywater from the washbasins is discharged to a “biogas settler”. Its effluent is drained by gravity flow to an Anaerobic Baffled Reactor (ABR) and Up-flow Filter (UF) for further anaerobic treatment. Post treatment of the UF effluent happens in a small-scale horizontal flow constructed wetland (HFCW). The final stage of the treatment concept is a pond that doubles-up as storage tank. Treated water and urine will be used in a yet to be established kitchen garden. Sludge drying beds will be constructed for dewatering the sludge from the biogas settler, baffled reactor and up-flow filter. The produced biogas will be used either for cooking or lighting purpose. The dried sludge from the biogas settler, baffled reactor and up-flow filter will be applied as soil amendment within the school premises for agricultural/gardening purposes. Students attending environmental classes will be involved in the monitoring of the treatment system and practise the reuse of recycles in the kitchen garden. With regards to long-term impacts of the project, the main expected impact of the project is improved sanitation, demonstration of substitution of LPG by biogas, and the safe reuse of the treated water for irrigation purposes.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Lipkow, U., von Münch, E.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is about the upgrading of a peri-urban settlement by treating the domestic wastewater using constructed wetlands (or reed beds). The project serves approximately 3380 people and was implemented by GTZ on behalf of the German Ministry BMZ. Total construction cost for the constructed wetland was about EUR 160,000 including consultancy and labour. The construction was carried out by the City Engineering office from May 2005 to August 2006. The objectives of the project were to protect coastal waters from pollution with domestic wastewater on the one hand and health of local residents through improved housing with safe sanitation and wastewater treatment facilities on the other hand. Since Bayawan was the first city in the Philippines that built a constructed wetland for domestic wastewater treatment, another objective was to use it as a pilot and demonstration project for other communities. The houses in the resettled fishermen’s village have pour flush toilets. The wastewater from the toilets, bathrooms and kitchen sinks is partially treated in septic tanks where solids are settled and the organic load is reduced. The liquid portion of the wastewater (overflow from septic tanks) is transported through a small-bore sewer system towards the main sump for storage and additional solids removal. From there, the wastewater (septic tank effluent) is pumped into four header tanks and then flows by gravity into the first cell of the constructed wetland, which is a vertical soil filter. The second cell is a horizontal soil filter. The faecal sludge from the septic tanks will be treated in drying beds that are located at the sanitary landfill. The combination of septic tanks, small-bore sewers and constructed wetland was built because the construction of the houses in the relocation area was already in progress when the City of Bayawan decided to upgrade the treatment process. The city looked for an affordable and reliable treatment technology that could easily be implemented, operated and maintained. Both cells of the wetland were built of concrete and concrete blocks to prevent contact between groundwater and wastewater. Through information campaigns during the implementation phase of the wetland project as well as during the training sessions of the organic farming project, residents have learned of the potential benefits of using treated wastewater.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Kumar, P.

2009

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is about a large-scale community-led water and environmental sanitation project in the rural area of Shaanxi Province, China. Up to June 2007 the project serves approximately 196,000 beneficiaries and has a total investment of € 1.8 million. Objectives of the project are delivery of sustainable health and hygiene benefits to children and their families through improvement in water supply and environmental sanitation as well as the empowerment of the community (decision making power and access to resources). There should be a promotion of eco-sanitation methods to reduce water consumption and recycle nutrients and organics in addition. Another aim is to improve household income through time savings and income earning opportunities particularly for women. In rural China, only 68% of the population has access to safe drinking water and 29% to adequate sanitation. A lot of inhabitants of China’s under-developed regions such as Shaanxi province lack safe drinking water, which forces families to use contaminated water sources that expose them to a range of water borne pathogens. In addition, there is a lack of knowledge about the relationship between hygiene, water quality and good health. The lack of access to basic sanitation increases the contamination of local water sources, degrades the local environment and promotes the spread of disease. It is an old practice in China to use human excreta as fertilizer for crops and vegetables. Therefore, the project area is most suitable for the promotion of ecological sanitation (in the form of urine-diversion dehydration toilets). The first urine diverting toilets of the project were piloted and demonstrated in Sanyong village in Pucheng County during May/June 2005. After the successful pilot of urine diverting toilets in all counties, the construction of these systems grew and the high number in 2066 proved a good acceptance by the people. Three types of latrines have been presented to the community to choose from in the programme area: a) Urine diverting dehydration toilets (65% of the constructed systems) b) Biogas toilets c) Twin pit series latrines (double urn toilets) By promotion of ecosan systems the hygienic concerns are being addressed, and excreta can be safely utilized for crop fertilization. Mid-term evaluation of the programme was carried out in September 2007. The evaluation showed the improved usage of toilets. Demonstration and cross visits are important tools for community capacity building. Urine diverting toilets proved to be a community-friendly technology in rural China.However, more community mobilization activities should be planned. Community mobilization and gender awareness is a continuous process and cannot be achieved by a single training period.

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Draft. Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Zimmermann, N., Wafler, M.

2009

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is about a large-scale decentralised wastewater management and reuse project in Badlapur town, India, which serves 540 households in total for its stages I (300) and II (240). Both sewer system and septic tank of Madha Housing Colony are in bad condition and shall therefore be replaced by decentralized wastewater treatment plants allowing reuse of treated water. Daily wastewater production is estimated to be about 200 m³. Treatment of domestic wastewater will happen in a decentralized treatment systems comprising a (biogas) settler, an anaerobic baffled reactor and an anaerobic upflow filter. The treated water shall be reused for irrigation purpose at the site. Biogas produced in the process of anaerobic wastewater treatment will be collected and shall be converted into electricity via a (bio) gas generator; the electricity can be stored in an accumulator (battery) and be used on-site to bridge power cuts. The start of construction was planned for 2009 but has not yet started (awaiting approval process). A cost estimate suggests total project implementation costs of about INR 40 lakhs (i.e. approx. EUR 65,000). Operation and maintenance of the treatment facilities will be done by the Kulgaon Badlapur Municipal Council.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Oldenburg, M., Werner, C., Schlick, J., Klingel, F.

2009

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study discusses a medium-scale pilot project in a new urban area in Linz, Austria. The project serves 250 inhabitants in 88 flats and 270 school pupils. It was developed with participation of the municipal authorities, 12 housing companies and READ (Renewable Energies in Architecture and Design) as the main architectural initiator. In 2008, the ecosan project solarCity Linz received the Project Innovation Award as regional winner for Europe in the category „Small Projects“ by the International Water Association. General objectives were the creation of a sustainable settlement in a new city district (high demand for residential buildings) and the establishment of ecological buildings and low energy construction concepts. Among specific objectives was the implementation of innovative solutions for water supply and wastewater treatment with a reduction of the infrastructure costs for municipal wastewater treatment. Also, the aim was to establish a holistic sanitation approach enabling the use of nutrients contained in excreta or wastewater in agriculture and to research treatment of micropollutants in urine. This project manages the wastewater of approx. 460 population equivalents by means of urine separation, compost filters and constructed wetlands. The construction of all parts (separation toilets, urine collection pipes, etc.) and the information for the users were carried out by the non-profit residential cooperatives. The reuse of urine is not yet carried out because the Upper Austrian legislation prohibits its application in agriculture. At the moment the composting process of the compost filter material is not functional due to optimisation works. In the future, nutrient recycling (through use of urine, compost and reeds from the constructed wetlands) and on-site infiltration of the treated brownwater and greywater shall be realised in cooperation with research partners. Rainwater is infiltrated on-site through infiltration ditches. Besides the ecological sanitation concept solar energy and energy-saving technologies are also implemented in solarCity. The ecosan technologies applied in this project are not yet fully mature and functional. There is a need for optimisation of the NoMix toilet design. The slightly increased demand for cleaning is acceptable. But for young children, e.g. at primary schools, the Roediger toilets are not suitable. The waterless urinals are trouble-free. The project at the school has had significant problems with the urine separation flush toilets for small children who find it difficult to sit back far enough for defecation. Public relations work, i.e. user information, is extremely crucial for the acceptance of innovative sanitation systems and the users’ willingness to cooperate. The general acceptance of the innovative sanitation concept is good, despite the challenges that are brought about by the urine diversion flush toilets. Valuable experience with the medium-scale application of compost filters could be gained in this project. One problem is that the filter units were undersized (the permeability of the filter bags turned out to be lower than expected). Moreover, it became evident that it is important to include the local authorities from the beginning as it avoids many problems in the long run.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Winker, M., Grönwall, P.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is about a large-scale urban public sanitation system project in the inner city of Hamburg, Germany. Waterless urinal sheds were introduced to cover approx. 2000 male users per day for all 11 public urinal sheds. The main objective of the project was to optimise the quality of the public toilets in Hamburg and their surrounding areas while minimising the financial burden for the City of Hamburg at the same time. The aim was to achieve this goal while also minimising water and energy needs and protecting the environment. In certain areas it was not possible to establish a public toilet as nobody was willing to run it, because the area was a social hot spot where abuse and vandalism would be a problem, or due to high frequencies in short times (such as close to the main soccer stadium). For those locations, the BSU developed the concept of public “urinal sheds” with a high transparency of the inside activities. The first pilot urinal shed was built at Hansaplatz (a social hot spot) in 2003. All urinals installed in Hamburg’s public toilets are waterless urinals. They have the Keramag flat rubber tube system for odour control. At these 11 urinal sheds, there are also urine storage tanks. In total about 20-30 m³ of urine is collected per month (from all the 11 urinal sheds). The tanks are equipped with a floating device measuring the urine level in the tank. The urine storage tanks are strictly speaking not necessary, as all the urinal sheds are connected to a sewer and centralised wastewater treatment plant. It was decided to install them anyway for three reasons: 1. There was a fear that the pure urine from the urinal shed may cause damage (corrosion) to the local sewer pipe. 2. It is possible that in the future agricultural reuse of urine may become economically feasible. 3. Also in the future, the urine may be treated separately for nitrogen removal or struvite production. There are no handwashing facilities at these urinal sheds, which is a drawback from a hygiene point of view, but is due to fear of vandalism and abuse (such as letting the water flow uncontrolled) – as the urinal sheds are not manned. The above ground construction as well as the daily maintenance, cleaning, checking and replacement of broken equipment was/is carried out by the company Decaux. With the implementation of its new management concept for public toilets (which includes the public urinal sheds), the BSU could reduce its annual costs by half (compared to their costs before which were EUR 1.4 Mio in 1994).

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Kraft, L., Rieck, C.

2011

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

The EcoSan Promotion Project (EPP) was an EU-funded and SIDA and GTZ co-funded project component embedded in the Water Sector Reform Program of GTZ water program. The project started in November 2006 and ended in May 2010. Within the project period 263 double vault Urine Diversion Dehydration Toilets (UDDTs) were constructed in 70 schools and also a certain (still unknown) number of school toilets via the WSTF. The project’s aim was to develop, test and promote the reuse orientated sanitation (ecosan) concepts for large and small-scale applications in mostly rural and peri-urban areas of Kenya. There is an interesting section on lessons learnt on technical and software issues in this case study based on follow up visits in 2010 by Kenyan consultants. One major lesson learnt is that the lack of contribution by the school and community has led to insufficient ownerships with negative impact on O&M. Moreover high construction costs, cumbersome management of urine and the low number of provided facilities per school are weak points of this project.

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London estaste. Case study of SuSanA

Muchiri, E., Mutua, B.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This SuSanA case study compiles experiences from a ROSA sanitation pilot project for a residential plot in Nakuru, Kenya. 3 single vault UDDTs were constructed to serve a population of 28 households. The urine is soaked away and the faecal material collected by trained local waste collectors. A drying shed was constructed for this purpose. The facilities were monitored and evaluated after about 3 years of operation showing some challenges in the service provision for collection of faecal material. A follow up saniation program called CLARA will address the challenges witnessed in this peri-urban area. The objectives of this project were mainly to improve sanitation by establishing urine diversion dehydration toilets thereby reducing groundwater pollution and health risks associated with pit latrines. The motivation was also to contribute towards achieving the MGDs and Kenya Vision 2030 (GOK 2007) by promoting sustainable sanitation. The UDDT was generally well maintained most of the time. Smell was detected and flies noticed 4 times of the 20 times visited by project staff. The main operation problem observed was the misuse of the toilets by visitors and strangers who were not familiar with the proper use, leading to mixing of urine and faeces. The children were also reported to put ash into the urine hole occasionally leading to blockage of the system. To solve these problems, a new toilet management system has been put in place where the 3 UDDTs are divided among the 28 households, who are supposed to take care and maintain the toilets. The toilets are now closed and each group has their own keys. For long term sustainability and for economic sanitation, the following is recommended: Encourage the landlord to have a sense of ownership and to ensure good operation, maintenance and management Encourage users to correct use and to spread the knowledge of the ROSA system to the communities they live in, so as to create a critical mass. To demonstrate the additional economic benefits arising from the utilisation of the products, this is an important factor in the success of the system. To carry out pathogen tests at different stages of the faecal storage to determine health effects of handling faeces and urine during collection, transportation, treatment and reuse. This is meant to serve as a source of researched information that can be used in the decision making on utilisation of products. To confirm the calculated costs of operation and maintenance with the actual costs.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Dusingizumuremyi, E.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is a about a demonstration project at rural schools in Rwanda. 24 UDDTs were constructed in 2 primary schools serving approximately 2800 pupils. The overall objective of this demonstration project (which was a component of a much larger project led by GTZ-Rwanda called Health Cooperation) was to: · Build urine diversion dehydration toilets (UDDTs) as a pilot and demonstration project to test the new concept of ecosan (ecological sanitation) with UDDTs in rural primary schools and provide a healthy school environment. · Assess the scope and reduce the burden of disease for rural primary school children in a resource-poor environment through cost-effective and sustainable school health interventions. · Sensitise and train pupils and teachers by using skill based behaviour change towards good practice of hygiene at school. Operation and maintenance activities in the two schools with UDDTs include: · Keeping the toilets clean · Covering the faeces after defecation with ash as drying material (done by the users; ash is brought by pupils every day) · Monitoring the level of urine and faeces in the collection containers and vaults (this is done by the “school guards” who also transport the dried faeces to the fields). With regards to long-term impacts of the project the following can be concluded: 1. The main expected impact of the project was to improve public health and in particular to reduce the rate of diarrhoea incidences in school children. UDDTs are a preventive tool to lower disease and parasite infestation (intestinal worms). But no data is available on actual intestinal worms’ reduction. 2. The new school toilets reduced the toilet queues, as well as bad smell at the two schools. 3. The demonstration UDDTs have not yet resulted in any upscaling activities for ecosan systems by the schools or by the Ministry of Education.

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Draft. Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Kassa, K.

2010

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is about a project to replace a pit latrine with UDDT for one household in Arba Minch, Ethiopia. The UDDT serves 10 persons. This project is part of the larger EU-funded ROSA project. A household had a problem of repeated collapses of the pit latrine. The owner approached ROSA, Arba Minch for a solution. So the objective of the project was · to reduce the repeated pit collapse and solve the toilet problem and · to replace the toilet conditions with low odour and flies. This project is a one amongst the other components of the ROSA project. Solid wastes like green plants and animal wastes are also used by the owner for co-composting. Research on operation and maintenance are being done for 15 UDDT toilet products in the town like crop trial and reuse aspect. All the family members and the tenants admire this new toilet type and the concept of reusing which is observed from their positive response. During visit ROSA staff complained that hand washing water is not regularly kept nearby the toilet. Guests, who do not have any knowledge about toilets at all, visit the house every day and tend to misuse the toilet holes. With regards to long-term impacts of the project, the main expected impact of the project is improved public health and good condition of toilets. As a lot of guests visit the toilets it is also possible to say that tenants and landlords disseminate the knowledge, technology and concepts to Arba Minch town and other towns.

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Case study of sustainable sanitation projects

Winker, M., Saadoun, A.

2011

Sustainable Sanitation Alliance (SuSanA)

This case study is about a demonstration project in the headquarters of GTZ in Eschborn, Germany. The project consists of 50 urine-diversion flush toilets, 23 waterless urinals and 10 m³ urine storage tank. Objectives of the project: 1. To demonstrate the implementation of an ecological sanitation (ecosan) concept (here with urine-diversion flush toilets, urine storage and reuse) in an urban context. Ultimatively, if this technology was used widely in Germany, it could also prevent pharmaceutical residues contained in urine from entering into surface water and groundwater (as these substances are only partially removed in conventional wastewater treatment plants). 2. To reduce the amount of water used in the GIZ House 1 building. 3. To research important aspects of ecosan systems in Germany (social acceptance, reuse of urine in agriculture); this is done in Phase 2. The GIZ headquarters in Eschborn is frequently visited by international GIZ staff and decision makers, making this a good location for the demonstration of innovative ecological sanitation concepts. The GIZ ecosan team regularly conducts guided tours through the facilities. A demonstration room with various urine-diversion toilet models from all over the world is adjacent to the urine storage tanks. Due to the complete renovation of the buildings facade and the use of energy efficient heating systems and boilers the energy consumption of House 1 was substantially reduced. The new ground design and a green roof (about 50 % of the total surface) enhance a positive microclimate and reduce rainwater runoff. The following impacts of this project can be highlighted: 1. This project demonstrates the feasibility of urine and brownwater separation in an urban context to visitors from all over the world and thus helps to disseminate the ecosan concept. 2. By introducing an innovative sanitation system at its own main office building, GIZ shows its commitment to the ecosan approach. 3. The waterless urinals save water compared to conventional urinals. 4. This project has raised the visibility of the ecosan program within GIZ.

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