Provision of water to the poor in Africa : experience with water standposts and the informal water sector

Standpipes that dispense water from utilities are the most common alternatives to piped water connections for poor customers in the cities of Sub-Saharan Africa. Fifty-five percent of the unconnected urban population relies on standpipes as their first water source. Other informal water providers include household resellers and a variety of water tankers and vendors, which are the first water source of 1 percent and 3 percent of the urban population, respectively. In the cities studied, the percentage of unconnected households ranges from 12 percent to 86 percent of the population. The percentage of unconnected people covered by standpipes is substantially higher for countries with higher rates of household connection, while the percentage of unconnected people covered by water tankers or water vendors is higher for countries with lower rates of household connection. Water prices in the informal market are much higher than for households with private connections or yard taps. Although standpipes are heavily subsidized by utilities, the prices charged by standpipe operators are closely related to the informal water reseller price. Standpipe management models also affect the informal price of water. For example, the shift from utilities management to delegated management models without complementary regulation or consumer information has often led to declines in service levels and increased prices. Standpipes are not the only or even the most efficient solution in peri-urban areas. Programs that promote private household connections and arrangements that improve pricing and services in the household resale market should also be considered by policy makers.Town Water Supply and Sanitation,Urban Water Supply and Sanitation,Water Supply and Sanitation Governance and Institutions,Water and Industry,Water Conservation

Achieving sustainable sanitation chains through better informed and more systematic improvements: lessons from multi-city research in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper presents the synthesised findings of the SPLASH Urban Sanitation research programme through the framework of the sanitation service chain. Urban sanitation service chains are complex and fragmented, involving a multiplicity of service providers and typically resulting in unsustainable or inadequate services. The aggregate data set covers a wide range of research methods including; household surveys, a randomised control trial, a willingness to pay survey prototype testing of technologies, focus group discussions and deliberative forums. Thorough the research, it has been possible to identify situations where incremental improvements are being made with varying degrees of success. Most importantly, it has identified weaknesses to the sanitation service chains where progress is either slow or extremely limited. It is through these weaknesses that key questions affecting the long term sustainability of sanitation service chains need to be answered

Innovative WASH Options in Situations of Severe Overcrowding

A rapid review of the literature has found a selection of innovative WASH options available for situations of severe population overcrowding and limited spaces. Case study information was collated from African, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Caribbean countries. As requested, a number of experts were consulted for their opinion where there was a lack of project evaluations or grey literature

Innovative WASH Options in Situations of Severe Overcrowding

A rapid review of the literature has found a selection of innovative WASH options available for situations of severe population overcrowding and limited spaces. Case study information was collated from African, Middle Eastern, South Asian and Caribbean countries. As requested, a number of experts were consulted for their opinion where there was a lack of project evaluations or grey literature

Assessing sanitary mixtures in East African cities

The urbanisation of poverty and informality in East African cities poses a threat to environmental health, perpetuates social exclusion and inequalities, and creates service gaps (UN-Habitat, 2008). This makes conventional sanitation provision untenable citywide, giving rise to the emergence of sanitation mixtures. Sanitation mixtures have different scales, institutional arrangements, user groups, and rationalities for their establishment, location, and management. For assessing the performance of both the mixtures as a whole and the different sanitation approaches constituting these mixtures, novel approaches for analyses are required. This thesis, therefore, departs from the centralised-decentralised approaches to a modernised mixtures (MM) approach in seeking a more inclusive assessment of sanitary configurations taking into account public and environmental health, accessibility and flexibility of sanitation systems as sustainability criteria. To achieve this, the four objectives formulated for this thesis are to: 1. Make an inventory of sanitary systems in Kampala and Kisumu. 2. Assess and map sanitary systems along MM dimensions in Kampala and Kisumu. 3. Assess sustainability of sanitary systems on defined MM criteria in Kampala and Kisumu. 4. Enhance insights on the applicability of MM criteria as conceptual model, assessment and prescriptive tool for sanitary mixtures in East African cities. Case study cities were chosen from a typology of primary and secondary cities that have urban sewer systems since colonial times. The two cities were deemed to offer rich cases that would give a general outlook of other East Africa cities, thus can offer possibilities for generalization. The thesis utilised a multi-method and multi-level approach in data collection and analysis. A multicriteria analysis is used in sustainability performance assessment of sanitation systems based on defined MM criteria. Firstly, modernisation debates and resultant modernities in sanitation provision were reviewed in Chapter 2. The review shows that Western modernisation and resultant modernities and their structures of service provision have not resonated well in developing countries. Consequently, alternative theories that dispute a universal approach to modernity emerged to offer alternatives to modernisation. Alternative options are characterised by multiple rationalities, diversity and multiplicity. Modernities in terms of sanitation provision are further operationalized as competition between the proponents of centralised versus decentralised solutions. A third way of looking at sanitation modernisation that is more inclusive is advanced through the introduction of the MM approach. In Chapter 3, the presence of urban sewer systems in Kampala and Kisumu cities is assessed. The results show that urban systems are of medium scale and serve about 10% of the city population. They are publicly owned and managed by public enterprises under new public management. Besides, they are conventionally designed, constructed and operated without the involvement of end-users. Treatment plants are either overloaded, underutilised or treatment stages are mismatched. Consequently, about 30-70% of the treatment stages are not operational. Effluent discharge standards and bio-solids reuse requirements are not met, and the adopted treatment technologies are inappropriate for the investigated conditions. Sewer networks are supported by pumping stations and siphons that are only partially operational due to high operational costs and mechanical failures. Public sewerage is further plagued by urban informality and multiplicity of city spatial structures. Planned city core, and to a limited extent peri-urban areas, are served by public sewers, while sewer trunk lines pass through informal slum settlements without connections. In Chapter 4, satellite systems are analysed and configurations mapped. Satellite systems are intermediate semi-collective decentralised sewerage and treatment systems developed parallel to urban and onsite systems. They are provided by multiple actors, serve planned middle and high income residential, industrial complexes, endowed public and private universities, and government facilities. In terms of scale, they are community, neighbourhood and small-urban sanitation solutions. Besides, satellite systems are private sewerage systems that utilise gravity sewers and localised mechanised or non-mechanised treatment. The flows are based on land use or facility specific and are treated close to the point of generation. They are based on conventional designs and construction protocols without end-user involvement. Onsite systems in Kampala and Kisumu cities are examined in Chapter 5. Planning forecast indicates that onsite systems will dominate sewer (urban and satellite) systems beyond the next two decades. They are small-scale, highly decentralised and use simple technologies. Pit latrines dominate septic tanks in number, with eco-san on pilot scales and bio-latrine being a new sanitation option. Faecal sludge collection, treatment and safe disposal is dismal. The private sector dominates over local authorities in provision of faecal sludge services, but public sewerage agencies receive and co-treat faecal sludge with sewage although sewage works are not designed to receive faecal sludge. They are regulated by the Ministry of Health, enforced by the city councils and are provided by multiple actors solely or in partnership. Onsite sanitation can be a transient or permanent solution depending on mass flows and spatial requirements. However, for better sanitation provision, a permanent solution, with room for amendments to anticipate changes in space and mass flow is imperative. In Chapter 6, sustainability performance of sanitation systems are assessed following the defined three MM criteria. The performance shows that there is no sanitation system that is completely outcompeted in performance, neither are there systems with a very good performance. Sanitation system choices, consequently, are made among imperfect options, which call for balancing the various elements of sanitation provision to suit different policy and local contexts. Varying the assigned relative weight of the various criteria used in the overall MCA assessment indicates that generally, any slight increase in weight has an impact on systems that already have a high performance whereas in the case of systems with low performance the change is dismal or even negative. Therefore, programmes for improvement of sanitation systems might be directed to improvement options where systems already have a relatively high performance. However, those with a low performance may need comprehensive or even system reconfigurations for significant impacts to be realised. In conclusion, sanitation mixtures are theorised as the co-existence of different phases of modernity in tandem with local context variables. Thus, there is no one-fit-all paradigmatic way to sanitation provision if the local contexts are apparently different even within the same city. However, a shift of the centralised-decentralised dichotomy to modernised mixtures paradigm offers better impetus as it can utilise the advantages of both centralised and decentralised approaches without jeopardising existing provision pathways. The MM approach is helpful in assessing, mapping and describing sanitation systems in cities where sanitation mixtures are the norm rather than the exception. One way to modernise sanitation mixtures is by shifting the centralised-decentralised paradigm in order to modernise the mixed sanitation landscape. This is premised on the notion that such a shift will result in merging the strengths of centralised approach, e.g. economies of scale, efficiency, and convenience, with strengths of decentralised approach, e.g. accessibility, flexibility, participation, and reuse and recovery in development of intermediate systems configuration. This can be achieved through, among others, avoiding use of pumping stations, adoption of multiple service levels, involvement of private sector, servicing households at intermediate scale, and establishing sanitation suitability and management zones. The MM approach is also very helpful as a conceptual model for organising a research agenda which can be set along the four assessment dimensions of scale, management, flows and participation, as well as in searching for appropriate intervention measures along one or more of these dimensions. As an assessment and decision making tool, it is helpful in finding out which elements highlighted in the sustainability assessment need to be restructured and which need improvement in order to enhance their sustainability. However, translation of the proposed conceptual MM model into a mathematical model is a challenge yet to be explored. Considering its intrinsic dynamic character in dependence to varying spaces, flows, and scales along city development, a mathematical MM model would provide a regulatory design tool for city planners for adopting amendments to existing sanitation solutions. Obviously, up to date monitoring and inventory records are a pre-requisite for applying such a model, requiring institutional upgrading. Although the current results described in this thesis provide the basis for a more structured assessment and generalisation of sanitation mixtures, more research and contextualisation is needed in other regions, for further elaboration of MM model, and for the refinement of the assessment tool. </p

Rethinking Sanitation: Lessons and Innovation for Sustainability and Success in the New Millennium

This report highlights some of the key lessons learned from the past about sustainable sanitation solutions, new thinking emerging from consolidated learning and innovative experimentation on-the-ground, and some of the conditions necessary for success if real improvements in sanitation are to be achieved and sustained in rural and urban areas. Special attention is placed on the shift from supply-led sanitation projects to demand-led and market-oriented projects. The report concludes that with much deeper attention and broadened interest in sanitation, a more realistic view of the complexity, time, resources and effort needed to meet the challenge of large-scale sustainable changes in sanitation at the household level

Rethinking adequate housing for low-income women of the Global South : reflections on women initiated housing transformations to Masese Women Slum-Upgrading Housing Project, Jinja, Uganda

The global discourse on low-income housing promotes participation to provide slum dwellers of the Global South with adequate housing. Despite acknowledged women’s extra vulnerability to the substandard housing of slums, how their participation, or what design considerations support their housing adequacy, remains ambiguous. Case study methodology was used for the exploration of the research presented in this PhD thesis. Targeting women as its main beneficiaries, Masese Women Slum-Upgrading Housing Project (MWSUHP) was selected as the case for the research explorations at it represents the state of the art in providing adequate housing to women living in Ugandan slums. The research aims at describing, exploring and developing an understanding of the contribution of women’s participation in MWSUHP housing processes, as well as identifying design considerations to support their adequate housing provision. Empirical evidence was gathered using combined methods of documents and drawings analysis, walk-throughs, interviews and focus group discussions. The research identified the domination of the colonial ideologies, men’s over representation, ad the gender blindness of the Ugandan low-income housing discourse. These factors contributed to the production of housing designs that promote gender stratification, segregation and subordination. The research results acknowledged Ugandan low-income women’s substantial design knowledge to their housing adequacy and highlights the importance of interpreting housing designs in gender-related terms. To attain housing adequacy to the Ugandan low-income women, the research advocates for; i) including low-income women in their housing design processes, ii) increase women’s representation in the Ugandan housing design discourses, iii) developing housing design ideologies that understand housing in gender related terms iv) developing housing designs that appreciate the Ugandan low-income women’s socio-cultural contexts and lifestyles, respond to their productive, reproductive and community integration roles v) embracing women’s intersectionality vi) considering flexibility, spontaneity, improvisation and incremental development in their housing designs. This research contributes in filling the knowledge gap in the low-income housing discourse, with a focus on providing women living in the Ugandan slums with adequate housing

Rethinking Urban Risk and Resettlement in the Global South

Environmental changes have significant impacts on people’s lives and livelihoods, particularly the urban poor and those living in informal settlements. In an effort to reduce urban residents’ exposure to climate change and hazards such as natural disasters, resettlement programmes are becoming widespread across the Global South. While resettlement may reduce a region’s future climate-related disaster risk, it often increases poverty and vulnerability, and can be used as a reason to evict people from areas undergoing redevelopment. A collaboration between the Bartlett Development Planning Unit at UCL, the Indian Institute for Human Settlements and the Latin American Social Science Faculty, Rethinking Urban Risk and Resettlement in the Global South collates the findings from 'Reducing Relocation Risks', a research project that studied urban areas across India, Uganda, Peru, Colombia and Mexico. The findings are augmented with chapters by researchers with many years of insight into resettlement, property rights and evictions, who offer cases from Monserrat, Cambodia, Philippines and elsewhere. The contributors collectively argue that the processes for making and implementing decisions play a large part in determining whether outcomes are socially just, and examine various value systems and strategies adopted by individuals versus authorities. Considering perceptions of risk, the volume offers a unique way to think about economic assessments in the context of resettlement and draws parallels between different country contexts to compare fully urbanised areas with those experiencing urban growth. It also provides an opportunity to re-think how disaster risk management can better address the accumulation of urban risks through urban planning