Pesticide pollution: mitigating the negative impacts

Water pollution, Pesticide residues, Irrigation canals, Salinity, Groundwater, Sri Lanka

Wilgoda line community survey summary report

Data collection / Surveys / Households / Social aspects / Community development / Income generation / Tenancy / Housing / Sri Lanka / Kurunegala

Report on water quality survey and pollution in Kurunegala, Sri Lanka

Water resources / Water pollution / Water quality / Monitoring / Electrical conductivity / Ph / Nitrogen / Iron / Boron / Heavy metals / Coliform bacteria / Sri Lanka / Kurunegala / Wan Ela / Beu Ela

Institutional arrangements for resource recovery and reuse in the wastewater sector

As populations grow and urban centres expand, meeting water demand and wastewater management requirements will become increasingly difficult. Goal 6 of the Sustainable Development Goals is to: ‘Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all’. Part of the approach to achieving this will be reusing wastewater and will require a greater understanding of the institutional arrangements that support or obstruct reuse. This research was designed to achieve this and aimed to develop a set of factors that investors could use to assess the institutional feasibility of reuse in a given setting. The methodology combined a case study approach, focusing on wastewater systems in Bangalore, India and Hanoi, Vietnam, with triangle analysis to assess: the content of policies and laws; the structures (formal and informal) to implement laws and reuse projects; and the culture around acceptance and engagement in reuse. The reuse practices observed in Bangalore were treatment and use within apartments, centralized treatment and sale to industries, use in agriculture after natural attenuation, groundwater recharge and lake regeneration. In Hanoi the only reuse was indirect use from rivers feeding fish ponds and fields, although formal treatment and use is planned. Critically, both cities have environmental and water resources policies and laws that advocate reuse, as well as related local legislation. However, support for reuse is not reciprocated in industrial, agricultural or fisheries law, the result being that reuse does not always take place as planned. Legislation is required along the whole sanitation chain to the point of wastewater use. Structures to implement reuse are also vital. In Bangalore the water board has initiated reuse projects and established the New Initiatives Division but resources are a limiting factor. Effective institutions include expertise, manpower and financing mechanisms, which are lacking in both cities. The environment agency is also engaged in reuse though legislation on recycling in residential and commercial complexes but guidance for users is inadequate, expectations are perceived to be excessive and monitoring is almost impossible. The driver for reuse is increasingly the benefits observed by users. In the case of apartments this is a reliable water source and reduced costs of water supply. As a result, a private sector in wastewater treatment is becoming established. The active civil society and strong, independent media are instrumental in providing information to potential users and holding authorities to account in Bangalore. Their absence in Hanoi is notable. In summary, institutional elements to be considered are: supportive legislation across all sectors; details of acceptable reuse, deterrents and inducements; budget allocation; structures to enable reuse; strong civil society, NGOs, courts, media and universities providing evidence of suitability and safety; donors and finance mechanisms; and stakeholders willing to use the products. Encumbrances are inconsistent or uncoordinated legislation, lack of cooperation and insufficient benefit sharing or perceptions of benefits along the reuse chain

Wastewater agriculture in Kurunegala City, Sri Lanka

Wastewater irrigation / Irrigation canals / Rivers / Urban agriculture / Farmers associations / Rain / Soil properties / Rice / Crop management / Fertilizers / Paddy fields / Sri Lanka / Kurunegala City / Beu Ela / Wan Ela

Background information for Rajshahi City, Bangladesh

Land use / Population / Climate / Rain / Water resources / Households / Income / Social aspects / Water quality / Sanitation / Drainage / Waste management / Wastewater / Public health / Bangladesh / Rajshahi City

Farmer driven wastewater treatment: a case study from Faisalabad, Pakistan

The use of wastewater in agriculture provides, besides the obvious risks, also benefits to farmers. This paper presents the case of Faisalabad where farmers used untreated wastewater even though effluent from the local waste stabilization ponds was available. Untreated wastewater had a higher nutrient value and lower salinity as compared to effluent from the WSP and its use resulted in a substantially higher farm income. An approach is therefore proposed in which farmers and wastewater managers enter into dialogue to find mutually beneficial solutions to provide wastewater for agriculture whilst minimizing health risks

Background report: Kurunegala, Sri Lanka

Development projects / Water resources / Social aspects / Population / Households / Income / Water supply / Sanitation / Wastewater / Water quality / Public health / Waterborne diseases / Land use / Land tenure / Legislation / Sri Lanka / Kurunegala / Wan Ela / Beu Ela

Wastewater agriculture in Rajshahi city, Bangladesh

Unpublished project report produced as part of the Wastewater Agriculture and Sanitation For Poverty Alleviation in Asia (WASPA Asia).WASPA Asia Project Report 9This project is funded by the European Commission under its Asia Pro Eco II Program. It is undertaken by the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Sri Lanka; COSI, Sri Lanka; the International Water and Sanitation Centre (IRC), the Netherlands; NGO Forum for Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation, Bangladesh; and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Sweden. The project pilot cities are Rajshahi City in Bangladesh and Kurunegala City in Sri Lanka