Characterizing the dissemination process of household water treatment systems in less developed countries

Recently, household-level water treatment and safe storage systems (HWTS) have been developed and promoted as simple, local, user-friendly, and low cost alternatives to conventional municipal-level drinking water treatment systems. Yet, despite conclusive evidence of the health and economic benefits of HWTS, the implementation outcomes have been slow, reaching only approximately 5-10 million people. This study attempts to understand the barriers and drivers affecting HWTS implementation. A review of existing literature on HWTS implementation found that existing research effort to promote HWTS is rather fragmented, with a narrow focus either on technical, psychological, or marketing perspective. Also, the application of innovation diffusion theories on HWTS implementation has been largely unexplored. To fill these research gaps, it is proposed that a system dynamics modelling approach to characterize the complex diffusion process of HWTS can be a valuable tool to identify high impact, leverage strategies to scale-up HWTS adoption and sustained use

Recent advances in household biosand filter design

The biosand filter is an intermittent-flow adaptation of slow sand filtration technology. Developed over 20 years ago and now with 15+ years’ operating experience in households, it has established a reputation for effectiveness, durability, and sustained use. Research, field evaluations, and understanding of the nature of intermittent filter operation have led to advances in the design of the biosand filter as well as the specifications for the hydraulic loading rate, filtration sand, and pause period and requirements for maintenance and cleaning. Different methods of fabricating the filter body and diffuser basin are providing more alternatives for implementing biosand filter projects. As of December 2013, 500 organizations have reported implementing biosand filter projects in 59 countries, for a total of over 650,000 filters, impacting more than four million people (CAWST 2014)

A methodology for evaluating education and training activities: a case study in Ethiopia

Organizations that provide capacity development services within the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector aim to improve access to water and sanitation through improved implementation of WASH projects. A key challenge for these organizations is a lack of clarity on how their results should be measured. Through a series of university research partnerships, the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology has developed an evaluation methodology to enable organizations to evaluate the outcomes and impacts of their education and training activities in WASH. In 2014, CAWST and the Ethiopian Kale Heywet Church Development Program Water Expertise and Training Centre applied the methodology to evaluate their WASH Awareness training program to health workers in Ethiopia. The evaluation methodology was found to be practical and useful in gathering rich information on program outcomes and for program improvement. It is recommended that the methodology be further developed, and applied widely by capacity development organizations

Importance of evaluating phosphate levels in tubewells in high arsenic areas of Asia

Significant levels of naturally occurring phosphates in groundwater in some arsenic affected regions can potentially reduce removal efficiencies of some critical iron-based arsenic treatment systems that currently are among the most simple and low-cost treatment approaches. From March-December 2007, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) and LEDARS, a Bangladeshi NGO, conducted pilot testing in Bangladesh of the Kanchan Arsenic Filter. Because of the varying phosphate levels in groundwater in different districts in Bangladesh, the project also included an analysis of phosphate data from arsenic studies conducted by other organizations in high arsenic areas in Vietnam, Cambodia, West Bengal and Inner Mongolia and compared them to results from Bangladesh and Nepal.The results from the analysis indicated that the ratio of iron to phosphates in the groundwater might be a good indicator for the effectiveness of iron-based arsenic removal systems in high arsenic areas

Evaluation of education and training in water and sanitation technology: case studies in Nepal and Peru

A significant constraint to effective and sustainable water and sanitation provision is the “lack of capacity at the local level” (WHO, 2010), however there is uncertainty in how the efforts of capacity builders should be measured, and improved (Brown, et al., 2001). The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (CAWST) and the Institute of Non-profit Studies at Mount Royal University (MRU) has collaborated to address this issue. An evaluative framework, based on the Kirkpatrick model (Kirkpatrick, D.L. & Kirkpatrick, J.D., 2006) was developed to assist capacity builders in the water and sanitation sector to capture and interpret the results of their education and training activities. The framework was applied to evaluate CAWST’s training activities in Peru and Nepal. The findings provide new perspectives on the impacts of CAWST’s work, and provide insight into how the framework can be valuable to other capacity building organizations

Measuring and reporting the capacity development performance of organizations in water and sanitation

Within the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector, a range of organizations offer education and training activities. The aim of these activities is to improve access to water and sanitation services through better design and implementation of WASH interventions (Broughton & Hampshire, 1997; Cracknell, 2000). However, it is often not clear how effective education and training activities are at achieving these objectives. A key challenge is lack of clarity on how the results of education and training in WASH should be measured and reported. In order to address this issue, CAWST (The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology) and the Centre for Engineering for Sustainable Development at the University of Cambridge conducted a review of measurement and reporting strategies of education and training organizations. Strengths, limitations and best practices were identified and used to develop recommendations for how CAWST, and other education and training organizations in the WASH sector, can improve the way they measure and report their results

Kanchan arsenic filter: evaluation and applicability to Cambodia

Arsenic contamination of drinking water in rural Cambodia has driven the search for mitigation options. The Kanchan Arsenic Filter for household water treatment is being evaluated for its applicability as one potential solution to this crisis. In 2008, ten Kanchan filters, in 5 configurations, were tested over a 30 week period. Each filter treated 40 L/day. The ground water had arsenic and phosphate concentrations averaging 637 μg/L and 5.09 mg/L respectively, representing challenging source water. Arsenic removal averaged 9597% for all configurations. After the first week of start up, all but 1 in 224 samples achieved the Cambodian standard of 50 μg/L. Arsenic removal was not significantly affected by the flow rate or the cleaning of the filter. There was no apparent depletion of arsenic adsorption capacity over the 30 weeks (8400 L filtered). Iron and turbidity removals were also very high, improving the user acceptability of this technology

A global review of capacity building organizations in water sanitation, and hygiene for developing countries

Although capacity building is increasingly emphasized in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector, many WASH implementing organizations still lack capacity to effectively and sustainably provide WASH services. This study attempts to review the global capacity building efforts in the WASH sector by identifying the major capacity building organizations, understanding their focus and activities, comparing their efforts, and assessing potential gaps in capacity building services. A review of 72 water and sanitation networks identified 104 organizations providing capacity building services to other organizations. These capacity builders are mostly European Non-Governmental Organizations giving trainings on technical subjects with frequent duplication of services. Capacity building services were found to be concentrated in capital cities with rural and remote areas receiving less capacity building services. A lack of long-term client tracking and support was also found. By addressing these gaps and increased communication between these organizations, capacity could be built much more efficiently