Pro-poor strategies for urban water supply and sanitation services delivery in Africa.

Water utilities in Africa find it increasingly difficult to provide adequate services to the needy areas: their core business operations are often stagnant, compounded by a dramatic rise in peri-urban and poor settlements. To address these challenges, the Water and Sanitation Program Africa has designed a work program to disseminate the best practice in pro-poor service development and to help utilities and municipal authorities to develop roadmaps to the MDGs for their service areas. Activities will primarily be directed at: (i) helping utilities and municipal authorities to include pro-poor objectives in their reform; and, (ii) working jointly with local partners, CBOs and NGOs, and SSPs to develop strategies and actions specifically targeting informal settlements. WSP-AF will focus on utilities that are engaged in reform or planning to do so. This program builds on support developed for Water Utility Partnership (WUP#5). Key entry points for pro-poor strategies: (i) pro-poor tariffs and financing mechanisms for service improvement, (ii) institutional arrangements to improve services to the urban poor, (iii) pro-poor transaction design (including regulation and monitoring), (iv) advocacy and communications regarding the urban poor, and (v) consumer voice and civil society engagement.     

Thirsty slums in African cities: household water insecurity in urban informal settlements of Lilongwe,Malawi

ABSTRACT

Over 70% of Malawi’s urban population lives in informal settlements, where households regularly face chronic water insecurity. This article utilizes mixed methods – household surveys (N = 645), field observations, focus groups and interviews – to examine household water insecurity in three urban informal settlements of Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital and largest city. The study finds that water insecurity arises from overdependence on communal water kiosks which are insufficient in number, have high nonfunctional rates, are prone to vandalism, and provide water irregularly; lack of alternative improved water sources; and a significant time burden due to long waiting times and multiple trips to water sources. The findings underscore why water insecurity in Africa’s urban informal settlements deserves urgent policy attention.     

Integrated Approaches to Efficient Water Use in South Africa

Post-apartheid South Africa is in the throes of incredible challenges. One of the more important challenges is the access of all citizens to basic services. South Africa is doing this against a backdrop of strongly differential servicing that is its apartheid legacy, which has prompted many a commentator to label South Africa as a country living in two worlds-a developed First World component and an impoverished developing world component. The challenge for water is to ensure universal access in this context over the added hurdle that South Africa is a water-scarce country. One of the important ways in which more water can be made available for this extended servicing is through the development and implementation of water-efficient practices in both reticulation and end use. This paper talks to the development of a national policy that is supported by the new national water law in order to achieve these goals. An urban case study on the implementation of these practices is also described.     

Water Demand Theory and Projections in South Africa

Abstract

This study estimates Rand Water's water demand in South Africa for 2000 to 2020. It indicates lower growth in water consumption in the foreseeable future than in the past century. The reduced growth is due to: Economic slowdown (international and South African); Lower standard of living/residences for the “white” population; Corresponding decrease in formal business growth; Limitations of services in built up areas; Increased water costs; Improved loss control; HIV/Aids; Unwillingness of informal residents to contribute for services. This is offset by: Migration of poor to cities and creation of peri-urban growth; Increased standards for previously disadvantaged people; Improved health facilities; Growth in informal economy; New political freedom. A net growth of 2 percent annually is forecast. A statistical approach is adopted to obtain confidence limits for individual sectors. A decomposed demographic model is developed and used to predict water demand until 2020. A wider uncertainty in future consumption is foreseen. Conservative planning is recommended for future water resource projects, e.g. low capital, and operating intensive schemes are preferable. A methodology for planning in the face of uncertainty and low growth is developed.     

Improving sanitation in informal settlements of East African cities: hybrid of market and state-led approaches

This paper analyzes how sanitation can be improved in the informal settlements of East African cities through a hybrid model. Qualitative research was carried out in eight settlements in three cities. Findings show that all cities apply a hybrid model (with some variation) when providing improved sanitation to their residents. Sanitation services were available in all cities, but there was no evidence of the state actively organizing a functioning sanitation market in Kampala or Kisumu. This implies that a hybrid model with a strong and committed developmental state is the right choice in the context of the informal settlements of East African cities.     

The implications of point source phosphorus management to potable water treatment

The Vaal River Barrage reservoir is an important source of raw water for Rand Water which supplies at least 10 million people with drinking water daily. Return effluents from waste water treatment works, industries and informal urban settlements in the catchment has resulted in algal problems in the raw water and treatment process.In order to attempt to reduce the effect of eutrophication of South African inland water quality the Department of Water Affairs implemented in 1985 a 1 mg/l ortho-phosphate standard for waste water treatment works effluents.The amount of phosphate originating from the waste water treatment works decreased significantly over the 10 years after the standard was implemented even though 40% of the time the works do not comply to the standard. This has resulted in no significant change in the chlorophyll values at Rand Water Intake No. 1. The algal species composition has changed with blue-greens becoming more dominant which has resulted in a higher incidence of algal related problems. The stabilizing of the chlorophyll values is not only as a result of lower ortho-phosphate levels but also due to residence times, turbidity and conductivity.To further reduce the algal concentrations at Rand Water Intake No. 1 the 1 mg/l ortho-phosphate standard will have to be enforced, the standard possibly reduced and diffuse sources managed on a catchment basis.     

Effective subsidies in developing countries.

During the last decades, significant subsidies have been allocated to government-owned water and sewerage enterprises in developing countries. However, water and sewerage coverage is still far from desirable and the poor are particularly affected by the shortage of these services. The truth is that a considerable part of these subsidies have been used up to build huge infrastructure works that would make some construction firms happy, while often decreasing the service costs for the richer. The costs associated of delivering water and sanitation services to the poor are significantly higher, as they often live in slums or irregular urban developments without urban infrastructure. It is possible, and desirable, to improve government's effectiveness through the use of appropriate economic incentives. The Brazilian River Basin Pollution Abatement Program, based on the "output-based aid" concept, is a good example of how this can be achieved. The Program is a success story that shows that the quality of expenditures on sanitation can be considerably improved if governments of developing countries refrain from contracting sanitation infrastructure works and start paying for results, not for promises.     

A knowledge gap analysis on multi-scale predictive ability for agriculturally derived sediments under South African conditions.

Agriculture has been implicated as a major source of sediments in South Africa. The aim of the knowledge gap analysis was to understand the production and delivery components of agriculturally derived sediments under South African conditions and to assess the predictive ability to address the fate of these sediments from field to catchment scales. An overview is given of important erosion processes and erosion modelling applied in South Africa at the field and catchment scale. A limitation of the sediment models is that gully erosion is not simulated; therefore, the models should be complemented with gully erosion predictions if gullies are an important sediment source. Field-scale models inadequately predict sediment production localised at hydrologically sensitive areas as a result of saturation excess flow and/or throughflow. The discussion on erosion modelling reveals that more complex models have had limited application in South Africa because they require large and detailed data sets, and may have parameters that are difficult to measure or to estimate. A modelling framework is discussed which allows linking of sediment models requiring readily available data, gully erosion models/maps and the use of other techniques to assess the fate of agriculturally derived sediments from field to catchment scale.     

Using backcasting to explore ways to improve the national water department’s contribution to good groundwater governance in South Africa

Backcasting defines a vision of a desirable future and then analyzes the actions required to realize that vision. This article uses backcasting to explore ways to improve the national government’s contribution to good groundwater governance in South Africa. Using the South African Department of Water and Sanitation as a case study, it is found that lack of strategic thinking and implementation are the main impediments to service delivery. Although isolated cases of groundwater ‘overuse’ and pollution can be found in South Africa, the main governance issues are currently competition between users for groundwater use, and inordinate delays in granting authorization for that use.     

Diffuse pollution in Japan: issues and perspectives.

Many parts of Japan have experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization over the past 50 years. This trend resulted in severe water pollution in many urban areas. To address the pollution problems, several measures such as construction of sewerage systems and enactment of laws and regulations have been undertaken. Because of these measures, the water quality has been improved to some extent. However, many water quality concerns still remain and are attributed in part to diffuse pollution. In this paper, historical progress, present situation and future aspects of diffuse pollution problems in Japan are reviewed. It is noted that solving diffuse pollution problems will require a combination of several measures including application of conventional treatment technologies and natural purification systems, implementation of appropriate policy measures, and promotion of citizen participation.     

Promoting good governance through regulatory frameworks in African water utilities.

Most public utilities in Africa are operating at very low efficiency levels. This is mainly a result of poor governance leading to a downward spiral in terms of service to customers. Nearly in every case, studies have shown that the root cause of these problems is not necessarily lack of investment but poor choices with regard to sector policies, institutional and regulatory frameworks. The paper will seek to show the need for effective regulatory framework that promotes Good Governance of public utilities leading to their efficient performance. The paper will draw lessons from the Australian water services regulatory framework and apply it to the African water situation. The Australian regulatory framework has been instrumental in promoting Good Governance in the public utilities hence being run efficiently. It is recognised that the African Water and Sanitation Sector where most public utilities are not operating under a clearly defined regulatory framework can learn a lot from the Australian experience.     

A pilot assessment of water, sanitation, hygiene and home-based care services for people living with HIV/AIDS in rural and peri-urban communities in South Africa.

A short-term assessment of water, sanitation, hygiene and home-based care services in two rural and two peri-urban communities in South Africa was made using specially designed questionnaires. The results from this assessment indicated the shortcomings of various sections in the service provision to people affected and living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. This paper is a summarised version of the assessment and aims to give an indication of the inadequacies of some of these services.     

A measure for provisional-and-urgent sanitary improvement in developing countries: septic-tank performance improvement

Although many cities have planed to develop sewerages in developing countries, sewerage establishment still requires huge investment and engineering efforts. Improvement of existing sanitation facilities may contribute the betterment of urban sanitation before sewerage establishment. The purpose of this study is to propose a measure to improve urban sanitation in areas where a sewerage development plan is proposed but has not been yet established, based on a case study in Hanoi, Vietnam. We found that 90.5% of human excreta flowed into septic tanks. However, 89.6% of septic tanks have never been desludged in the past and their performance was observed to be at a low level. The study also showed that if they introduce regular desludging with a frequency of once a year, they can eliminate 72.8% of COD loads from septic tanks. It was indicated that the performance can be dramatically recovered by regular desludging, which could contribute urban sanitation improvement in Hanoi. In conclusion, the performance recovery of septic tanks by regular desludging was proposed as a provisional-and-urgent measure for urban sanitation improvement, together with the septage treatment in sewage sludge treatment facilities, which should be established earlier than other facilities of sewage treatment systems.     

An integrated modeling approach to predict flooding on urban basin.

Correct prediction of flood extents in urban catchments has become a challenging issue. The traditional urban drainage models that consider only the sewerage-network are able to simulate the drainage system correctly until there is no overflow from the network inlet or manhole. When such overflows exist due to insufficient drainage capacity of downstream pipes or channels, it becomes difficult to reproduce the actual flood extents using these traditional one-phase simulation techniques. On the other hand, the traditional 2D models that simulate the surface flooding resulting from rainfall and/or levee break do not consider the sewerage network. As a result, the correct flooding situation is rarely addressed from those available traditional 1D and 2D models. This paper presents an integrated model that simultaneously simulates the sewerage network, river network and 2D mesh network to get correct flood extents. The model has been successfully applied into the Tenpaku basin (Nagoya, Japan), which experienced severe flooding with a maximum flood depth more than 1.5 m on September 11, 2000 when heavy rainfall, 580 mm in 28 hrs (return period > 100 yr), occurred over the catchments. Close agreements between the simulated flood depths and observed data ensure that the present integrated modeling approach is able to reproduce the urban flooding situation accurately, which rarely can be obtained through the traditional 1D and 2D modeling approaches.     

Informal water vendors and the urban poor: evidence from a Nairobi slum

ABSTRACT

In Kenya, informal urban water markets serve the poor in areas where public utilities have failed to deliver. They often charge high prices, sell low-quality water and perform water transactions in a way that is unfair to the buyers. They still remain one of the most popular alternatives for water provision, as they can offer flexibility of supply arrangements and payment systems which are beyond the scope of large-scale water providers. In the major restructuring of Kenya’s urban water delivery system towards commercialization and privatization, these private vendors are being regularized for better service delivery in terms of regulation of prices and quality of water.     

Political and Professional Agency Entrapment: An Agenda for Urban Water Research

The many societal benefits provided by traditional, centralised urban water servicing models are being re-examined following recent extreme weather events, climate uncertainty and other variable socio-technical trends. Total water cycle management offers a more flexible and resilient approach to urban water management, however, transformative change in the sector is difficult. A growing number of scholars have identified that the urban water sector is locked-in to the current large-scale, centralised infrastructure model and suggest the sector is unable to accommodate new technologies and management approaches beyond niche projects. Based on extensive socio-institutional research and example cases from Australian and United Kingdom experiences managing urban water under pressures such as modern environmentalism, prolonged water scarcity and sewerage overflows, this paper provides a commentary on common factors exhibited in both countries related to technological path dependency. Three key factors promoting this pathway: political risk, professional agency fear and a lack of a hybrid governance approach are discussed and a future scholarly research agenda is presented.     

城市供水合理水价结构分析

城市水工业企业（城市供水、排水、污水处理）要真正实现“自主经营、自负盈亏、自我积累、自我发展”,就必须制定合理的城市供水水价结构,在研究城市供水的价格和构成中要考虑到各环节的合理补偿,价格制定合理的原则,结合国际通行的水价结构分析我国水价结构现状,制定合理的水价结构不仅是当前水价改革的一个主要任务,而且关系到城市水资源的可持续发展。     

Benefit and Implementation of Groundwater Protection Zoning in South Africa

Groundwater studies in several African countries show that the contamination of water-supply aquifers is mainly due to improper placement of land-based activities such as agriculture, industries, waste disposal. In South Africa, groundwater pollution is also of increasing concern due to fast population growth and accompanying development. Groundwater protection zoning is a supplemental methodology for groundwater management that incorporates land use planning. The land is managed to minimize the potential of groundwater contamination by human activities that occur on or below the land surface. The various benefits associated with implementation of protection zoning are discussed for stakeholders such as communities, water supply companies, ecosystems and policy makers. A South African case study is presented comparing the cost of protection with the cost incurred due to the treatment of sick and dying people due to contaminated drinking water. These benefits must be communicated to the stakeholders to start the implementation at all management levels. Implementation steps of groundwater protection zones are discussed and can be tested even with low budgets and little data available. Monitoring and reassessment of protection zones are important to test the effectiveness and prove to decision makers that the money was well spent. The legal framework for implementation of groundwater protection zoning in a South African context is described, where the water law makes provision for tools like differentiated protection, licensing and recovery of cost. Challenges regarding implementation of groundwater protection are discussed with some action steps on how to move forward.     

The Abuja Ministerial Declaration on Water

Abstract

Africa faces major problems in its water resources sector, manifested in the periodic droughts and floods and compounded by population growth, urbanization, and environmental degradation. Africa has a large number of shared rivers, lakes, and aquifers, and the uses and protection of most are not regulated by any agreements between the riparian states. Where such agreements exist, they do not encompass all the riparians. A number of instruments were concluded by the African leaders with the view of addressing these problems. The most recent of those instruments is “the Abuja Ministerial Declaration on Water: A Key to Sustainable Development,” which was adopted in April 2002 and which establishes the African Ministerial Conference on Water. This article reviews the water resources problems in Africa and analyzes the various attempts to address them, including the Abuja Declaration.     

Sewer system design moving into the 21st century--a UK perspective.

Change in external factors, such as environmental legislation and climate change, will mean the future of sewerage systems is likely to be different from the past. Combined sewerage systems comprise the vast majority of existing sewers in countries such as the UK. A study funded by UK Water Industry Research Ltd has reviewed the current state of sewerage within the UK, the likely drivers for change and the consequent future impacts over a 75 year timescale. Potential responses to address the anticipated changes have also been considered. It is concluded that due to the wide extent and value of existing sewer systems, these will continue to be used for the foreseeable future. However, in order to meet the major challenges as a result of changing external factors, these need to be operated more effectively, new ideas need to be explored and moves to develop better and more integrated water management systems need to be started if sewer systems in the UK are to provide the anticipated required levels of service well into the 21st century.