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to develop the ability of “Turag Samity” to be able to both negotiate with DWASA and address other management aspects. Sanitation In general, the sanitary disposal of excreta in the living environment improved significantly. The people in Bauniabad were closely involved in the selection of an appropriate technology for their basic sanitation by comparing a few locally available demonstration sanitation options. They chose the biogas system based on its cost, functional merits and convenience in household connected sewerage system. The initial biogas facility used for research showed about 70% BOD removal efficiency, and was cheaper than pit latrines or septic tanks in terms of per capita costs. Another positive aspect of the system was that it had potentials for producing renewable energy, biogas, which can be used for cooking. Majority of the families expressed their willingness to change their sanitation option from pit latrines to the biogas based sewerage system in 1996-1999 period. However, later it became clear that the systems did not function well in the treatment of wastewater mainly due to (i) overloading of pollutants compared with the original design; (ii) lack of knowledge and practice about appropriate maintenance of the systems; (iii) unexpectedly high inflow volume because of newly introduced piped water systems; (iv) inactive activities of biogas committees that are supposed to manage the operation/maintenance aspects of the system and (v) conflict of interest over use of the surface water bodies with growing fish farms and other industries. In order to tackle these problems, the following further steps were suggested: Quick survey on how the sanitation options are affecting the surrounding water bodies and examination of cost sharing scopes among users and other local stakeholders for emergency activities; Minimum water quality monitoring plan as quickly as possible and more complete monitoring plan later; Capacity building of local technicians and laboratories to conduct accurate sampling and wastewater testing; Training and involvement of the local community in the planning, implementing, monitoring and the operation and maintenance of the system; Research on possible scopes of renewable energy production and the reduction in green house-gas emissions; Research and development of guidelines about the operation and maintenance of the biogas based sewerage system; and Development of new community cost sharing concept to include people and organizations who work in the area and others who benefit from the installation of the system. People’s Knowledge and Hygiene Practices Water and sanitation (WS) educational intervention alone could not improve the WS related behavior of the people. The lack of access to the appropriate WS technology options was also a contributing factor. However, during the period of no regular/programmed educational intervention after the initial WS educational intervention period, people became willing to share the cost for the improved WS technologies due to their acceptance of the technologies as a result of their participation in recognizing the need for improved appropriate WS technologies. Most of the women surveyed knew that drinking of polluted water caused diarrhea. They also knew that diarrhea could be the cause of using an unhygienic latrine. However, when considering an appropriate hygienic option for the disposal of human waste, they seemed to be more concerned about the dirty appearance of their living area rather than being concerned about the possible health hazards. Hand washing practices were observed to be poor, as most of the women surveyed were only washing one hand before eating. Based on the hand washing practices that we observed and the information we ascertained from the focus groups, it was evident that the women of Bauniabad were not aware of the need for the washing of both hands, or the use of soap, to reduce the rate of transmission of fecal-oral pathogens into their food and water. Overall, the hygiene practices were observed to be poor. The lack of practical and applicable knowledge probably hampered the effective use of water for hygienic purposes. This may have been a result of the lack of dissemination of knowledge relating to the importance of hygiene among the women of Bauniabad. It is also evident that there is a strong need for the development of hygiene promotion methods. If such methods could be developed in a pilot programme, it could greatly aid in the development of guidelines to improve hygiene practices. 8
Lessons Learned and Recommendations Through the Bauniabad study, the following lessons were learned with the recommendations. Needs for Appropriate Systems The study revealed that unless appropriate systems are adopted, WS projects cannot be sustainable. It is recommended that: Adoption of an appropriate system is the key for successful WS projects. The system should be selected with not only technological considerations but also economic, cultural and social considerations. The following factors should be considered when we adopt appropriate systems. Engineering performance (pollution removal rate etc.); Initial costs for installation; Operation and maintenance of the system and its associated costs; Community management mechanism(s) to construct and operate the system; and Social and cultural acceptability of the system. A multidisciplinary team may need to be established to consider appropriate technologies for a specific site. This team should document the factors as to why the technologies are adopted in the specific site and investigate replicability of the technologies. There is need to continue research and development of appropriate WS technologies and systems in Bauniabad and poor settlements elsewhere. Collaboration with Scientific and Engineering Experts In considering technological and engineering aspects of the system, particularly when the technology is not the conventional one, it is important to involve competent scientific and engineering experts. It is recommended that: Scientific/engineering experts should be involved in the projects from the initial stage and continuously kept involved throughout the R&D stages and during the operational stage in an institutional manner. Collaboration with scientific/engineering institutions with reliable water quality laboratories, such as engineering faculties of universities is strongly recommended. The R&D activities conducted in this area should be supported to complete it to create a model for similar situations. Regarding water supply, community based institution should be developed to manage the system in coordination with the existing city provision, such as Dhaka Water and Sewerage Authority in the case of Dhaka City. Participatory Approach Community people have been involved from the initial stage of the biogas based sewerage system in Bauniabad, which enabled the needs and desire of the community people into the design of the system and significantly enhanced acceptability of the system by community people. Participatory approach should be adopted for all community based WS projects. General guidelines for community participation may be developed. A multidisciplinary team will consider adoption of the guidelines to a specific site, taking into account various specific social, cultural and economic conditions. Integration of Hygiene Education and Awareness Raising The Bauniabad case study revealed that the introduction of the new improved options changed the behavior of the people in relation to sanitation and source of water. It was also evident that the hygienic benefits that the new options provided increased their willingness to pay for them. There is a strong need for hygiene related education programmes among the people. It is evident that the introduction of new options alone is not sufficient to change the behavior of the people. It is recommended that: Community WS projects should be coupled with appropriate awareness raising and education programmes to more effectively achieve the objectives of the projects. Awareness raising and education programmes should be conducted regularly in order to inform existing residents, and especially new residents, about the importance of hygiene and safe water in relation to a healthy life style. Need for Adequate Documentation Various attempts have been made to improve water and sanitation conditions in Bauniabad in the past ten years, which gives us important lessons to be learned through success and failure stories. However, through this study, it 9
Page 2 and 3: Authors Dr. Bilqis Amin Hoque, Envi
Page 5 and 6: Contents Foreword 5 Executive Summa
Page 7 and 8: Foreword Water and sanitation (WS)
Page 9: drinking water. All the various sam
Page 13 and 14: List of Tables, Figures, Maps and P
Page 15: List of Abbreviations and Acronyms
Page 18 and 19: Photo 1.1 : A Street in Bauniabad P
Page 20 and 21: Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Backgrou
Page 22 and 23: Bauniabad was established as a spec
Page 24 and 25: 2.2 Water and Sanitation Educationa
Page 26 and 27: system in Bauniabad. For the trial
Page 28 and 29: scopes (financial resources) to obs
Page 30 and 31: Chapter 3 Methodology The cross-sec
Page 32 and 33: Chapter 4 Social Variables The soci
Page 34 and 35: when the people found the biogas ba
Page 36 and 37: Table 5.1: Physical performance and
Page 38 and 39: As the supply was not continuous, t
Page 40 and 41: It was observed that initially thos
Page 42 and 43: Chapter 6 Sanitation Sanitation pro
Page 44 and 45: 6.3 Costs and Financial Aspects The
Page 46 and 47: and E in different years (1996-2002
Page 48 and 49: The effluents from the systems of B
Page 50 and 51: 48 • There should be research and
Page 52 and 53: 7.4 Observations of Water Use Pract
Page 54 and 55: Chapter 8 Lessons Learned and Recom
Page 56 and 57: the people had access to safe hygie
Page 58 and 59: Appendix 1 Summary Report of the Fi
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14:00-15:30 Technical Session II co
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Appendix 2 Base Line Survey Form St
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SANITATION S-1: Use of Latrine:
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Table A-3.1: Results of the analysi
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66 Table A-4.1: Sources of water us
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Table A-4.3: Sanitation practices i
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70
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human poverty. UNDP, New York. UNIC
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Edited by L.S. Clesceri, A.E. Green
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