Planning and implementation of ecological sanitation projects

1
Planning and implementation of ecological
sanitation projects

• Christine Werner, Florian Klingel, Heinz-Peter
  Mang, Patrick Bracken, Arne Panesar
• Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
  Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
• ecological sanitation programme, Division 44
  environment and infrastructure

• 5th International Symposium on Wastewater
  Reclamation and Reuse for Sustaniability, IWA 8.
  - 11. November 2005 in Jeju, Korea

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content of the presentation
Introduction

• what is ecosan?
• wastewater water and more
• benefits of ecosan
• range of technologies and basic project types
• holistic sanitation and reuse planning and
  implementation
• HCES and Bellagio principles
• stakeholder participation
• 10 step ecosan project planning and
  implementation process
• some ecosan pilot projects
• challenges and conclusion

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shortcomings of conventional watercarriage
sanitation
Introduction to ecosan
fertilizer production from finite resources
food
overexploitation of groundwater
Mixing of flowstreams, misuse of drinking water
for transport
waste disposal in water bodies
sewage sludge
90 untreated
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shortcomings of conventional drop and store
sanitation
Introduction to ecosan
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principles of ecosan
Introduction to ecosan
6
closing the loop between sanitation and
agriculture
Introduction to ecosan
rainwater harvesting
restoring soil fertility
food
agricultural use
manure/organic waste
greywater
faeces
urine
treatment / hygienization /energy production
water reuse
no waste disposal in water bodies
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advantages of ecological sanitation
Introduction to ecosan

• Improvement of health by minimizing the
  introduction of pathogens from human excrements
  into the water cycle
• Promotion of safe, hygienic recovery and use of
  nutrients, organics, trace elements, water and
  energy
• Preservation of soil fertility, Improvement of
  agricultural productivity
• Conservation of resources
• Preference for modular, decentralised
  partial-flow systems for more appropriate,
  cost-efficient solutions
• Promotion of a holistic, interdisciplinary
  approach
• Material flow cycle instead of disposal

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ecosan principles
Introduction to ecosan

• Ecological sanitation
• is not a specific technology, but a new
  philosophy - based on an eco-system-oriented view
  of material flows - of dealing with what is
  presently regarded as waste and wastewater for
  disposal
• considers human excreta and wastewater not as
  wastes but as natural resources
• applies the basic natural principal of closing
  the loop by using modern and safe sanitation and
  reuse technologies
• opens up a wider range of sanitation options
  than those currently considered.

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composition of household wastewater
Introduction to ecosan
10.000 200.000 l
50 l
500 l
source Otterpohl
Volume Liter / (Personyear)
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separation of substances
Introduction to ecosan
substances
treatment
utilisation
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excreta are a valuable resource

• more than 1/3 of global mineral fertilizer
  consumption can be covered by the reuse of human
  excreta
• over 15 billion US fertilizer equivalent are
  annually flushed down the toilet

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benefits of ecological sanitation

• safe sanitation

• healthy environment

souce www.virtualmuseum.ca
source Johannes Heeb
ecosan-toilets in Bangalore, India
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benefits of ecological sanitation

• improved soil quality through reuse of organics

• restored soil fertility through nutrient reuse

none
urine
faeces urine
source Petter Jenssen
compost improved soil
source Vinnerås, 2003
untreated soil
after one week without water
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benefits of ecological sanitation
source Petter Jenssen

• recovery of energy content (covering about 20
  of cooking energy needs for a typical family in a
  developing country)
• energy savings in fertilizer production
  wastewater treatment

• reuse of water

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centralised and decentralized systems
Introduction to ecosan
Partially decentralized
Centralized
Fully decentralized
source Larsen, 2001

• centralized sewer system and treatment
• recovery of nutrients and water e.g. through
  reuse of wastewater

• small-scale closed cycles of water and materials

• e.g. separate collection of urine or blackwater
• centralized nutrient processing facility
• centralized greywater sewer system and treatment

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overview of ecosan technology-components
ecosan technologies
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ecosan pilot projects
basic types of ecosan projects
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new aspects to be considered in the planning and
implementation of ecosan projects
ecosan project planning

• the integration of other relevant sectors in the
  assessment of the current situation and in all
  the planning activities and conceptual work
  agriculture sector (reuse), water supply, urban
  planning, solid waste management
• the consideration of a much wider variety of
  sanitation solutions (technical, institutional,
  financial)
• the necessity to focus on the assessment of the
  needs of the users of the sanitary
  facilities,service providers and the end users of
  the recyclates.
• supply of relevant information to enable the
  stakeholder to make an informed choice
• the consideration of smaller planning units and a
  greater number of decentralised options

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ecosan is a cross-sectoral approach
Introduction to ecosan
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Stakeholders in an ecosan project
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ecosan project planning
The HCES approach (WSSCC)

• Participation of stakeholders
• Level of problem solving
• Regarding excreta and wastewater as ressources

HCES Household (neighborhood) centered
environmental sanitation WSSCC Water Supply
and Sanitation Collaborative Council
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ecosan project planning
10 ecosan project steps

• GTZ proposes a 10 step approach to assure
  interdisciplinary and participatory planning in
  ecosan projects, based on the HCES-implementation
  guideline of the WSSCC
• Within an enlarged start-up phase, the 10 steps
  complement classical planning instruments
  (feasibility study, technical design, etc.)

10 ecosan project steps Step 0 Raising
awareness Step 1 - Request for assistance Step 2
- Launch of planning consultation process Step
3 - Assessment of current status and
stakeholders Step 4 - Assessment of priorities,
user and reuser needs Step 5 - Identification of
sanitation and reuse options Step 6 - Evaluate
feasible service and reuse options Step 7 -
Consolidate ecosan plans for the study area Step
8 - Finalise consolidated ecosan plans for study
area Step 9 Implementation
Start-up phase
Awareness raising
Feasibility- Study
Detailed technical operational plans
Tendering, con- struction, ope- ration,
maintenance
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10 ecosan project steps (0-5)
ecosan project planning
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10 ecosan project steps (6-9)
ecosan project planning
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Low cost Arborloo in Mondoro Village, Zimbabwe
ecosan pilot projects
Arborloo a simple pit latrine for ecological
sanitation practices
Arborloo principle
Arborloo construction work
Arborloo in Mondoro
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ecosan dry toilet promotion in Guangxi-Province,
China (supported by SIDA and Unicef)
ecosan pilot projects

• Large ecosan project in the phase of up-scaling
• 1997, pilot project funded by SIDA/Unicef, 70
  ecosan (urine diverting dehydration toilets)
  built in pilot village, Dalu Village
• 1998, 10.000 urine-diverting toilets were built
  in 200 ecosan villages in Guangxi
• 2002, 100.000 ecosan toilets in Guangxi
• 2003, 685.000 ecosan toilets in 17 provinces
  (Ministry of Public Health)
• Factors of success cultural acceptance,
  political commitment, technical flexibility, low
  cost, income generation, pressure from water
  pollution and water scarcity, promotion and
  marketing

Photos Sandec, Text Mi Hua
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KfW building, Germany
ecosan pilot projects

• ecosan concept since 2003
• Greywater recycling
• Rainwater harvesting
• Vacuum blackwater collection, eventually to be
  followed by anaerobic treatment

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GTZ main office building renovations, Germany
ecosan pilot projects

• Urine separation and collection
• Research on
• acceptance and technical function of urine
  separation
• different treatment options and agricultural use
  of urine
• biomembrane treatment and hygienisation of
  brownwater

GTZ headquarter Eschborn, Germany
Urine diversion toilets and waterless urinals
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main challenges

• increasing awareness
• integration of reuse into planning
• revision of legal frameworks technical
  standards
• establishment of compara-tive full cost, benefit
  and risk assessments
• finding innovative investors and adapting
  financing instruments
• implementation of large scale urban projects

source Petter Jenssen
Greywater treatment in Norway
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conclusion

• business as usual will not allow us to meet
  the sanitation MGDs, as conventional systems
  have failed
• we cannot continue to waste our non-renewable
  resources
• ecological sanitation - comprising the reuse of
  water, nutrients, organics and energy - must be
  
  recognized and introduced as
  
  the new promising holistic and
  sustainable
  approach to
  provide safe and
  decent sanitation, reduce poverty, contribute to
  food security, preserve our environment and
  maintain our natural basis of life on earth