New Nepal, Clean Nepal
This issue of ENPHO E-Bulletin is coming to you a bit late, but we figured it would be good to send this out on the occasion of WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY and National Sanitation Week. Today also marks the beginning of the Bagmati Peace Festival. Today is therefore an important day for all of us working on water, sanitation and environmental issues. It is a time to celebrate our success, raise our collective voices and reaffirm our commitments. There will be rallies, interactions, clean up campaigns and many other programmes to celebrate this day. Just this past week, we also celebrated the historic first meeting of the Constituent Assembly that declared Nepal a Republic. Our constitution has already established the right to live in a clean and healthy environment as a fundamental right. Now as we begin the process of creating a new and better Nepal, we hope this day will motivate everyone to work together to ensure that each Nepalese enjoys this fundamental right. On this auspicious occasion, ENPHO wishes all its friends a successful ENVIRONMENT DAY and YEAR of SANITATION.
POINT OF USE (POU) DRINKING WATER TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR SCHOOLS
Access to safe drinking water can drastically reduce cases of diarrheal diseases. Studies have revealed that promotion and practice of Point of Use (POU) drinking water treatment technologies can reduces diarrheal diseases by 39 percent. In Nepal, several international and national agencies are promoting POU drinking water treatment technologies at household level in a coordinated manner. However, so far very little attention has been given to improve drinking water quality at institutional level particularly in schools. Promotion of POU water treatment in schools not only provides school children with safe drinking water but also helps in educating children on water quality and promoting safe water in communities.
Before implementation of school POU project on a large scale, ENPHO, together with Solutions Consult and with support from AED conducted a study on feasibility of various POU technologies in schools. For this, 12 schools from Dang and Kapilvastu districts were selected POU drinking water treatment technologies such as Colloidal Silver Filter (CSF), Biosand Filter, Chlorination and Solar Disinfection (SODIS) were tried over a period of four weeks. Colloidal Silver Filter (CSF) and Biosand Filter were customized to larger version for providing treated water to school students.
A team visited each of the schools every week and assessed the technical performance of the options and evaluated the acceptance of the system through questionnaires and discussions. School child clubs were actively involved throughout the process of installation, operation and maintenance. For assessing technical performance of these technologies, water samples from sources, treated water and water from glass used for drinking were collected and tested for bacteriological parameters (Total Coliform and E coli.), iron, turbidity, arsenic and Free Residual Chlorine (FRC). In this study, a total of 186 water samples were tested (54 raw water, 70 treated water and 62 glass water samples). In order to identify acceptability of the technologies and problems associated with regular Operation & Maintenance (O&M), a structured questionnaire was prepared and interview was made with maintenance personnel, representative of the school and students for four weeks in each consecutive week. The summary of performance of the tested technologies has been presented in the table below:
(n)
(min.13% - max. 100%)
(min.0% - max. 100%)
(min.0% - max. 100%)
(min.33% - max. 100%)
(min.50% - max. 100%)
(min.18% - max. 76%)
(min.24% - max. 100%)
(min.75% - max. 100%)
(min.18% - max. 94%)
(one filter only)
(min.58% - max. 100%)
(min.70% - max. 100%)
This study results showed that microbial removal efficiency of POU drinking water treatment methods is satisfactory. The removal efficiency depends largely upon users operation and maintenance; handling practices. So it is very important to well orient school staffs, teachers and students on O&M, handling of POU technologies and safe water storage. Based on these findings and recommendations, UNICEF and Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS) is planning to promote and install POU drinking water technologies in 188 more schools in Dang, Kapilvastu, Parsa and Panchthar. ENPHO will provide technical assistance, conduct capacity building of local government agencies, child clubs and school staffs and perform monitoring & supervision in close coordination with UNICEF, Water Supply & Sanitation Divisional Offices.
- Bipin Dangol and Lerica GorkhalyENPHO
:: ENPHO NEWS ::
SOCIAL MARKETING OF PIYUSH
ENPHO has signed a contract with Academy for Educational Development (AED) to expand the reach and access of Piyush to in-need target groups in Nepal. ENPHO has been producing and marketing Piyush after introducing it in Nepal in 1994 as a scientifically tested, affordable and convenient alternative to water treatment for safe drinking purpose. ENPHO plans to achieve sales of 300,000 units of Piyush in 2008/09 and will design, develop and conduct promotional campaign for Piyush to expand awareness and increase usage during the monsoon season.
COMMITTEE TO RESOLVE DRINKING WATER WOES
Promotional Manager of ENPHO, Mr. Rajesh Adhikari has been nominated as the team member of the Water Crisis Management Committee formed by the locals of constitution No. 8, Kathmandu to address the acute drinking water shortage of their area. Mr. Adhikari was nominated on May 7 by newly elected member of Constituent Assembly Mr. Nabindra Raj Adhikari, who is also a member of the committee.
WORKSHOP ON DECENTRALIZED WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT
ENPHO together with the International Year of Sanitation (IYS 2008) Nepal Desk and BORDA organized a half-day (9:00 am to1:00 pm) workshop on “Application of DEWATS” on 12 May 2008 at Hotel Himalaya. BORDA, a German organization, has been working in promoting Decentralized Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS) in various countries including India for many years and they are now looking at the possibility of expanding the program to Nepal in a modest way starting next year. The workshop included presentations on DEWATS approach and its application in India and Nepal. Mr. Pedro Kraemer, Dr. Luiz Ramhalo and Dr. Bernd Guttererlf from BORDA were the main resource persons. The workshop participants included representatives from Governmental organizations, NGOs, consulting firms and academic institutions.
One day before the workshop, the BORDA team met with key stakeholders including Mr. Suman Sharma, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Physical Planning and Works and Josef Ehrmann, Technical Manager at KUKL. The team also visited a Wastewater Treatment Plant (Centralized System) at Gujeshwori, Reed Bed Treatment Plants (RBTS) at Dhulikhel, Madhyapur Thimi, ENPHO building and Roshan Raj Shrestha’s house and a biogas plant at Schechen Gumba, Boudha.
SCHOOL SANITATION AND HYGIENE IMPROVEMENT IN BAJHANG
ENPHO with support from SIMAVI has initiated a school sanitation and hygiene improvement project in eight schools of Banjh and Bhamchowr Village Development Committees of Bajhang, one of the most remote districts located in Far-western Nepal. According to the 2001 census, the sanitation coverage in the district is only 10 percent which is one of the lowest in the country. The project will work with schools to improve sanitation condition in schools and then use the students and teachers as change agents to improve sanitation in the villages.
ENPHO’S INITIATIVES IN PROMOTING WATER TREATMENT OPTIONS
ENPHO has established a POU Reference Center in its building, aiming to provide relevant information and promote POU household drinking water treatment technologies to interested students and others. At the centre, demonstration of POU water treatment technologies which are being promoted by ENPHO are available with relevant IEC materials. ENPHO joined hands with its partners in demonstrating various POU household drinking water treatment technologies at the Water Caravan from May 8-26 at different locations. Water Caravan, organized by Guthi with support from USAID, aims to provide information on water optimization techniques including POU household drinking water treatment technologies through demonstration, discussion and distribution of IEC materials.
RESEARCH ON LARGE COLLOIDAL SILVER FILTER
A research on efficiency of ‘Large Colloidal Silver Filter’ (LCSF) candles (produced at 700 & 900 Degree Celsius) for treatment of drinking water in schools was conducted at ENPHO lab. Result of the research was encouraging with 100% bacterial removal efficiency of all tested candles. Flow rate for the system with 3 sets of candle was 10-15 L/hr. ENPHO will continue further research on CSF in near future. UNICEF and Department of Water Supply and Sewerage (DWSS) are promoting this filter in various schools in four districts.
LCSF is a customized version of regular CS filter specially designed for treating larger volume of water. It consists of a bucket of 20 L with 3 sets of silver treated clay candles (filtration unit) and a white plastic tank of 200 L (collection unit). A total of 3 raw and 6 filtered water samples were tested for assessing bacteriological removal performance (Total Coliforms and E. coli) of the tested candles by membrane filtration (MF) technique. Besides, turbidity removal and leakage of the candles was also tested. On average, turbidity removal performance of the candles was >60.0%. None of the filters had leakage problem.
TRAINING ON FOOD SECURITY AND PESTICIDE ANALYSIS
Urmila Joshi, Rosha Raut and Nirita Giri from ENPHO and Dr. Bandana K. Pradhan from Department of Community Medicine and Family Health, Institute of Medicine, Tribhuwan University (TU) participated in the Training Workshop on “Food Security and Pesticide Analysis” from May 13-24 under the Project Food Security in the Kathmandu Valley – Validation and Quality Control of methods for Pesticide Analysis in Vienna. The project team includes the SUNA group (members of this group are Division of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Soil Science and Institute of Forest Ecology of the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, BOKU), LVA (Food Testing and Research Institute) Vienna, Environmental Analytical Laboratory and Services (EALS), ENPHO and Department of Community Medicine and Family Health, Institute of Medicine, TU. The training aims to transfer the knowledge on pesticide analysis with analytical precision, accuracy and trueness to the analysts from Nepal with the emphasis on quality control and know how on the operation of modern sophisticated instruments for the monitoring of pesticide residues in foodstuff, drinking water and soil.
:: LOCAL NEWS ::
1.4 LAKH IN VALLEY TAP SPOUT WATER
Although piped water supplied by the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) is the major source of drinking water in the Valley, traditional stone spouts are providing 7.6 million liters of water daily for the people who are deprived of the piped supply. While the KUKL has been able to supply a maximum of 79 per cent of the demand during wet season, the traditional stone spouts contribute to nearly 3.5 per cent of the water requirement of the Valley. Nearly 4 million people are estimated to be living in the Valley. Water demand of nearly, 140,000 people is met through the traditional sources. According to the recent survey on stone spouts in five municipalities of the Valley, out of 406 stone spouts 248 are naturally functioning and they discharge 7.6 million liters of water every day during the wet season. According to reports, 67 stone spouts in the Valley are non-functional, 47 have disappeared and 44 are being maintained through artificial supply of water.
Source….. The Himalayan Times, May 10
DHOBIKHOLA TURNING INTO SEWERAGEAs any other rivulet in Kathmandu, indiscriminate discharge of wastewater into the Dhobikhola has turned it into sewerage. Dhobikhola runs from Chabahil to Babarmahal and then to Shankhamul. The banks of this rivulet have been paved, graveled and encroached by squatters. Houses have been erected at some distance from the banks. The residents living on both sides of the river use Dhobikhola as a safe dumping site and throw all kinds of garbage and sewerage. The whole neighborhood stinks. These days rainfall has widened the river and washed away accumulated garbage on its sides much to the relief of the nearby residents. Sanu Dangol, in his 70s, has been living at the bank of Dhobikhola in Babarmahal on and off since she got married at the age of five. Dangol’s family had farmland near the bank. “We lived in a small hut here and used water from the rivulet for all purposes. Back then people didn’t have toilets at home, so the banks were also used as toilet. But then human excreta was used on the fields as fertilizers. With population growth and rapid and haphazard urbanization, the fields soon turned into densely populated areas and houses discharged waste water into the river. I have never witnessed anyone taking any initiative to clean the area,” she said.
Source….. The Himalayan Times, May 22WATER TARIFF HIKE IN PIPELINE
Despite its inability to significantly improve the water supply situation in the valley, the Kathmandu Upatyaka Khanepani Limited (KUKL) is all set to raise water tariff. The KUKL has proposed to the government to hike the tariff and the Water Fixation Tariff Commission, which is authorized to oversee the water tariff, is likely to bow to the pressure from the donors for a tariff hike. As per the agreement with the Asian Development Bank, the chief financier for the Melamchi Water Supply Project, the government will have to hike water tariff before it receives more money for the project. “There is no alternative to hiking water tariff because we cannot keep working at the present tariff,” Gyanesh Bajracharya, deputy general manager of the KUKL, told The Himalayan Times. “The social, political and economic situation of the country has changed a lot in the past four years but water tariff has remained the same,” he said. It is estimated that the tariff in the Kathmandu Valley will be hiked by 27 per cent every year.
Source….. The Himalayan Times, May 26BAGMATI FEST TO BE ORGANIZED
‘Bagmati Peace Fest-2065’ will be organized from June 5 to conserve and promote the religious and cultural importance of the Bagmati River. In a programme organized in the Valley on May 16, it was informed that the fest, which will be organized jointly by Nepal River Conservation Trust and Authorized Bagmati Improvement Project, include Bagmati cleanliness, workshop on importance of Bagmati, boat race competition and environmental awareness programmes. In the programme, president of Bagmati Improvement Project Krishna K.C urged the tourism entrepreneurs to assist the fest, as the conservation of the Bagmati River will promote internal and external tourism.
Source….. Kantipur Daily, May 17DIARRHOEA TOPS SUMMER DISEASE LIST
This is summer time. This is the season of diseases like diarrhoea, dysentery, cholera, jaundice and typhoid. But, hospitals in Kathmandu have been witnessing lesser number of dysentery, cholera, jaundice and typhoid patients during the past few summers. The only water-borne disease whose number of cases still keeps going up is diarrhoea. According to the records of Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital, Teku, the hospital is getting ever decreasing number of patients afflicted with water-borne diseases like dysentery, typhoid, typhoid, cholera and jaundice in the recent years.
"The trend of 'summer diseases' compared to the 1990s is on decline," Chief of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division, Dr. G.D. Thakur said. He stressed, however, that people can't overcome themselves from diseases unless they drink pure and safe water. Experts said that growing awareness among the pubic generated through publicity campaigns by both the government and non governmental organizations have led to the decrease in reported cases of 'summer diseases'. Yet diarrhoea, which can largely be prevented by drinking safe water, continues to affect people in ever greater numbers.
Source….. The Kathmandu Post, May 11, 2008SANITATION TO BE PRIORITIZED IN THE FISCAL YEAR BUDGET
Mr. Krishna Hari Banskota, Joint Secretary of the Budget Section in the Ministry of Finance (MoF) expressed that sanitation promotion will attain priority in the budget of fiscal year 2008 / 09 (2065 / 66). Talking to a group of sector stakeholders representing the WSSCC Nepal Chapter and End Water Poverty Campaign Nepal on Friday, 16 May at the Ministry, he expressed that it is practically not possible for a separate budget line this year for sanitation considering present limitation of financial resources and unlimited lists of national priority requirements. But he affirmed that certain positive policy provisions and interventions are possible through the Ministry to promote the sanitation agenda.
Mr. Umesh Pandey, Director of NEWAH and National Coordinator of WSSCC Nepal Chapter made a presentation on “Status of Sanitation in Nepal and its Relevance to International Year of Sanitation”. Defining the sector's focus on sanitation, he updated on the status and effects of sanitation, scenario of budget allocation in the sector, trends of government spending, why increased investments are required, what IYS is all about and what is being done nationally.
Source….. IYS Newsletter, May 2008
:: GLOBAL NEWS ::
DIVIDE AND DUMP WASTE
A paper and pulp mill, operating in southern Chile, has pitted a group of fisher folk against its neighbors and is trying to get away by installing a controversial pipeline to dump waste water from its mill into the Pacific Ocean. In the past few weeks the groups in Mehuin and Mississippi villages have clashed violently. Authorities have deployed special police forces in the area to keep the situation under control. The conflict dates back to 1996, when the Celco pulp mill proposed building a waste duct through the villages. The communities then blocked the project saying that it would pollute their fishing waters and threaten their livelihood. Celco later turned to the Cruces River and dumped wastes. But in 2004, its toxic waste killed thousands of black-necked swans. Authorities ordered the plant to shut down after people living in the vicinity also complained of polluted groundwater. Now that the plant has reopened, the company wants to discharge its waste into the Pacific Ocean. But residents in Mehuin and Mississippi are still opposed to it.
Source….. Down to Earth, May 23AMERICANS = LEAST GREEN CONSUMERS
In the first national ranking of environmental friendliness among consumers, Brazilians and Indians scored highest for their minimal resource use and low carbon footprints. The rankings were associated with everyday activities such as going to work, purchasing food and other goods and heating and cooling their homes. Americans scored the worst among consumers across the 14 developed countries surveyed, according to the National Geographic Society, which runs the new “Greendex” rankings. In formulating the rankings, National Geographic hired the polling firm GlobeScan to survey 14,000 consumers in 14 countries about their energy use and conservation, transportation choices, food sources, the relative use of green products versus traditional products, attitudes towards the environment and sustainability, and knowledge of environmental issues. Brazilians ranked high, for example, due to small home sizes and little reliance on artificial heat or air conditioning. As for India, consumers there live in homes with small footprints, use minimal fossil fuel burning transportation, and source most food locally. On the flip side, Americans tend to live in large, resource-intensive homes, drive their cars a lot, and buy imported food and goods.
Source….. National Geographic, MSNBCGLOBAL BIODIVERSITY DOWN BY A THIRD IN 35 YEARS
Biodiversity has declined by almost a third in the last 35 years, a new report reveals. The Living Planet Index, which tracks nearly 4,000 populations of species, shows that land based, marine and freshwater species fell overall by 27 per cent between 1970 and 2005. As nations meet for the Convention of Biological Diversity in Bonn, which continues until the end of the month, WWF's report shows that governments are not on track to meet their target to achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss. While nature continues to decline, a previous WWF report, in 2006, concluded that we are now globally consuming about 25 per cent more natural resources than the planet can replace. The UK alone, is generating carbon emissions and consuming natural resources at such a rate that, if it was duplicated everywhere, would need three planets to support the global population. WWF says this highlights the need to move from a three to one planet future.
Source….. People and Planet, May 21BIHAR TO GET “ECO-SANITATION” TOILETS
Around 300 special ‘eco-sanitation toilets’ are to be constructed before the rainy season in flood-prone areas of Bihar in a bid to prevent spread of water-borne diseases so common at that time in the state. With over a month left for the monsoons, the Bihar Institute of Public Administration and Rural Development (BIPARD) and UNICEF are working together to construct these special toilets in eight flood-prone districts. “We plan to construct 300 eco-sanitation toilets in these districts,” Sanjay Pandey, coordinator, centre for disaster management, BIPARD, said. These toilets, also called a composting model, are built on raised platforms to prevent groundwater contamination. It has three openings and separates faecal matter from urine, Pandey explained.
Source….. Sanitation UpdatesKAMPALA'S SANITATION SITUATION APPALLING
The state of sanitation in Uganda's urban areas is very poor, with only 59 per cent of people reported to have access to safe sanitation services. The situation is not any different in Kampala city, where the available sanitation facilities both in commercial and residential areas cannot meet the needs of the ever increasing population. Kampala's population stands at two million. Slum areas are the most affected where the urban poor live. Such areas are characterized by low latrine and safe water coverage, ill health fuelled by poor disposal of human waste and garbage. The Kampala Declaration on sanitation defines sanitation as personal hygiene and environmental cleanliness which involves observance of clean water chain and general improvement of the living conditions. Kampala City Council Chief Health inspector Mohammed Kirumira says about 6.2 per cent of households in Kampala lack toilets. It is also estimated that only 52 per cent of the city dwellers have access to clean water while 48 per cent of them use contaminated water. Poor disposal of human waste has left several water sources contaminated.
Source..... AllAfrica.comACCESS TO WATER LEADS TO ECONOMIC FREEDOM
A new study by University of Arkansas economists shows a strong relationship between economic freedom and access to water. David Gay and Charles Britton, economics professors in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, and Richard Ford, professor of economics at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, compared data from two important international indices and found that greater economic freedom leads to economic development, which in turn decreases the amount of poverty associated with a nation's lack of access to water. "When humans are free to improve their economic conditions, one of the conditions they choose to improve is their access to water," Gay said. “So, based on our findings, we conclude that one means of improving humanity’s conditions with respect to access to water is to promote economic freedom on a global basis.” In determining whether a country is water poor, the Water Poverty Index considers five components: resources, access, capacity, use and environment.
Source….. Green Buzz News ReleaseEFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Source….. Down to Earth, May 15 - 2008
::UPCOMING EVENTS ::
WORKSHOP ON EFFECTIVENESS OF IMPROVED COOK STOVES
ENPHO together with AEPC/ESAP will be organizing a workshop to discuss the draft report prepared by ENPHO on the Effectiveness of Improved Cook Stoves in Reducing Indoor Air Pollution and Improving Health. The study monitored indoor air pollution (mainly PM2.5 and CO) and assessed the health of mothers and children through questionnaires before and after installing improved cook stoves in three districts. The workshop will be held on 11 June at Yak Palace, Lalitpur. If you are interested to attend please contact Sangita Bista at AEPC/ESAP (Sangita.bista@aepc.gov.np)
:: NEW ARRIVALS @ ENPHO RESOURCE CENTER ::
1
Water Safety Plans – 1 Planning Water Safety Mgmt for Urban Piped Water Supplies in Developing World
Sam Godfrey & Guy Howard
2
Pesticides in Nepal
Dhruba N. Manandhar
3
School Led Total Sanitation: Some Success Stories
UNICEF, Nepal
4
School Sanitation and Hygiene Education Programme: Case Studies, Success Stories and Best Practices
UNICEF, Nepal
5
A Report on Assessment of Health Care Wealth Mgmt in Different Health Facilities of Nepal
Department of Health Services
6
Nepal Country Plan for the International Year of Sanitation
International Year of Sanitation – 2008 Nepal Desk
7
Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) Tool Kit for Facilitators
Resource Center Network Nepal (RCNN)
8
The Toilet Men (DVD)
World Toilet Organization/National Geographic Channel
9
Hand Washing Campaign Animation Film (VCD)
Water Aid
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