Managing Faecal Sludge in Rural Areas

SUSMITA SENGUPTAPROGRAMME MANAGER

CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT, NEW DELHI

Toolkit-Managing Faecal Sludge in Rural Areas

https://www.cseindia.org/toolkit-managing-faecal-sludge-in-rural-areas-10059

Why this toolkit?

In the last five years around 164 lakh toilets built in the rural areas

Since these are on-site sanitation systems – hence there is a need for correct toilet design

Wrong containment structures lead to discharge of wastewater into waterbodies, drains – further contaminating the soil and groundwater

Research studies show that choice of wrong toilet technology, substandard construction and neglect of the local hydrogeology during the selection of any technology to treat excreta – lead to unsafe sanitation

Why this toolkit?

Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation in the latest (2019) publication emphasized on proper management of faecal sludge along with solid and SLWM activities to sustain sanitation gains made by SBM-G

The need of the hour is to treat the excreta completely before any disposal or reuse

The manual talks about the reuse of the wastewater and faecal sludge reducing health burden and contaminating the water sources

Essential to talk about access to clean water and public health during COVID -19 – Hence this toolkit

Toilet technologies in rural areas

Twin pit technology – Most preferred technology in rural areas

Toilet technologies in rural areas

Not very common – however wrong designs like sealed box observed in many places

Toilet technologies in rural areas

Toilet technologies in rural areas

Toilet-linked biogas plant in Valsad district, Gujarat

Toilet technologies in rural areas

Ecosan- a success model for farmers in Aslatpur village, Ghaziabad, UP

Decision matrix for selection of appropriate on-site sanitation

technologies

Comparison of cost (in Rs) between

different on-site sanitation technologies

Need to treat the grey water

Soak pit for grey water management at Salwahan gram panchayat, Mandi district

Kitchen garden in Tuburda village in Gajapati, Odisha

Waste stabilization pond at Chandsamand village in Karnal district, Haryana

Potential impact on agriculture due to use of untreated wastewater

Reuse of wastewater Specific guidelines for implementation of the

policies is missing in all cases (National Urban Sanitation Policy (NUSP) of 2008; National Water Policy 2012)

In the absence of specific standards and guidelines, wastewater is reused for irrigation in an informal way all over India, often with negative consequences

For a successful water reuse programme in rural areas should include reliable treatment to meet wastewater quality requirements for reuse, protection of public health and environment, and public acceptance

Need to reuse the wastewater

Around 80 per cent of India’s water is used for irrigation There is huge scope for reuse of treated wastewater in

the agriculture sector in rural areas Treated wastewater can also be used for aquaculture

and non-potable uses like flushing It is very important that wastewater is treated to a

standard that will make it safe for users A centralized national policy for reuse of treated

wastewater is the need of the hour. Only two states—Gujarat and Haryana—have state-level policies so far

Reuse of faecal sludge Where appropriate technologies are not followed, on-site sanitation

systems produce untreated or partially treated sludge Untreated or partially treated sludge when disposed of to land and

water contaminate soil, groundwater and surface water, but when treated can produce organic manure

There are several instances where faecal sludge treated with different methods produce manure that increases agriculture produce

Because of the absence of legislation and monitoring mechanism in India, this sector has not been explored as it should have been

There are no guidelines or specifications for the use of treated sludge in the agricultural sector in our country. The closest to a guideline is the Fertilizer (Control) Order 1985, which is generally followed

FSTP at Nilgiris by RDO Trust

Other essential requirements

Need for communication strategy for awareness on faecal sludge management in rural areas- a comprehensive evidence-based strategy has to be developed

The communication strategies targets to change the behaviour of the household owners, members of village water and sanitation committees/pani panchayat, contractors, masons and plumbers, panchayat officials (village, block and district) and industries

Water connectivity is essential to keep the toilets functional Need of policies to promote decentralized water projects,

including protection of waterbodies, to be planned and implemented by the community

The proposed policies include incentives and awards for communities involved in such projects.

CSE’s upcoming programme

sushmita@cseindia.org