nep pda: operational research on decentralized wastewater management & its dissemination (final...

8/9/2019 NEP PDA: Operational Research on Decentralized Wastewater Management & its Dissemination (Final Report)

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Operational research on Decentralized Wastewater Management and its Dissemination

Abbreviat ions

ABR Anaerobic Baffle Reactor

ADB Asian Development Bank

CBOs Community Based Organizations

CD Compact Disc

CW Constructed Wetland

DUDBC Department of Urban Development and Building Construction

Ecosan Ecological Sanitation

ENPHO Environment and Public Health Organization

IA Implementing Agency

IEC Information, Education and Communication

INGO International Non-Governmental Organization

MOU Memorandum of Understanding

MPPW Ministry of Physical Planning and Works

NGOFUWS NGO Forum for Urban Water and Sanitation

PDA Pilot and Demonstration Activity

PVC Poly Vinyl Chloride

RBTS Reed Bed Treatment System

UASB Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket

UEIP Urban Environment Improvement Program

UN-Habitat United Nations Human Settlement Program

VDC Village Development Committee

WAN Water Aid Nepal

WWTP Waste Water Treatment Plant

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Acknowledgement

The project would like to thank Asian Development Bank (ADB) for providing financial

support for Pilot & Demonstration Activity (PDA) program to promote effective water

management policies and practices. We also like to thank Mr. Keiichi Tamaki (ADB’s

Activity Officer, SASS) and Mr. J. A. Bert van Ommen (PDA Manager, Water Fund

Administrator) for their valuable suggestions, feedback for making this project

successful.

We are also thankful to United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat) and

Water Aid Nepal (WAN) for providing additional financial support to complete the project.

We also wish to thank Madhyapur Thimi Municipality for their constant support and help

during the implementation of PDA activity, especially on construction of reed bed

treatment system (RBTS). The Municipality also deserves special acknowledgement for

agreeing to provide land required for the treatment plant, required O&M cost and

expressing their commitment to replicate the treatment plant in other areas within the

municipality. This project would not have been successful without support of Sunga

Wastewater Treatment Plant Management Committee (SWTPMC) on community

mobilization and day to day activities.

We are particularly indebted to Mr. Krishna Lal Goja Shrestha (Chairman, SWTPMC) for

taking the lead in the community and making this project a success.

Finally, we would like to thank all the staffs at ENPHO for providing necessary support.

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4. Financial 14

5. Achievements 15

6. Lessons learnt 15

7. Conclusion and recommendation 16

List of Appendices

Appendix – A Result of Laboratory tests Appendix – B Detail design drawings Appendix – C Detail of Management Committee, Tripartite MOU & Demonstration

Visits Appendix – D Photographs – Construction phase Appendix – E Rain water harvesting in Local School Appendix – F Design of Ecosan Appendix – G HH list & Photographs – Siddhikali Appendix – H HH list & Photographs – Tigani Appendix – I HH list & Photographs – Siddhipur Appendix – J Photographs – Trainings conducted Appendix – K Photographs – Ecosan at ENPHO Appendix – L Photographs – Rain water harvesting system at ENPHO Appendix – M

Photographs – RBTS at ENPHO Appendix – N Proceeding & Photographs – National level workshop Appendix – O Educational Materials Appendix – P Photographs – Public exhibitions Appendix – Q Photographs – Audio/Visual programs Appendix – R Newspaper clips

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Execut ive Summ ary

The Pilot and Demonstration Activities (PDA) program for water in Nepal was launched

in June 2004 to promote effective water management policies and practices.

Environment and Public Health Organization served as the Implementing Agency for the

PDA. With an implementation period of 12 months, the PDA was scheduled to be

completed in June 2005. However as, one of the major PDA activity – construction of

Reed Bed Treatment System was delayed1, the implementation schedule was revised

and the PDA was completed in October 2005 as per the revised schedule.

The PDA comprised of the following main activities:

a) Construct a Community-based Reed Bed Treatment System (RBTS) of

wastewater management in Thimi, one of the oldest settlements of Kathmandu

Valley;

b) Demonstrate Ecological Sanitation (Ecosan) system in peri-urban communities in

Kathmandu Valley2

c) Demonstrate ENPHO building as a Water Optimized House (model for RBTS,

Ecosan and rainwater harvesting);

d) Conduct a National Seminar to disseminate simple technologies for water

optimization; and

e) Develop Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials

As the project cost escalated mainly due to change in the treatment plant location, the

deficit project cost was raised from UN-HABITAT and Water Aid Nepal. The PDA was

completed with an investment of US $ 70,850. Out of which 70% was financed by the Asian development Bank, 21 % by the UN-HABITAT and the rest 9% by Water Aid

Nepal.

The success of the project has been demonstrated by the successful implementation of

all the proposed activities, appreciation for the demonstrated technologies from various

stakeholders and additional demand & investment in these areas.

1 The reasons have been already been discussed in previous correspondences and the Progress Report of

June 2005.2 The Ecosan system was proposed in Khokana village in Lalitpur district at the start of the PDA, which was

later changed to Thimi and Siddhipur, and was approved during the Inception phase of the PDA.

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1. Introduction

Promoting effective water management policies and practices - “Operational Research

on Decentralized Wastewater Management and its Dissemination” is a part of Pilot and

Demonstration Activities (PDA) program for water, the Asian Development Bank (ADB)

managed program. This pilot and demonstration activity of Operational Research on

Decentralized Wastewater Management and its Dissemination aims to demonstrate

appropriate domestic wastewater management technologies. The activities of the

program would also help to improve environmental health conditions, reduce pollution of

the natural environment, and to provide economical benefits through reuse and

recycling.

Environment and Public Health Organization (ENPHO) served as the Implementing

Agency (IA) to carry out the PDA focusing on the following interventions:

a) Construction of a Community-based Reed Bed Treatment System (RBTS) of

wastewater in Thimi, one of the oldest settlements of Kathmandu Valley

b) Demonstrate Ecological Sanitation (Ecosan) system in peri-urban communities in

Kathmandu Valley1

c) Demonstrate ENPHO building as a Water Optimized House (model for RBTS,

Ecosan and rainwater harvesting)

d) Conduct National Seminar to demonstrate the activities of the program

e) Development of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials

2. Objectives

The objectives of the PDA were to demonstrate appropriate technologies for managing

domestic wastewater, recycling its nutrients and optimizing water at household level by

carrying out operational research and to disseminate its findings at local to regional level.

The PDA aimed at improving environmental health conditions especially for the urban

poor, reduce pollution of the natural environment and provide opportunities for economicbenefits through reuse and recycling. It also aimed at generating information for the

government, local authorities, planners and professionals with an interest in promoting

improved sanitation and alternative options for decentralized wastewater management.

1 The Ecosan system was proposed in Khokana village in Lalitpur district at the start of the PDA, which was

later changed to Thimi & Siddhipur and was approved during the Inception phase of the PDA.

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3. Activities

The intervention activities carried out to achieve the above mentioned objectives are

elaborated in the following sections.

3.1. Construction of a Community-scale Reed Bed Treatment System (RBTS) of

wastewater in Thimi, one of the oldest settlements of Kathmandu Valley

Although, Thimi is one of the oldest settlements of Kathmandu Valley in Bhaktapur

district, it became Municipality only in March 1996. Therefore, most of the infrastructure

development like sewerage system, water supply and road network is still under planning

phase. Sanitation improvement is one of the urgent issues that need to be addressed by

the city where still more than 50% of the population do not have proper sanitary facilities.

Around 1995, a part of this municipality was sewered and wastewater collected by the

sewer was supposed to be treated through oxidation ponds. Some works like land

acquisition and excavation of pond was started but the activities could not be completed

due to unavailability of the required fund. Consequently, the collected wastewater is

discharged completely untreated into the adjoining surface stream which is also a source

of water for irrigation. This creates unacceptable environmental and public health risks.

As the connected population and water usage grow in the sewer catchment, the future

environmental and public health risks will become more severe. Therefore, there is a

need for sustainable wastewater management systems, which provide improved

protection of the environment and public health.

In order to complete the uncompleted project mention above ENPHO carried out afeasibility study in 2001 for building a wastewater treatment plant. The study came up

with design and cost estimation of RBTS for about 100 m3/day of wastewater discharge.

The system was designed to have two units of anaerobic pond and three units of vertical

reed bed system. Fund for this study was provided by SIMAVI, a non governmental

organization in the Netherlands.

The basic features of RBTS are that they have bed of uniformly graded sand or gravel

with plants such as reeds (Phragmites karka) growing on it. Wastewater is evenly

distributed on the bed and flows through it either horizontally or vertically. As the

wastewater flows through the bed of sand and reeds, it gets treated through naturalprocesses like mechanical filtering, chemical transformations and biological consumption

of pollutants in wastewater. As RBTS utilizes simple natural processes, it is effective, yet

inexpensive and simple to operate. These plants are therefore very suitable for

developing countries like Nepal. The RBTS are also known as Constructed Wetland

(CW) system for wastewater treatment.

There are about a dozen RBTS currently operating in Nepal. However, all these systems

are privately owned (e.g. hospital, school, and colleges). This project was designed to

construct the first community based wastewater treatment system in Nepal, which is

expected to set a valuable precedent for larger systems that are envisaged under the

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ADB-funded Urban Environment Improvement Project (Loan 1966-NEP), which became

effective in October 2003.

After the signing of the agreement between ADB and the IA, the Mahdyapur Thimi

Municipality was informed about the PDA program. A program was organized by the IA

to give information about the PDA program, representatives from the municipality, local

people, local clubs and CBOs attended the program. Several meeting and community

consultation programs were also held between municipality, community and the IA. After

the submission of Project Inception Report in July 2004, a management committee was

formed to support the construction of RBTS in Siddhikali area. A site office was also

establish in the Siddhikali area.

The initial design, done for RBTS in the Siddhikali area, the original location, of

Madhyapur Thimi, consisted of three units of 1st stage vertical flow bed each of 350 m2

followed by two units of 2nd stage vertical flow bed each of 250 m2. The total area used

for treatment was around 1500 m2. The construction work started during the preparation

of Project Mid Term Implementation Report in December 2004. Site clearance works

along with the layout of the different treatment units and storage of different construction

materials were being carried out at the site, when some people in the local community

interrupted in the works. Quite a number of discussions and community consultations

were carried out to resolve the problem and convince the local community. The design of

the RBTS was revised thrice to satisfy and convince the local community. The IA also

arranged discussion with the local community in the presence of representatives of the

Municipality. Although most people in the community supported the project it was not

possible to convince a few people.

This development was narrated to ADB and the construction work of RBTS was

suspended till the visit of ADB Review Mission. During the Review Mission, the problems

were discussed with the representatives of the Municipality and local community. A

decision was made to abandon the construction of RBTS at Siddhikali area and other

suitable locations were considered.

As the local people in Sunga, another area within Madhyapur Thimi Municipality, showed

interest in the treatment plant, it was decided to construct the RBTS at the new site. Prior

to the start of technical design works, community consultations were done to confirm thatthere will be no hindrances in future regarding the construction of the RBTS. Once again

all the needed technical as well as social survey was conducted for designing the

treatment system at Sunga.

The RBTS was designed and constructed to serve a population of around 200 and to

treat 50 m3 of wastewater. Although the size of the RBTS was smaller than the previous

design, it helped to convince the local people for future replication of this technology and

the Municipality has expressed its commitment to implement additional decentralized

wastewater treatment systems in future. For the effective design of the RBTS, a

thorough knowledge of the composition of the influent is required. Laboratory tests of

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wastewater characteristics were carried out by the IA. The following characteristics of the

wastewater were considered in the design of RBTS.

a) Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5)

b) Chemical oxygen demand (COD)

c) Total Suspended Solids (TSS)

d) Nitrogen (N)

e) Total Phosphorus (TP)

f) Sulphate

g) Temperature

h) pH

The result of the test is presented in Appendix – A of this Final Report.

The final design of RBTS, at Sunga, comprised of Anaerobic Baffle Reactor (ABR) as the

primary treatment unit with a volume of 42 m3. The secondary or the biological treatment

comprised of two stage constructed wetlands. The first stage bed was designed as

horizontal flow reed bed with a total area of 150 m2. The second stage bed was designed

as vertical flow reed bed with a total area of also 150 m 2. The sludge from the primary

treatment will be dried in sludge drying bed which is 55 m2 in area. The detail of

wastewater treatment system is presented in detail in following sub-section 3.1.2.

Due to the redesigning of the wastewater treatment plant, escalation in price of

construction materials, devaluation of US dollar against the Nepalese Rupees and much

more transportations of RBTS filter media there was a substantial increase in projectcost.

3.1.1. Partnership

In the process of managing the increase in construction cost, the IA negotiated with the

Water for Asian Cities Programme of United Nations Human Settlement Programme

(UN-Habitat) and Water Aid Nepal (WAN2). For providing the required additional support

to complete the program both UN-Habitat and WAN share the goals as of PDA. The IA

was successful in forming partnership with those organizations. This partnership has

demonstrated how fund and resources can be shared to scale up the activities.

3.1.2. Process design of WWTP

The process design of WWTP includes preliminary, primary, secondary and sludge

treatment. The treatment plant was designed to accommodate maximum wastewater

flow with optimum degree of wastewater treatment. The wastewater treatment plant

consists of following four major components:

2 WAN is an INGO working in the field of water and sanitation since a long time in Nepal.

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a) Prel iminary Treatm ent

The preliminary treatment of the WWTP consists of a coarse screen followed by a grit

chamber. The structures were designed for the full inflow to the WWTP.

b) Prim ary Treatment

After investigating various primary treatment options such as septic tank, anaerobic

pond, Up-flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) etc., and comparing these treatment

procedures on technical and financial aspects, the final design was prepared taking into

considerations simplicity in operation and sustainability. A three chambered anaerobic

baffle reactor with the capacity of 42 m3 was designed as primary treatment unit.

c) Second ary Treatm ent

The secondary treatment is carried out in constructed wetlands. Among various types of

constructed wetlands, subsurface flow wetlands, horizontal flow and vertical flow bed

constructed wetlands were investigated. A horizontal flow bed followed by vertical flow

bed type was designed to accommodate maximum wastewater flow within the limited

area and the required treatment efficiency. Each bed were designed with a total area of

150 m2 respectively.

d) Sludge Treatm ent

Substantial amount of sludge will be generated form the primary treatment. Appropriate

sludge treatment unit was designed so that the treated sludge could be utilized as

manure. One of cheapest and reliable sludge treatment procedure was to dry the sludge

in sludge drying beds. The rate of drying can be further enhanced by planting reeds in

the drying beds. A sludge drying bed was therefore designed with an area of 55 m2.

The detailed design drawing of above mentioned components are presented in Annex –

B of this Final Report.

3.1.3. Formation of Management Committee

To ensure that the program is community-based, a 17 member management committee

was formed from a community consultation meeting held on 28th May 2005. The

management committee was named “Sunga Wastewater Treatment Plant

Management Committee”. The committee was responsible for all aspects of

construction management from hiring of construction workers to purchasing of various

construction materials and supervising construction works with technical support from

the IA. The management committee was also responsible for the payments with the

approval of the IA. For this a separate bank account was opened.

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A tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) regarding the construction and

operation of the treatment plant was signed between Management Committee,

Madhyapur Thimi Municipality and ENPHO on 2062/3/11 (25th June, 2005). And a sub-

committee for the construction works was also formed.

On the request of management committee, members of management committee and

local people were taken to Shuvatara School, in construction phase, and ENPHO

premise, in operational phase, for demonstration of RBTS.

The details of management committee, tripartite MOU, Minute of management

committee meetings and photographs of demonstration visit are presented in Appendix –

C of this Final Report.

3.1.4. Construction of Treatment Plant

The construction of the wastewater treatment plant started in June 2005. The

construction phase started with excavation of soil, construction of retaining structures to

minimize potential risk of landslides and filling of soil to make the needed ground level

base for other structures. Then in mid-August, basic outer structures like walls for beds,

reinforced concrete tank for primary treatment and a collection chamber for treated

wastewater were constructed. After the completion of outer structure of walls, the beds

were laid with gravel and sand media. With the laying of bed materials, the pipe networks

were connected and plantation of reeds was done.

Inspite of the fact that the construction phase, starting in June 2005 and ending on

October 2005, was with a rigid work schedule of four and half months during the

monsoon season, the construction was completed on time. This was mainly due to the

active participation of the management committee.

The Photographs of the construction works are presented in Appendix – D of this Final

Report.

3.1.5. Rain water harvesting system in Local School

A rain water harvesting system has also been installed at a government public school,

near the construction site for RBTS, with around 1000 students. Similarly, a partial

amount of treated wastewater will be used by the school for flushing of toilets and

gardening purpose. The demonstration of the wastewater treatment system with reuse of

treated wastewater and water optimizing technique like rain water harvesting at a local

school will be very helpful in educating young students and the community in water

optimization techniques.

The photographs of rain water harvesting system are presented in Appendix – E of this

Final Report.

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3.2 Demonstrate Ecological Sanitation (Ecosan) system Peri-urban

communities in Kathmandu Valley

Ecosan is a dry toilet system that collects and recycles urine and faeces separately as

organic fertilizer and conserves the use of water. The basic principle of ecosan is to

close the loop between sanitation and agriculture.

Ecosan recognizes:

• Human excreta as a resource, not a waste

• Water is precious resources that should not be used to transport excreta

• Excreta should be managed as close as possible to its source

A total of 17 Ecosan toilets were constructed, 4 in Siddhikali and 6 in Tigani of Thimi

Municipality and 7 in Siddhipur of Lalitpur Municipality. A total of 111 persons living in 17

households have been benefited by this PDA activity. Additionally, 60 Ecosan toilets

were built in Khokhana and Siddhipur by IA with support of WAN. This has resulted in

the demonstration of Ecosan toilets in a wider perspective and coverage.

The location of the Ecosan toilets and number of beneficiaries is presented in the

following table:

SN Location Municipality Number of beneficiaries

1 Ward no. 11, Siddhikali Thimi 31

2 Ward no. 1, Tigani Thimi 463 Siddhipur VDC Lalitpur 34

Total 111

3.2.1 Design

The design concept of the Ecosan toilet systems was based on the double vault system

with anal cleansing area, which has already been implemented by the IA in Khokana and

has been a success. In due course of time, the design of Ecosan is being modified for

better performance. For separating urine and faeces, squat pan was provided with bigger

hole for faeces collection and a smaller hole for urine. A PVC mould was used to makethe squat pan and to get the desired slope to collect urine. But also continuous

modifications were also going on and later a pre-cast squat pan was developed, which

help the construction work. According to the site condition, the size of the toilet was

slightly modified.

The design and modifications made are presented in Appendix – F of this Final Report.

3.2.2 Construction

The construction of Ecosan has been elaborated in the following sections.

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3.2.2.1 Siddhikali, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality

A total of 4 units of Ecosan had been constructed in Siddhikali area, the families are from

a poor and disadvantage community. These families now not only have access to

sanitation facility but would also benefit from reuse of human excreta as fertilizers. The

construction work of 4 units started on October 2004 and ended on November 2004.

The photographs and list of households are presented in Appendix – G of this Final

Report.

3.2.2.2 Tigani, Madhyapur Thimi Municipality

During the construction of 6 units of Ecosan in Tigani, the IA had developed a new pan.

Furthermore instead of brick masonry urine collection tank, a 200 litre capacity PVC

plastic tank was also used to ensure proper storage of the urine. Here the families are

also from poor and disadvantage community, whose main occupation was farming. Thus

the families here had a economic benefit by replacing chemical fertilizers. The

construction work stated on April 2005 and ended on May 2005.

The photographs and list of households are presented in Appendix – H of this Final

Report.

3.2.2.3 Siddipur VDC, Lalitpur Municipality

The IA was already constructing 18 units of Ecosan in Siddhipur VDC, with the supportof WAN. In this program, additional 6 units were built in support of PDA program.

The photographs and list of households are presented in Appendix – I of this Final

Report.

3.2.3 Training

To have effective community participation, an orientation program on Ecosan toilet was

held at the community level. The training programs were conducted during the

construction period and prior to the use of the Ecosan toilet. All the household members(beneficiaries of the Ecosan toilets) were motivated to participate in the training program,

which mainly focused on the following topics:

• Illustration of the Ecosan system,

• Proper use and maintenance of hygiene in Ecosan toilet, and

• Urine collection and management.

During the training, focus was given to the head woman of the family as they would

inform other younger household members and guest/visitor the use of the Ecosan.

Lastly, the IA conducted training and orientation on the handling of urine and faeces,management of collected urine and their application on field. At Tigani and Siddhipur, the

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training also focused on co-composting of household waste with urine, which would

produce better quality of compost.

During the construction period at Siddhipur VDC, a one-day training to masons was

conducted. The training was given to masons from Tigani, Siddhipur and Khokhana, and

main focus was given on good construction practice and procedure, getting maximum

household participation and sharing of experiences.

The list of trainings conducted and photographs are presented in Appendix – J of this

Final Report.

3.3 Demonstrate ENPHO building as a Water Optimized House (model for

RBTS, Ecosan and rainwater harvesting)

The following activities were carried out to demonstrate ENPHO building as a Water

Optimized House 3:

3.3.1 Ecological Sanitation (Ecosan)

The use of Ecosan on rural context has gained tremendous popularity and success,

however, the use in urban areas is very much limited. The installation of Ecosan toilet in

ENPHO is a pilot activity to demonstrate that Ecosan can also be used in urban areas.

The Ecosan is constructed with the Chinese version of modern Ecosan system. This

Ecosan comprises of a pan system, imported from China, which has two holes, one forfaeces collection and the other for urine collection. The faeces are collected in a bucket

directly below the hole where as the urine is collected in a 200 litre capacity PVC tank

through a separate pipeline. Once the bucket filled with faeces, the bucket is replaced

with an empty bucket.

This Ecosan has gained positive responses and also helped a lot to convince people that

Ecosan can also be used in modern urban context.

The Photographs of the Ecosan are presented in Appendix – K of this Final Report.

3.3.2 Rainwater harvesting system

The rainwater harvesting system comprises of a total 60 m of gutter drain to collect

rainwater from the roof of the building, which has a catchment area of about 165 m2. The

collected rainwater is stored with the supplied city water in an underground storage tank

of capacity 10,000 liters. The collected rainwater is used for various purposes, and

excess rainwater is used to recharge the groundwater through a dug well.

3 It should be noted that not all the activities mentioned below are covered under the PDA, however all theactivities are mentioned as all these are a part of the demonstration activity to demonstrate ENPHO buildingas a water optimized house.

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The photographs of the rainwater harvesting system are presented in Appendix – L of

this Final Report.

3.3.3 RBTS

The RBTS comprises of a 500 liter settling tank followed by a single vertical sub-surface

flow reed bed of surface area 15 m2, which is treating about 1 m3 of wastewater per day.

It is not only treating the wastewater generated from toilets but also wastewater

generated from the laboratory. The treated wastewater is used for flushing of toilets,

cleaning of vehicles and gardening purpose.

The photographs of the RBTS are presented in Appendix – M of this Final Report.

3.4 Conduct National Seminar to demonstrate the projects

To demonstrate the decentralized, community based wastewater treatment system and

other water optimizing techniques such as rainwater harvesting system and Ecosan, a

one-day national level workshop on “Water Optimization – Today’s Need” was

organized by the IA. The stakeholders from government authorities, representative from

municipalities in Kathmandu Valley, donors, local leaders and non-governmental

organizations, schools, users of various water optimizing techniques attended the

workshop. After participating in group discussions on wastewater treatment, rain water

harvesting and Ecosan, all the participants visited the newly constructed community

based wastewater treatment system.

The program was chaired by the General Manager of Nepal Water Supply Corporation

Mr. Dharma Kumar Bajimaya. Mr. Purna Das Shrestha, Joint Secretary of Ministry

Physical Planning & Works, Mr. Purna Kaderiya, Director General of Department of

Urban Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) were the guest of the program.

Dr. Roshan Raj Shrestha, Chief Technical Advisor of UN HABITAT was the Keynote

speaker of the program who highlighted urban water crisis and need to adopt water

optimization techniques like rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling and ecological

sanitation system to cope for present water crisis.

The proceeding and photographs are presented in Appendix – N of this Final Report.

3.5 Development of Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials

To achieve the above mentioned objectives, activities designed to raise awareness of

the local people and policy makers, on the project activities as well as their

responsibilities for effective water and wastewater management play a vital role. The

project included the following activities for raising awareness.

• publication of educational materials about wastewater treatment

• exhibitions and demonstration programs for policy makers, local authorities,donors as well as local leaders

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• production of audio/visuals e.g. documentary and tele-film on wastewater

treatment using reed bed system, ecological sanitation (ECOSAN) and rain water

harvesting

• radio programs focusing on wastewater management and treatment

3.5.1 Educational Materials

Under this activity various types of IEC materials such as brochures and leaflets were

developed, they were attractive, simple and easy to understand and targeted at policy

makers and local people. In this process, following IEC materials were developed and

distributed.

• A poster – Constructed Wetlands in Nepal, which contains information on the

various application of constructed wetland for wastewater treatment, grey water

recycling, leachate treatment and its distribution in Nepal

• A brochure – “Water for Asian Cities – Pilot and Demonstration Activity for

Community Based Decentralized Wastewater Management”, which contains all

the major aspects of the PDA activities.

• A brochure – Constructed Wetlands for wastewater treatment, which contains the

information on the technology and about the wetlands that exists and being

planned in Nepal.

• A CD containing 19 minute program in Nepali language about constructed

wetland.

• A flyer in Nepali and Newari language, which contains the importance and the

procedure of household waste management.• A brochure – “Community Based Water and Wastewater Management in

Kathmandu Valley” which contains information on all the program activities.

• A brochure – “Integrated Urban Water and Wastewater Management – ENPHO A

Demonstration, Resource and Training Center for Water Optimizing Techniques”

containing information on the use of various water optimizing technologies in

ENPHO.

• The program profile of Community based water and wastewater management in

ENPHO’s annual magazine 2005.

• The program profile of Community based water and wastewater management in

ENPHO’s Nepali language quarterly publication “ Anjuli”.• A two-page newspaper feature about the project published in Madhyapur Thimi

Post in June 2005.

The educational materials are presented in Appendix – O of this Final Report.

3.5.2 Demonstration programs

In order to promote interaction among key stakeholders and demonstrate the project with

hands-on models and presentations, a public exhibition at Madhyapur Thimi and a field

visit progrm to the site were organized.

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• Publ ic Exhibi t ion - As public exhibition is a good way to give information about

the project and interact with the local people, ENPHO set up a public exhibition at

Dui Pokhari Thimi on 20 April 2005, to raise awareness on the project and

receive feedback from the local people. The exhibition had information on the

project as well as a model showing RBTS at work. More than a thousand people,

including local leaders, community members and students, attended the

exhibition, which was organized by Madhaypur Thimi Municipality. The local

people were very eager to see the working model of treatment plant.

The photographs of exhibition are presented in Appendix – P of this Final Report.

• Site Visit - To demonstrate the decentralized, community based RBTS and other

water optimizing techniques such as rain water harvesting system and ECOSAN,

a site visit program was was organized on a one-day national level workshop.

Government authorities, representatives from municipalities in Kathmandu Valley,

donors, local leaders and non-governmental organization, schools, and users of

various water optimization techniques attended the workshop. Along with the

group discussion on wastewater treatment, rain water harvesting and ECOSAN,

all the participants visited the newly constructed community based wastewater

treatment system.

The photographs of the site visit are presented in Appendix – N of this Final Report.

3.5.3 Audio/Visual progams

Audio and visual media is an effective way to reach to large group of people. For this,

following audio/visual materials has been developed:

• As Radio program is an excellent means to communicate with a large number of

people, and FM radio is very popular in Kathmandu, the project supported two

episodes of “Down to Earth” an environmental program on Kantipur FM, one of

the most popular FM stations in Nepal. During these half-hour programmes

discussions were held on feacal sludge management and active community

participation in construction of community based wastewater treatment system at

Madhyapur Thimi Municipality.

• A Documentary – A half-hour documentary is being produced highlighting the

activities of the project and need for water optimization in Nepal.

• Tele-film on water optimization - “Jalpari”, a one-hour feature film which gives

information on, and shows the importance of water optimization and purification

techniques such as rainwater harvesting, wastewater treatment using RBTS, was

produced and aired on Nepal Television. The movie was directed and acted by

Madan Krishna Shrestha and Hari Bansha Acharya, who are the most famous

comedians in Nepal. Following the premiere of the movie in Jai Nepal Cinema on16 September 2005, the movie received a lot of coverage in the Nepalese press.

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he concept starts with the ancient imaginary view of the


The photographs of audio/visual programs are presented in Appendix – Q of this Final

Report.

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4. Financial

It is worth mentioning that during the detail work out of the PDA activities, some deficit in

the budget was realized. Devaluation of the US dollar against the Nepalese Rupees,

increase in the price of construction materials along with the labour charges,

modifications/alterations in the technical design of the RBTS and delay in the

construction of the RBTS have been the major reasons for the deficit of the allocated

budget. In search of the deficit budget, the IA takes pride to link up this PDA with the

Water for Asian Cities Programme (WAC), an initiative collaboration of the UN-HABITAT

and ADB, and Water Aid Nepal, an INGO, which have come together to support the pro-

poor investments in urban sanitation with emphasis on serving the urban poor with

formal sanitation facilities.

The summary of the expenses and the contribution from the three sources are

summarized in the following table:

SN Activities Expenses

ADB-PDA

(US $)

UN-HABITAT

(US $)

Water Aid Nepal

(US $)

1 Community Scale RBTS 28,000 10,000 6,000

2 Ecological Sanitation 4,000 - -

3 Demonstrate Water

Optimized House

1,000 - -

4 National Seminar 2,000 - -

5 IEC Materials 1,500 2,500 -

6 Professionals 8,850 - -

7 Miscellaneous expenses 4,500 - -

8 Monitoring & Evaluation - 2,500 -

9 Sub total 49,850 (70%) 15,000 (21%) 6,000 (9%)

10 Total (US$) 70,850 (100%)

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5. Achievements

• The demonstration of water optimizing techniques in the ENPHO’s building has

been successful in reducing water demand at ENPHO and encouraged others to

do the same.

• A visit to the ENPHO building by senior officials from Department of Urban

Development and Building Construction (DUDBC) in June 2005 has prompted

DUDBC to install rain water harvesting system in their own building and also

include rain water harvesting system in National Policy.

• After seeing ENPHO’s effort to promote rainwater harvesting system, the General

Manager of Nepal Water Supply Corporation (NWSC) has agreed to promote rain

water harvesting system by producing a flyer on this system and sending it to

every household along with the water bill, install the rain water harvesting system

in NWSC office and conduct training programs.

• The RBTS at Thimi will be a valuable model for developing similar treatment plant

by the ADB supported UEIP.

• The feature film JALPARI was very successful. A private company has proposed

to market the film and we have been invited to show the film at World Water

Forum 2006.

• The new design of Ecosan is gaining popularity in Siddhipur and ENPHO plans to

construct about 100 such toilets in Siddhipur with the support from UN-Habitat

and WAN.

6. Lessons learnt

In the opinion of the IA, lessons learnt are important, which when integrated in the future

activities, would be very much helpful to carry out the activities successfully. Some of the

lessons learnt in the implementation of this PDA are given below:

• Ecosan is a very useful technology for farmer’s community in the peri urban

areas. But they need encouragement and support in setting up this system.

• As is Ecosan is comparatively expensive than ordinary toilet system, more efforts

need to be made to lower the cost of Ecosan and assist local community in

financing this system.

•

Demonstration units for exchange of knowledge and awareness amongcommunity stakeholders can be very useful in promoting new and innovative

technologies like rain water harvesting system, Ecosan system and RBTS.

• In depth and successive consultation with the community is a must.

• Numerous and timely focus group discussions must be done specially in

community-scale RBTS.

• Assurance to solve the future problems (if any) should be given.

• Inclusion of all stakeholders of the community is needed to make the project

successful.

• Proper understanding on O&M by the community is necessary for future success

of technologies like RBTS.

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7. Conclusion and recommendation

The following main conclusions and recommendations can be drawn from the

experiences of this PDA:

• Community scale RBTS should be promoted since it can contribute significantly

to protect the environment from further deterioration and above all its low cost

and negligible operational and maintenance costs.

• Proper use of Ecosan, application and management of urine and faeces recycles

the nutrients and reduces the chemical fertilizer requirement, which have a

positive impact on the soil fertility and the environment. Ecosan systems should

be promoted not only in peri-urban areas, but also in rural and urban areas.

• Rainwater harvesting technique could save an enormous amount of water

demand, expenses and also contribute to the recharge of ground water.

• Activities similar to the PDA should be implemented nation wide. The financing of

such activities should also be linked with the local budget.

nep pda: operational research on decentralized wastewater management & its dissemination (final...

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