1.5 WASH considerations

Diagram 1-2 Stakeholder workflow

1.5 WASH considerations

1.5.1 Water access & treatment

The rare phenomenon of saltwater intrusion has caused the loss of over 10,000 hectares of arable land and the contamination of aquifers which are the source of approximately 60% of infections and illnesses. Obviously, a safe, obtainable and affordable water access is crucial to the success of the project. Considering these requirements and local context, two solutions will be provided for this project.

The first one is a rainwater harvest system (figure 1-4). The municipality has an average annual rainfall of 1,095.7 mm spread between June and October, which provides a great opportunity for the use of the rainwater tank. The rainwater harvest system is made up by a water tank and a sand bed filter. The water tank collects the rainwater running through the down pipe from the bamboo gutter and generates it to the filter to do the purification. Then the filtered water would be able for drinking, handwashing and landscape use. If the filter side is full then the clean water would flow to the bottom layer of the water tank to be saved safely. If the water tank is full, the extra rainwater will be exhausted outside of the system through the overflow rainwater pipe.

Figure 1-4. Rainwater harvest system (HeirloomBuilders, 2021)

The other solution is the use of the solar well, which is a modern well equipped with a solar decontamination and sterilization system to facilitate access to drinking water, therefore contributing to the improvement of the sanitary conditions of the place ("Balouo Salo Baghere well project" , 2021). Once the “A well in Baghere” project is launched, 5 villages around the Baghere can have free access to drinking, filtered and purified water. Refer to the concept picture of the solar well project (figure 1-5), “Women’s House” can have access to the clean water from the solar well directly.

Figure 1-5 A well in Baghere ("Balouo Salo - Baghere well project" , 2021)

1.5.2 Sanitation system

Considering the local context, a waterless toilet system is more realistic than the flushing toilet system. Two toilet systems solutions are provided separately for daily use and women’s special use. The first one is a typical ecological toilet system. The functions of this toilet are shown in the picture below (figure 1-6). There are three parts for the toilet pan. The shallow part at the front for urine, the drop hole in the middle for excreta and the shallow part at the rear for self cleansing. A pipe underfloor collects and carries the urine from the shallow urine bowl to a pod buried in the ground outside. After the user drops the excreta into the hole, they need to shift back and sprinkle one or two handfuls of crushed dry plant into the hole and use the lid to cover the hole. A separate pipe collects and carries the wash water to a small filter bed outside the toilet where salt absorbing plants are grown. This toilet system does save on water, which is a critically scarce resource for Baghere. Also, it decreases the pollution resulting from human waste and closes the nutrient cycle by re-using the excteta for compost. The use of the human waste compost will be detailed in the landscape part in the following.

Figure 1-6 Ecological toilet system (IndiaWater Portal, 2009)

The second toilet system is aimed for women who are in the special period such as menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. They may have to exhaust blood or lochia with the excreta. Due to the Isimic religion, excreta with menstruation and lochia can not be re-used (Dieng, 2021). Also, they need to have a clean and comfortable space for them to use the toilet. Therefore, the ECOSAN toilet system is useful. The functions of this toilet are shown below (figure 1-7). The excreta will go into the part four, which is a reusable collection bag. They just need to do disposal of the collection bag every half year. The ventilation from part five will keep the bad smells from the toilet.