Introducing Sanitation to Floating Households

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Introducing Sanitation to to Introducing Sanitation Floating Households Floating Households

Wetlands Work! Work! Ltd, Phnom Penh,Penh, Cambodia Wetlands Ltd., Phnom Cambodia


Wetlands Work!’s mission Design, develop and build sustainable, low-cost wastewater treatment technologies Design criteria: • Low energy and maintenance requirements • Low cost, high accessibility • Producible by local businesses


Some Simple Thoughts Personal Potential = Motivation, Curiosity, Insight, Determination Social Engagement (networking) Intelligence not same as Wisdom Absolute conviction is not necessarily the Truth Ignorance = Fear

= Hate


REAL WORLD

involves complex systems • Much more complex than “X x Y x Z” !

Non-linear (interactive elements) Spatial (geographic area)

Temporal (time) Called “SYSTEM DYNAMICS” or SD


Non-linear, spatial, temporal system dynamics (SD)


Real World Complexity

Charles A. S. Hall and John W. Day, Jr. 2009 American Scientist, Volume 97: 230-237


Environmental Awareness: Human Population


BUT-- IF YOU FILL IN THE WETLANDS, THE CITIES FLOOD !


IT’s NOT FUN – THIS WATER IS VERY VERY DIRTY


ASEAN example: Cambodian Population • Every 4.4 minutes one death • Every 1.4 minutes one birth

• Migration to cities: urban populations need planning! • JOBS, FOOD, SHELTER, WATER, SANITATION, ELECTRICITY (alternative energies)


•ID A NEED


Tonle Sap


• 2,700 -> 16, 000 km2 • 1 -> 10 m


Freshwater fish production per person China 25

India

20

Bangladesh

15

Cambodia

10 5 0 China

India

Bangladesh Cambodia

Total freshwater fish production/km2 ranks 1st in the world. It ranks 1st in terms of fish catch per person per year.


Floating villages

• >100,000 live in floating homes, no sanitation • Villages move throughout the year, difficult to access • Few health services, low literacy





MANY FLOATING HOMES IN AFRICA, INDIA, MALASIA, INDONESIA, PHILIPPINES…


Water as playground

• Children spend hours each day in the water


Indirect intake

• Untreated lake water is used to wash dishes and vegetables


Understand the Issues


Objective

Improved ambient water quality, as measured by E. coli numbers and diarrheal disease incidence among 0-5 year old children


Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

• Well-documented ability to clean water • Originally from South America, now widespread in tropics • Fast growing: mass increased 5-fold over 3 weeks in Pods • Resilient • Large root surface area for microbial activity


The HandyPod How it works: ① Waste is stablized in covered section. Low oxygen and anaerobic conditions predominate

② Waste moves passively into the open, plant containing section. Aerobic conditions provide diverse life forms that ‘clean’ the water.

Pathogens die off as a result of the inhospitable (and hospitable!) ecosystems of the HandyPod, including the result of predation by larger organisms


CHALLENGES! Evolution of design Two steps forward, One and ½ step back


WE MAKE MODELS -- GOOD TO HAVE ART CLASS IN SCHOOL !


AND WE KEEP PLAYING WITH DESIGN IDEAS !


Evolution of design

• Developing a plastic toilet pan that can fit over bucket • Prevents odor, backsplash, and easy to clean


Evolution of design


The 5th HandyPod Design 2012


The 10th HandyPod Waste from toilet pan

Significantly cleaner water is gradually released into the environment through small perforations

Waste moves passively from covered section to plant-filled section

• Made from widely used tarpauline, kept afloat by empty water bottles • Volume of the HandyPod for household of six: ~470 L (2x [~1 x 1.5 x 0.4 m]) • Waste deposited directly into conduit, or owner can upgrade to toilet pan


The 14th HandyPod 2014

The HandyPod contains and treats household wastewater to a level safe for


19th HandyPod 2015


AND THE POD WATER IS CLEANER…


E. coli (cfu/100 ml)

E. coli reduction: Treatment effectiveness 1.0E+11 1.0E+10 1.0E+09 1.0E+08 1.0E+07 1.0E+06 1.0E+05 1.0E+04 1.0E+03 1.0E+02 1.0E+01 1.0E+00

Raw Feed

Bioslurry II

Pod II

10/21 10/24 10/27 10/30 11/2

11/5

11/8 11/11 11/14 11/17 11/20 11/23 11/26

Time


WHEN WE FINALLY HAD A GOOD MODEL TO TEST WIDELY…


WE PUT ONE ON EVERY HOUSE


2013-14: Village-level work

• Adoption of Pods on the village scale • Two villages: one with Pods, one as control • Around forty households in one, fifty in the other; similar income levels


Measured User Experience

• Positive reaction to the design • Privacy screen desired • Challenges: • Accurate user feedback; ‘vestment’ issues


User feedback

User response positives examples: • Aesthetic improvement – no more solid waste floating next to houses • Privacy and convenience

User response negatives examples: • Odor from first section WW! ensured proper coverage of first section and is developing a suitable pan with water trap • Structural weaknesses during low water WW! substituted some of the materials for more durable components


Next step: Scale-up To have an impact on water quality and health, the majority of the community must treat their waste, as the behavior of neighbors directly affects each other

WW! plans to scale up the use of HandyPods using a sanitation marketing approach custom designed for waterbased communities

Alongside a partner organization with experience in sanitation marketing, local producers and sales agents will be trained and supported, while a simultaneous sanitation awareness raising campaign (CLTS) is conducted


Future work: Design adaptation

The HandyPod is relevant not only to floating communities in Cambodia but in other parts of the world (Philippines, Vietnam, Nigeria) as well. The HandyPod can also be adapted for use in stilted communities (Myanmar, Bangladesh)

Wetlands Work! is adapting the HandyPod concept for use in a wide range of conditions and environments


Impact of HandyPod usage • Improve public health (reduce diarrheal diseases) • Improve water quality – Dissolved oxygen – Excess nutrients. less toxic green alage – Pathogens

• Improve quality of habitat, especially for fingerling fish • Support biodiversity • Use as a tool for livelihood and climate resilence


Taber Hand, PhD Director, Wetlands Work! Ltd. Phnom Penh, Cambodia wetlandswork@gmail.com Wetlandswork.com “Like us� on Facebook at Wetlands Work


Have FUN! Make new FRIENDS! Be CREATIVE!


Land-based flood prone sanitation, by WW!


Swimming pool trtmt - maturing plts


Concept for Living Wall & Sanitation


Otres Beach- single family house


FTB – matured trtmt system


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