New paper on 'sense of ownership' and sustianability in rural water

Does sense of ownership matter for rural water system sustainability? Evidence from Kenya

Sara J. Marks, Kyle Onda and Jennifer Davis
   
Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development Vol 3 No 2 pp 122–133 © IWA Publishing 2013 doi:10.2166/washdev.2013.098

ABSTRACT
Community sense of ownership for rural water infrastructure is widely cited as a key factor in ensuring sustainable service delivery, but no empirical investigation has evaluated the relationship between sense of ownership and sustainability outcomes. This study examines the association between system sustainability and sense of ownership among households and water committees, using primary data collected throughout 50 rural communities with piped water systems in Kenya. Data sources include in-person interviews with 1,916 households, 312 water committee members and 50 system operators, as well as technical assessments of water systems. Using principal components analysis we create composite measures of system sustainability (infrastructure condition, users' confidence, and ongoing management), and of water committees' and households' sense of ownership for the system. All else held constant, infrastructure condition is positively associated with water committee members' sense of ownership, whereas users' confidence and system management are positively associated with households' sense of ownership. These findings stand in contrast with much of the published literature on rural water planning, which assumes homogeneity of ownership feelings across all members of a community and which suggests a consistent and positive association between households' sense of ownership and sustainability.

Full paper here!

Sad news: Parveen Rehman killed in Pakistan

The long-time director of the Orangi Pilot Project in Pakistan was murdered this week. Parveen Rehman was a tireless champion for Karachi's low-income households. Under her leadership the OPP helped communities design and install sanitation facilities and low-cost sewerage for tens of thousands of households. The OPP's work has been controversial, and certainly not perfect from a technical standpoint, but it has made a real difference on the ground and also challenged the notion that low-income communities have little or no demand for improved sanitation services. Parveen Rehman will be sorely missed.

Impacts of biodigesters in Tanzania

This new paper in Energy for Sustainable Development by Jeannette Laramee & Jenna Davis quantifies the differences in fuelwood use and CO2e emissions between Tanzanian households with and without domestic biodigesters.
Abstract: Despite substantial programmatic investment in domestic bio-digesters across sub-Saharan Africa in recent years, little empirical evidence has been published regarding the existence or magnitude of socioeconomic or environmental benefits accruing from bio-digester implementation. A cross-sectional study of 40 households in Arusha, Tanzania, suggests that bio-digester adoption has the potential to reduce fuel-wood use, energy-related expenditures, and time-costs of energy procurement; to lower CO2e emissions; and to increase farm incomes. No significant differences in synthetic fertilizer use were observed between households with and without bio-digesters. Domestic bio-digester investments were found to have a positive net present value across a wide range of discount rates. Further, we estimate that domestic bio-digester implementation at the country wide level in Tanzania could potentially access $80–$115 million annually in carbon emissions reduction (CER) financing through the Clean Development Mechanism.
Read the full paper here.

After a long silence...new paper on pathogens in water and on hands

Apologies for the long 'dry spell' in this blog; I will endeavor to post more regularly going forward!  JD


Hands and water as vectors of diarrheal pathogens in Bagamoyo, TanzaniaEnviron Sci Technol. 2012 Nov 26.Mattioli MC, Pickering AJ, Gilsdorf R, Davis J, Boehm AB.

Abstract: Diarrheal disease is a leading cause of under-five childhood mortality worldwide, with at least half of these deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Transmission of diarrheal pathogens occurs through several exposure routes including drinking water and hands, but the relative importance of each route is not well understood. Using molecular methods, this study examines the relative importance of different exposure routes by measuring enteric bacteria (pathogenic Escherichia coli) and viruses (rotavirus, enterovirus, adenovirus) in hand rinses, stored water, and source waters in Bagamoyo, Tanzania.

Viruses were most frequently found on hands, suggesting that hands are important vectors for viral illness. The occurrence of E. coli virulence genes (ECVG) was equivalent across all sample types, indicating that both water and hands are important for bacterial pathogen transmission. Fecal indicator bacteria and turbidity were good predictors of ECVG, whereas turbidity and human-specific Bacteroidales were good predictors of viruses.

ECVG were more likely found in unimproved water sources, but both ECVG and viral genes were detected in improved water sources. ECVG were more likely found in stored water of households with unimproved sanitation facilities. The results provide insights into the distribution of pathogens in Tanzanian households and offer evidence that hand-washing and improved water management practices could alleviate viral and bacterial diarrhea.

New paper from the group: Is household contamination associated with improved sanitation facilities?

Fecal Contamination and Diarrheal Pathogens on Surfaces and in Soils among Tanzanian Households with and without Improved Sanitation

Amy J. Pickering, Timothy R. Julian, Sara J. Marks, Mia C. Mattioli, Alexandria B. Boehm, Kellogg J. Schwab, and Jennifer Davis
Environmental Science & Technology. Volume 46, Issue 11, pp 5736–5743
DOI: 10.1021/es300022c

Abstract: Little is known about the extent or pattern of environmental fecal contamination among households using low-cost, on-site sanitation facilities, or what role environmental contamination plays in the transmission of diarrheal disease. A microbial survey of fecal contamination and selected diarrheal pathogens in soil (n = 200), surface (n = 120), and produce samples (n = 24) was conducted in peri-urban Bagamoyo, Tanzania, among 20 households using private pit latrines. All samples were analyzed for E. coli and enterococci. A subset was analyzed for enterovirus, rotavirus, norovirus GI, norovirus GII, diarrheagenic E. coli, and general and human-specific Bacteroidales fecal markers using molecular methods. Soil collected from the house floor had significantly higher concentrations of E. coli and enterococci than soil collected from the latrine floor. There was no significant difference in fecal indicator bacteria levels between households using pit latrines with a concrete slab (improved sanitation) versus those without a slab. These findings imply that the presence of a concrete slab does not affect the level of fecal contamination in the household environment in this setting. Human Bacteroidales, pathogenic E. coli, enterovirus, and rotavirus genes were detected in soil samples, suggesting that soil should be given more attention as a transmission pathway of diarrheal illness in low-income countries.

Dhaka team receives 2 awards!

Congratulations to our Dhaka / Engineers for a Sustainable World  project team (http://stanforddhakawater.wordpress.com/#), who were awarded a first place win and a $20k prize this evening in the Social Entrepreneurship Challenge sponsored by BASES (Business Association of Stanford Entrepreneurial Students)! 

This recognition comes on the heels of the team being recommended for an EPA P3 grant for their work earlier this month.

The team has been working very hard over the past two quarters to develop an in-line chlorinator appropriate for low-income urban neighborhoods that rely on shared water points for their drinking water supply. This summer they will field test their prototype in the slums of Dhaka, Bangladesh, in collaboration with the International Center for Diarrheal Disease Research. Their technology has the potential to benefit not only the 10 million slum dwellers of Dhaka, but the half a billion urban residents worldwide whose piped networks deliver water rendered unsafe by biological contamination. 

Congratulations to team Dhaka on a terrific job!!

Keegan Cooke

Kara Bennett

Valerie Bauza

Yoshika Crider

Nabil Mansouri

Isaac Madan

Olivia Vagelos

Camil Diaz

Dr. Amy Pickering (mentor)

Eng. Suprio Das (collaborator)

Delhi has its own "Great Stink"

Roughly 150 years ago, the House of Commons in London's Parliament had to be evacuated because of the foul odors emanating from the River Thames on whose banks the houses of Parliament were built. Subsequent fallout from this "Great Stink," as it came to be known, as well as from recurrent cholera epidemics, eventually resulted in the construction of the London sewer system.

Today the BBC is reporting that India's upper house of parliament was similarly evacuated, also because of poor management of human wastes. Although not nearly as dramatic as the London case, perhaps this experience will spur lawmakers in India to take a hard look at the fact that half of the country's population lacks access to even the most basic form of sanitation!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-18024831