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Lewis R, Scott R, Bala B, Jahan H, Bartram J, Radu T. Household water use and greywater management in Khulna city, Bangladesh. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2024; 259:114376. [PMID: 38569415 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2024.114376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/29/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
While substantial progress has been made in improving water and sanitation services in low- and middle-income countries, aligned basic services such as greywater, stormwater, and solid waste management have progressed little in recent decades. Data was collected in Khulna city, Bangladesh via a household survey (n = 192) of low-income areas exploring domestic water use and greywater volumes, characteristics, and disposal practices. Most households (71%) use a piped water supply for domestic purposes, supplemented by seasonal rainwater harvesting (26%) and greywater use (13%). Of the total water used by households (mean: 594 L/household/day and equivalent to 116 L/person/day), approximately 58% becomes greywater through bathing, dishwashing, religious practices, handwashing, laundry, and mopping. Greywater produced ranges from 61-1274 L/household/day, with a mean of 345 L/household/day and equivalent to 78.4 L/person/day. Greywater characteristics vary depending on the activity, individual behaviours and any products used during cooking, bathing, or cleaning. After generation, households dispose greywater to open drains (67%), nearby waterbodies (17%) directly to the ground (9%), or decentralised wastewater treatment system (7%). Without services for greywater management, greywater disposal may have considerable public and environmental health implications, necessitating careful attention and oversight from service-providers and stakeholders beyond the household-level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Lewis
- School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK.
| | - Rebecca Scott
- School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK.
| | - Babul Bala
- WaterAid Bangladesh, House 97B, Road 25, Block A, Banani, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh.
| | - Hasin Jahan
- WaterAid Bangladesh, House 97B, Road 25, Block A, Banani, Dhaka 1213, Bangladesh.
| | - Jamie Bartram
- School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Woodhouse Lane, Leeds, LS2 9D, UK.
| | - Tanja Radu
- School of Architecture, Building and Civil Engineering, Loughborough University, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11 3TU, UK.
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Ramm K, Smol M. The potential for water recovery from urban waste water - The perspective of urban waste water treatment plant operators in Poland. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2024; 358:120890. [PMID: 38640760 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.120890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2023] [Revised: 02/04/2024] [Accepted: 04/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
Water recovery from waste water has become an essential element of the circular economy in the Baltic Sea region. However, there is little data on the possibility of using water recovered from urban waste water. A survey was conducted to learn the opinions of Poland waste water treatment plant operators. They were asked whether they recovered water for internal or external needs. Respondents indicated opportunities and barriers in this activity. The opinions of 107 operators show that work is underway on closing internal circuits in urban WWTPs. These solutions are technically relatively easy to implement and show measurable benefits (i.e., saving drinking water). However, water recovery for external purposes is rare and is at a very early stage. Despite this, the potential is significant, although many financial, organizational, technical, and mental barriers exist. The most critical challenge is the safe use of reclaimed water and the cost-effectiveness of the solutions. The survey also shows a need for education and involvement of the public.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Ramm
- Warsaw University of Technology, Chamber of Economy "Polish Waterworks,", Warsaw, Poland.
| | - Marzena Smol
- Mineral and Energy Economy Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 31-261, Krakow, Poland.
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Wang W, Guo X, Cao Q, Tang A. A stakeholder perspective on social stability risk of public–private partnerships project for water environmental governance in China: A social network analysis. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.1022383] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The pluralism of stakeholders in PPP project for water environmental governance and the complex interrelationship among stakeholders are the important factors affecting social stability risk. Previous studies have mainly focused on risk identification and assessment. We aim to investigate the key social risks of PPP project for water environmental governance, to understand which social risks stakeholders are concerned about, and what interactions they follow. First, relevant risks and their interrelationships were investigated through a literature review and interviews. Second, the key social stability risks were identified based on social network analysis. Third, strategies were proposed to mitigate the social stability risks. The results show that government corruption, government intervention risk, approved risk, poor contract design risk price change and policy and regulation risk are the key risks with the highest in/out-degree, centrality and ego network size. Four core stakeholder groups (i.e., government, contractors, project companies, and the public and the media) and four core challenges (i.e., difficulties in financing, lack of mass incidents prevention mechanism, incomplete project schedule control system and improper handling of benefit compensation issues) have intensive relationships. We concluded that controlling the complicated relationships among four core stakeholder groups can reduce the social stability risks. The social network analysis framework combining stakeholder management and risk management provides a reference for the management of PPP projects for water environmental governance.
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Haldar K, Kujawa-Roeleveld K, Acharjee TK, Datta DK, Rijnaarts H. Urban water as an alternative freshwater resource for matching irrigation demand in the Bengal delta. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 835:155475. [PMID: 35472348 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Rapid changes in climate patterns, population growth, urbanization, and rising economic activities have increased the pressure on the delta's freshwater availability. Bangladesh's coastal planes suffer from a shortage of good quality irrigation water, which is crucial for peri-urban agriculture and at the same time, a high volume of untreated wastewater is discharged into the surface water. This calls for a transition towards efficiently managing and (re)using available urban water resources for irrigation, which is addressed in this paper. A quantitative match between the irrigation demand and potential freshwater supply has been assessed considering different urban water generation scenarios. The FAO AquaCrop model has been used to calculate the irrigation water demand for Boro rice during the dry period. Results indicate that 7.4 million m3 of irrigation water is needed, whereas over 8.2 million m3 of urban water is being generated during the dry season. Simultaneously, mismatches between irrigation demand and alternative water supply mainly occurred in February and March, which could be resolved with water storage capacities. However, to make urban water reuse a reality, the water management policy needs to change to facilitate the construction of required infrastructures for collection, treatment, and storage. The proposed method helps realize the urban water's hidden potential to sustain agricultural activities in the delta areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamonashish Haldar
- Environmental Technology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 17, 6700AA Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Katarzyna Kujawa-Roeleveld
- Environmental Technology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 17, 6700AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Tapos Kumar Acharjee
- Department of Irrigation and Water Management, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh
| | - Dilip Kumar Datta
- Environmental Science Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna 9208, Bangladesh
| | - Huub Rijnaarts
- Environmental Technology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 17, 6700AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
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Haldar K, Kujawa-Roeleveld K, Hofstra N, Datta DK, Rijnaarts H. Microbial contamination in surface water and potential health risks for peri-urban farmers of the Bengal delta. Int J Hyg Environ Health 2022; 244:114002. [PMID: 35759864 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijheh.2022.114002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Ensuring safe irrigation practices is vital to sustaining food production in water-scarce delta areas. Bangladesh and many other developing countries discharge untreated wastewater into their surrounding surface water bodies, serving as the primary irrigation source. This indirect irrigation of wastewater is believed to pose threats to the farmers, consumers and market vendors and may also affect crop and soil quality. To assess the risk, peri-urban farmers who use surrounding water bodies of Khulna city, Bangladesh, for crop irrigation were selected for the study. The microbial and heavy metal concentrations were measured in water samples collected from various locations over different seasons. For heavy metals As, Co, Ni, Cd, Cr, Cu and Pb, concentrations were below the detection limit, whereas Al, Fe, Mn, Ti and Zn were present but below the FAO recommendation limit for safe irrigation. The mean concentrations of microbial parameters were above the thresholds of WHO guidelines for crop irrigation intended for human consumption. Significant temporal variations in Faecal Coliform, E. coli and Enterococcus concentrations in the water samples were observed. The annual risk of infection for farmers was determined using the screening-level Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA). The results indicated that the annual probability of infection with pathogenic E. coli in different seasons ranges between 5 × 10-3 to 5 × 10-2, above the WHO's acceptable threshold for annual risk of infection for safe water reuse in agriculture. During the farmers' survey, around 45% reported health-related issues and more than 26% reported suffering from water-borne diseases after getting in contact with polluted surface water. This illustrates the actuality of the risks in practice. To ensure safe irrigation, the health risks need to be reduced below the acceptable limits. Suggested technical measures include adequate treatment of wastewater before disposal into rivers and access to protective equipment for farmers. This should be complemented by raising awareness through education programs among farmers to reduce accidental ingestion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamonashish Haldar
- Environmental Technology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 17, 6700AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Katarzyna Kujawa-Roeleveld
- Environmental Technology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 17, 6700AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Nynke Hofstra
- Water Systems and Global Change, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Dilip Kumar Datta
- Environmental Science Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna, 9208, Bangladesh
| | - Huub Rijnaarts
- Environmental Technology, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 17, 6700AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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