Linking urban waterbody health to citywide inclusive sanitation

Abstract

Urban sanitation in developing countries requires systems thinking as there is a plethora different variables which can impact the delivery of adequate sanitation for the people. In the traditional sense, sanitation planning in urban cities focuses on keeping people away from human-waste related pathogens. As cities in India and several developing countries are growing at exponential rates, government agencies are struggling to provide adequate safe sanitation in their cities. In recent years, due to a range of factors such as increasing water stress, recreational needs and biodiversity protection in an urban fabric, urban waterbodies are deemed worthy of conservation. The objective of this research was to systematically understand urban sanitation and how it relates to urban waterbody health. Having understood the system adequately, the aim of the thesis was to answer the research question, can “Citywide Inclusive Sanitation as a planning approach aid in the betterment of urban waterbodies?”. The study adopted a mixed method which comprises of quantitative water quality testing in Kommaghatta lake in Bengaluru city, India and a qualitative analysis at the Bengaluru city level. It included elements of qualitative social research methods such as field observations, informal conversations and semi-structured interviews to answer the research questions. Water quality results and qualitative analysis suggests that there are three significant pollution pathways into Bengaluru lakes, each carrying different wastewater characteristics and pollution load. The predominant pathway for the pollution of waterbodies in the city is through the stormwater drainage. Additionally, sewer pipes and desludging trucks which dispose faecal waste from on-site sanitation systems also contribute to pollutant load entering into the lakes in the city. From the semi-structured interviews, a conceptual model of urban sanitation in Bengaluru city and how it relates to waterbodies was developed. From conducting a qualitative analysis, six major system levers were identified. They levers influence the dynamics of urban sanitation in Bengaluru and forms the basis for the pollution pathways that enter into the lake. They six major system levers for Bengaluru urban sanitation are:
1.Rapid urbanization
2.Fragmentation of government entities
3.Sewer infrastructure
4.Feacal sludge management
5.Treated water reuse
6.Citizen group involvement The study shows that CWIS principles have a significant relevance for solving urban sanitation issues which were identified through the system levers. In addition to solving urban sanitation issues which centres on public health matters, the study also shows that there is also an environmental case for CWIS by arresting waterbody pollution through the identified pollution pathways. Findings from this research can help to improve decision making in terms of urban sanitation by paying close attention to the cause-effect relationships between variables in the urban sanitation sphere and improve waterbody health in their cities.