Showing papers on "Sanitation published in 1999"

The Sanitary City: Urban Infrastructure in America from Colonial Times to the Present

Abstract: By MARTIN V. MELOSI. xii and 578 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliog., index. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2000. $59.95 (cloth), ISBN 0801861527. The title Sanitary City summons images of Gotham's street sweepers dressed in spotless white coats. In his massive history of urban sanitation services, Martin Melosi certainly introduces us to New York City's turn-of-the-century uniformed street-cleaning corps, but he focuses on the unsanitary rather than the sanitary. Such is the enigma of the title. The impurity of drinking water prompted massive efforts to find and deliver a potable product; the threat of disease from sewage forced cities to export this foul by-product; and the offensive qualities of refuse led to searches for healthy solutions. Melosi's task is to present the continual struggle to make the unsanitary city sanitary. In his own words, he seeks to provide "a comprehensive history of water supply, wastewater, and solid-waste disposal systems in American cities from colonial times to the year 2000, with an analysis of their development, an assessment of their influence on urban growth, and an evaluation of their impact on the environment" (p. 2). In this respect, his title is highly appropriate. Melosi, who has a pedigree in political history and an extensive record as an urban and environmental historian, divides the book into three sections, based principally on the paradigms that guided sanitation practice: "Age of Miasmas" (1700s-1880), "Bacteriological Revolution" (1880-1945), and "New Ecology" (1945-2000). This apt organizational scheme is further refined in chapters that explore key developments in sanitation technology coupled with urbanization. Melosi's objective was sweeping, and his accomplishment encompasses the complete vista. Melosi emphasizes the successive waves of "crises" that coursed through the municipal-sanitation profession. Environmental historians often argue that massive tragedies are necessary to initiate major policy changes. But in the public works arena, Melosi suggests, it was not death or destruction that prompted actions but a perceived crisis in water quantity or quality. Drinking water attracted attention most immediately and typically received substantial public support. Sewerage, a less obvious need, lagged behind clean water as a municipal concern, while garbage constantly lurked in the background. Whether in the age of miasmas or the time of the new ecology, crises were essential to spur efforts to meet public expectations of the day. I often wonder why more geographers have not investigated sanitation infrastructure; perhaps it is because such hidden service delivery is not a part of the visible landscape. The Sanitary City points out the significance of these buried systems for urban growth. Increasing population density and sewage production degraded private wells and stimulated municipal searches for new water supplies. Extension of water supplies, and to a lesser extent, sewerage lines, has helped shape urban expansion. Garbage collection, Melosi informs us, functions best through "economies of density," becoming less efficient with urban sprawl. Such insights into the buried landscape exhibit the author's ability to examine the multiple and evolving relationships of public works with local politics, public finance, national environmental policies, and sanitary technologies. …

The Impact and Sustainability of Community Water Supply and Sanitation Programmes in Developing Countries

Abstract: Sound strategies for community water supply and sanitation programmes in developing countries should be based on a clear understanding of the existing problems, the beneficial impacts achievable, and the factors which determine sustainability. The impacts of many water and sanitation programmes are limited, and many systems break down and are abandoned prematurely. Only limited impacts are achievable in the short term without greatly increased investment. Sustainability, in the sense of continued delivery and uptake of services, is threatened by numerous attitudinal, institutional and economic factors, and community participation approaches alone are no guarantee of success. The key to sustainability is that all stakeholders involved in consumption/use, maintenance, cost recovery, and continuing support perceive it in their best interests to deliver high quality services. The paper proposes new sets of programme aims and objectives in relation to impact and sustainability, which can be used in programme design, monitoring and evaluation. It also makes longer term recommendations to external support agencies.

Food safety in the 21st century.

Abstract: The global importance of food safety is not fully appreciated by many public health authorities despite a constant increase in the prevalence of foodborne illness. Numerous devastating outbreaks of salmonellosis, cholera, enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli infections, hepatitis A and other diseases have occurred in both industrialized and developing countries. In addition, many of the re-emerging or newly recognized pathogens are foodborne or have the potential of being transmitted by food and/or drinking water. More foodborne pathogens can be expected because of changing production methods, processes, practices and habits. During the early 21st century, foodborne diseases can be expected to increase, especially in developing countries, in part because of environmental and demographic changes. These vary from climatic changes, changes in microbial and other ecological systems, to decreasing freshwater supplies. However, an even greater challenge to food safety will come from changes resulting directly in degradation of sanitation and the immediate human environment. These include the increased age of human populations, unplanned urbanization and migration and mass production of food due to population growth and changed food habits. Mass tourism and the huge international trade in food and feed is causing food and feedborne pathogens to spread transnationally. As new toxic agents are identified and new toxic effects recognized, the health and trade consequences of toxic chemicals in food will also have global implications. Meeting the huge challenge of food safety in the 21st century will require the application of new methods to identify, monitor and assess foodborne hazards. Both traditional and new technologies for assuring food safety should be improved and fully exploited. This needs to be done through legislative measures where suitable, but with much greater reliance on voluntary compliance and education of consumers and professional food handlers. This will be an important task for the primary health care system aiming at "health for all".

Pathogen Reduction in Sewage Sludge by Composting and Other Biological Treatments: A Review

Abstract: The agricultural utilization of sewage sludge imposes a high level of sanitation and stabilization of organic matter in order to maintain soil, water and air qualities and to effectively use such bioresidues as a soil amendment and as a source of nutrients for plants. Improper sanitation poses a serious threat to human and animal health. Stabilization and sanitation of sewage sludge have the advantage of coupling safe sewage sludge recycling in agriculture with its disposal, as many economic and environmental constraints make discharging strategies more and more difficult to apply. This article reviews the various biological methods to sanitize sewage sludge and the efficiency and efficacy of these methods in eliminating pathogens and parasites. Available monitoring techniques are also discussed. Finally, a conceptual approach is presented on the basis of epidemiological and ecological studies in order to assess the environmental and health impacts of recycling sewage sludge through land application.

Small-scale entrepreneurs in the urban water and sanitation market:

Abstract: This paper describes the importance of small-scale private sector or NGO providers of water and sanitation in a great range of urban areas in Africa, Asia and Latin America. It includes many examples of where - contrary to conventional wisdom - they provide good quality, low-cost services. Without these operations, large sections of the South’s urban populations, including tens of millions of low-income households, would be worse off. Yet these generally operate with no subsidy and have to recover their costs. This paper discusses how public policy can support (or at least not seriously constrain) small-scale entrepreneurs in water and sanitation provision while ensuring checks on the quality and price of the services they provide.

Cities, sewers and poverty: India' s politics of sanitation

Abstract: This paper discusses the political circumstances which help explain why the insanitary living conditions of such a large section of India’s urban population have been ignored, and contrasts these with the circumstances which explain successful sanitary reform in Britain in the second half of the 19th century. In India, there is little middle class pressure for sanitary reform, in part because of the ability of the middle classes to monopolize what basic urban services the state provides, in part because modern medicine and civil engineering have lowered the health risks that they might face from the sanitation-related diseases that lower income groups suffer. In addition, the ‘threat from below’ including organized trade union pressure was more influential in mid 19th century Britain than in India today. The paper ends by reflecting on what factors might change this.

Household Water Resources and Rural Productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Review of the Evidence

Abstract: The benefits and costs of providing a safe, convenient, and reliable water supply to households in the developing world have been the subject of a vast and wide-ranging research effort for at least four decades. Despite the quantity of studies carried out, relatively little is known about a number of key aspects of household water use. In particular, the productivity cost to households of having an inadequate water supply, measured in terms of the quantity and quality of labor lost as a result, has rarely been examined carefully. There is also relatively little known about water use in rural areas, as most research has focused on the developing world's rapidly expanding cities. Among the regions of the world, both of these research gaps are most acute for sub-Saharan Africa, the region whose population is the most rural and has the least access to an improved water supply. This paper reviews and summarizes the results of studies of household water use in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa that offer clues to the effects of household water resources on rural productivity. Findings are presented on the extent of household access to safe water supplies, household water use, the costs of water-related diseases, the time costs of collecting water from distance sources, and the costs and benefits of interventions to improve household water supplies. Most studies indicate that household water use in sub-Saharan Africa averages only about 10 liters/person/day, far less than is needed for proper hygiene practices. Water-related diseases account for between 10 percent and 12 percent of all morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa. Households (and primarily women) spend an average of 134 minutes/day collecting water, and time saved by bringing water supplies closer to households is likely to dominate estimates of the benefits of improving rural water supplies. Data on the current and future costs of water-related diseases; the opportunity cost of time spent collecting water and lost to sickness or caring for the sick; and what kinds of water supply, sanitation, and hygiene interventions, in what sequence, produce the greatest health benefits are poor, and further research on these issues is needed.

The Financing of Hydropower, Irrigation and Water Supply Infrastructure in Developing Countries

Abstract: A companion paper in the previous issue of this journal (Briscoe, 1999) describes the changing face of infrastructure financing in developing countries. This paper deals with the financing of major infrastructure in the water-related sectors-hydropower, water supply and sanitation, irrigation, and overall water resources management (including the environment). The overall level of investment in water-related infrastructure in developing countries is estimated to be of the order of $65 billion annually, with the respective shares about $15 billion for hydro, $25 billion for water and sanitation and $25 billion for irrigation and drainage. About 90% of this investment comes from domestic sources, primarily from the public sector. Water-related infrastructure accounts for a large chunk-about 15%-of all government spending. This heavy dependence on the public sector means that the global 'winds of change' in the respective roles of government and the private sector have major implications for the financing an...

Applying an Ecosystem Approach to the Determinants of Health in Centro Habana

Abstract: The difficult economic times that Cuba has had to face have taken a considerable toll on its urban ecosystems, with data suggesting that indicators of health, the environment, and social services have been deteriorating. This has been particularly evident in Centro Habana, a municipality with the highest population density in the country. More than half the population was without daily access to potable water, waste disposal was insufficient, overcrowding was serious, disease vectors were prevalent, and rates of various infectious as well as noncommunicable diseases and injuries were highest in the country. To improve the situation, the municipality requested help from the National Institute for Hygiene Epidemiology and Microbiology (INHEM) to determine the best use of scarce resources to improve health. INHEM performed an ecological descriptive study and conducted focus groups in five communities to assess perceptions of health, social, and environmental factors, followed by a household survey. INHEM then engaged collaborators at the University of Manitoba to assist in developing a framework, analyzing the data, and planning and undertaking the evaluation requested. Maximum likelihood factor analysis was used to reduce the dimensionality of the data. The perception data were then merged with the ecological level health and environmental data to ascertain the relationship between these two data sources and determine which indicators might be useful for an intervention analysis. The perception results indicated that the greatest community concern was quality of housing, but that the risk perception results were independent of ecological data on morbidity, mortality, and basic sanitation indicators. Based on this conclusion, it was decided to use a combined qualitative and quantitative approach to evaluate actual and potential interventions, using the driving force-pressure-state-exposure-effects-action (DPSEEA) framework. It was also decided to adopt an ecosystem approach that fully involves the community in developing a set of ecosystem human health indicators. Data from repeat focus groups and household surveys are planned, with these data to again be integrated with ecological data including environmental, socioeconomic, and health outcome information, using a pre- versus postintervention with concurrent control design. Our findings in this first phase indicated that an ecosystem framework is invaluable in ascertaining determinants of health and prioritizing and evaluating interventions to improve the health of communities.

Quantitative bacterial examination of domestic water supplies in the Lesotho Highlands: water quality, sanitation, and village health.

Abstract: Reported are the results of an examination of domestic water supplies for microbial contamination in the Lesotho Highlands, the site of a 20-year-old hydroelectric project, as part of a regional epidemiological survey of baseline health, nutritional and environmental parameters. The population's hygiene and health behaviour were also studied. A total of 72 village water sources were classified as unimproved (n = 23), semi-improved (n = 37), or improved (n = 12). Based on the estimation of total coliforms, which is a nonspecific bacterial indicator of water quality, all unimproved and semi-improved water sources would be considered as not potable. Escherichia coli, a more precise indicator of faecal pollution, was absent (P < 0.001) in most of the improved water sources. Among 588 queried households, only 38% had access to an "improved" water supply. Sanitation was a serious problem, e.g. fewer than 5% of villagers used latrines and 18% of under-5-year-olds had suffered a recent diarrhoeal illness. The study demonstrates that protection of water sources can improve the hygienic quality of rural water supplies, where disinfection is not feasible. Our findings support the WHO recommendation that E. coli should be the principal microbial indicator for portability of untreated water. Strategies for developing safe water and sanitation systems must include public health education in hygiene and water source protection, practical methods and standards for water quality monitoring, and a resource centre for project information to facilitate programme evaluation and planning.

Water and sanitation indicators measurement guide.

Abstract: Water and sanitation improvements in association with hygiene behavior change can have significant effects on population and health by reducing a variety of disease conditions such as diarrhea intestinal helminths guinea worm and skin diseases. These improvements in health can in turn lead to reduced morbidity and mortality and improved nutritional status. Water and sanitation improvements affect health primarily by interrupting or reducing the transmission of disease agents as illustrated in Figure 1. This occurs through a variety of mechanisms. Of primary importance is the safe disposal of human feces thereby reducing the pathogen load in the ambient environment. Increasing the quantity of water allows for better hygiene practices. Raising the quality of drinking water reduces the ingestion of pathogens. With less disease children can eat and absorb more food thereby improving their nutritional status. Also a healthier adult population is a more productive population and improvements in water and sanitation can improve income and the capacity to acquire food. Other benefits associated with better water delivery include time savings for primary caregivers which can result in the preparation of more or better food for children. (excerpt)

Quenching the Thirst: The Cost of Water in Fragile Environments

Abstract: Public policy has often addressed the problems of water supply and sanitation from the supply side to the neglect of demand side aspects in developing countries like India. This policy has not only rendered a large number of projects financially unviable but has also resulted in inadequate coverage of aspects such as population and ecological unsustainability. This article, based on household level information from six villages in a water scarce region of India (Rajasthan state), examines inter- and intra-village variations in water use and the costs, direct and indirect, involved in obtaining water. It also estimates households' willingness and ability to pay for water, using the contingent valuation method (CVM). Using qualitative as well as quantitative methods, it is argued that it is the failure of government policy and of institutions which has led to severe water shortages in harsh environments rather than supply or financial bottlenecks per se. While the estimates of price elasticity of water use indicate the feasibility of water pricing in the rural areas, the willingness to pay estimates question the general assumption that rural households are willing to pay 5 per cent of their income/expenditure for water. Various economic and extra economic factors such as household income, low opportunity costs of women and children, and attitudes towards female labour and public goods are vital in influencing the households' willingness to pay for water.

Environmental Behavior in Bangkok, Thailand: A Portrait of Attitudes, Values, and Behavior

Abstract: This study describes existing demographic and housing characteristics in Bangkok Thailand and government provision of sanitation and water (SW) services and also describes health-related behaviors among slum dwellers. The exploratory study also examines the relationship between household values attitudes behaviors and action to solve environmental problems. A March 1994 survey of over 500 households found that housing was developed privately for a range of income levels with full access to modern services. For the very poor this housing was unaffordable. About 1.7 million persons lived in squatter settlements in 1992. The two agencies that manage water supplies are unable to meet demand. In slums waste collection is organized within the community; the government provides dumpsters. Respondents reported the most problems with vermin followed by bad water and social problems. Three cultural values were significant predictors of health-related behavior. Logistic models reveal that education and income levels were positively related to community participation in prevention and resolution of environmental problems. Long residence in slums and lack of belief in patron-client relationships were related to a greater likelihood of community participation. This study affirmed the importance of values and attitudes in shaping community environmental behavior.

Hygiene Evaluation Procedures: Approaches and methods for assessing water and sanitation related hygiene practices.

Abstract: CONTENT SUMMARY Brief Description: This handbook provides practical guidelines for evaluation of water and sanitation-related hygiene practices. It is designed to make qualitative research skills accessible to practitioners who have little or no previous training in social sciences, and emphasizes how to gather, review, and interpret qualitative information. Uses: The focus is on the practical concerns of field personnel working in water supply, sanitation, and health/hygiene education projects who want to design and conduct their own evaluations of hygiene practices. An evaluation of hygiene practices can be used for project planning and monitoring, and final assessment of project impact. Tool Components: The primary components of this handbook include: 1. What are Hygiene Evaluation Procedures (HEP)? 2. Planning a hygiene evaluation study 3. Training the study team 4. Designing a hygiene evaluation study 5. Methods and tools for investigating the context 6. Investigating hygiene practices

Ilo: a city in transformation:

Abstract: This paper describes the progress made in the city of Ilo over the last 15 years and discusses the reasons for its success Progress includes the much improved provision for water, sanitation and electricity, and the tree-planting and street-paving programmes It also includes a municipal programme that has ensured that land is available for housing that even low-income households can afford, and that has avoided problems of illegal settlements – despite the city's rapid population growth It also describes some of the public works – for instance, the pier and sea walkway, and the parks – and how some 300 projects were financed and executed through partnerships between municipal government and community-level management committees However, the paper's intention is to go beyond the description of achievements, to a consideration of the processes that underlie them Drawing on the author’s dialogue with the current mayor of Ilo, the paper discusses how the combination of local factors, a broader national a

Engineering for food safety and sanitation: A guide to the sanitary design of food plants and food plant equipment

Abstract: A factual, practical reference book for food plant design engineers and food plant sanitation managers provides a well-illustrated (270 figures), descriptive text covering standard procedures and recent developments for designing food plants for optimum food safety and sanitation control. The text is organized into 12 sections: the importance of sanitation programs to the food processing industry; organizing the food plant layout; design considerations in component and support facilities of the food plant building; design considerations in processing and other equipment; electrial design requirements; physical plant construction; plant maintenance facilities and protocols; facility cleaning systems; solid waste and pest control systems; and control of foreign matter. A special section on pertinent food laws and regulations is included

Schools, settlement, and sanitation in Alaska native villages

Abstract: The effective adaptation to a harsh and seasonal environment represented by the mobility of traditional Alaska Native communities has been undermined and replaced with the persistent village. Traditional settlement sites typically were selected for their access to food and other subsistence resources. Early correspondence and reports from the federal Bureau of Education illustrate the important role that schools often played in the consolidation of Native populations. In response to the establishment of schools, among several other influences, permanent villages developed and increased in size. Providing sanitation services was considered by educators to be a central part of their broad mission to improve the life of the Native population, and sanitation was a major focus of teachers' and administrators' activities. However, many of the village sites that had been suitable for temporary or seasonal use by a relatively small population were not well suited - due to geographic considerations such as soils, topography, or remote location - to adequate sanitation for a year-round, larger population. As schools contributed to the consolidation of settlements, they helped situate today's remote Alaska villages that now face numerous economic, social, and political challenges, including providing reliable and affordable sanitation.

Hepatitis A incidence rate estimates from a pilot seroprevalence survey in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Abstract: Background To assess the impact of water sanitation and sewage disposal, part of a major environmental control programme in Rio de Janeiro, we carried out seroprevalence studies for Hepatitis A virus (HAV) in three micro-regions in Rio de Janeiro. Each region varied with regard to level of sanitation. We are interested in assessing the discriminating power of age-specific prevalence curves for HAV as a proxy for improvement in sanitation. These curves will serve as baseline information to future planned surveys as the sanitation programme progresses. Methods Incidence rate curves from prevalence data are estimated parametrically via a Weibull-like survival function, and non-parametrically via maximum likelihood and monotonic splines. Sera collected from children and adults in the three areas are used to detect antibodies against HAV through ELISA. Results We compare baseline incidence curves at the three sites estimated by the three methods. We observe a strong negative correlation between level of sanitation and incidence rates for HAV infection. Incidence estimates yielded by the parametric and non-parametric approaches tend to agree at early ages in the microregion showing the best level of sanitation and to increasingly disagree in the other two. Conclusion Our results support the choice of HAV as a sentinel disease that is associated with level of sanitation. We also introduce monotonic splines as a novel non-parametric approach to estimate incidence from prevalence data. This approach outperforms current estimating procedures.

Expanding water and sanitation services to low-income households : the case of the La Paz-El Alto concession

Abstract: Bolivia is one of a growing number of developing countries turning to the private sector to improve urban water and sanitation services. The country's first major contract in the sector, a twenty-five-year concession for the neighboring cities of La Paz and El Alto, was implemented in August 1997. A primary objective in moving to a private concession was to expand services to low-income households while holding down costs by increasing efficiency. It is not a foregone conclusion that the new concessionaire will do a better job of expanding service; much will depend on how well the contract and sector regulation have been designed. Because the La Paz-El Alto concession was explicitly designed to expand service to the poor, this concession is a good case study for evaluating how different provisions in the contract and the sector regulation may help or hinder service expansion.