Water-related diseases are a human tragedy, resulting in millions of deaths each year, preventing millions more from leading healthy lives, and undermining development efforts by burdening the society with substantial socio-economic costs. This problem is of great significance in developing countries, where polluted water, water shortages, and unsanitary living conditions prevail. This paper presents a case study on a health-based socio-economic assessment of drinking water quality in Lebanon, based on relevant valuation approaches and available country-specific data. The assessment revealed that the potential health and economic benefits due to water and sanitation improvements can be significant (0.15-3.35 percent of GDP).

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This paper presents a comparative assessment of public perception of drinking water quality in two underprivileged urban areas in Lebanon and Jordan with nearly similar cultural and demographic characteristics. It compares the quality of bottled water to the quality of the drinking water supplied through the public network and examines the economic implications of bottled water consumption in the two study areas. Participants' perception of the quality of drinking water provided via the public network was generally negative, and bottled water was perceived to be of better quality in both areas, thus affecting drinking water preferences and consumption patterns. The results reveal that the quality of bottled water is questionable in areas that lack enforcement of water quality standards, thus adding to the burden of an already disadvantaged community. Both areas demonstrated a considerable cost incurred for purchasing bottled water in low income communities reaching up to 26 % of total income.

This study investigates the start-up and operation of bench-scale anaerobic digesters treating the source-sorted organic fraction of municipal solid waste in the absence of mesophilic inocula. The experimental program consisted of starting up a digester with two consecutive interventions implemented to approach steady state. While start-up was relatively slow, re-inoculation with cattle manure together with effluent dilution reduced the acclimation period and achieved better stability and effectiveness, accommodating a feeding rate at an OLR = 2.03 kg total volatile solids (TVS) m(-3) day(-1) and an equivalent hydraulic retention time (HRT)=148 days. The latter highlights the long duration that should be taken into consideration in the design and start-up of anaerobic digestion systems for municipal solid waste, in countries where this system is not established, before reaching optimal steady-state conditions.