No waste, but a resource: Alternative approaches to urban sanitation in Ethiopia

Meinzinger, Franziska; Oldenburg, Martin; Otterpohl, Ralf

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2008.05.071

Cited by 17 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…During the last years, the Ethiopian government has started a new housing programme; the so called "condominium buildings" are also described as multi-story buildings (MSBs) [1]. However, the water supply scheme in place can hardly cope with the water demand under normal conditions in these MSBs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rain water harvesting as additional water supply for multi-storey buildings in Arba Minch, Ethiopia

Feki

Weißenbacher

Assefa

et al. 2015

Desalination and Water Treatment

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A B S T R A C TDuring the last years, multi-story buildings (MSBs) have been introduced in Arba Minch and other Ethiopian cities as condominium houses. Constructed at the edge of the city boundaries, they have a standardized design including flush toilets. The water supply scheme in place can hardly cope with the water demand inside the new buildings. Shortage of water causes many problems in bathing, washing and flushing toilets. These unhygienic conditions are inducing toilet blockage, smells in the houses, infection which can lead to a negative effect on health. The more people are moving into these condominium houses, the more these problems arise. The objective of this paper is to study the feasibility of rainwater harvesting (RWH) as additional water supply for MSBs. Two MSBs were selected as a pilot plot in Bekele Mola site. In this case, flashing toilet by rainwater could save 33 m 3 /month of potable water. That means we can reduce the use of potable water for non-potable-water needs by 42 L/household/d. This RWH system is recovering only 19.5% of water demand and 84% of flushing water demand with maximum 130 habitants at the pilot buildings. The supply is limited by the amount of rainfall and the size of the catchment area. In addition, the installation price is relatively high.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rain water harvesting as additional water supply for multi-storey buildings in Arba Minch, Ethiopia

Feki

Weißenbacher

Assefa

et al. 2015

Desalination and Water Treatment

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“…Across this heterogeneity, each configuration has different material and governance arrangements. In Addis Ababa, sanitation is variously provided through a networked water-based system, a vacuum truck and septic tank system, and high- and low-tech decentralised technologies (Meinzinger et al., 2009; Z&A and Tropics, 2014). The networked system only serves around ten per cent of the urban population.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infrastructure governance in the post-networked city: State-led, high-tech sanitation in Addis Ababa’s condominium housing

Cirolia

Hailu

King

et al. 2021

Environment and Planning C: Politics and Space

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Ethiopia’s mass-scale subsidized housing delivery programme has driven the rapid expansion of middle-income, mid-rise settlements on the outskirts of Addis Ababa, requiring the provision of infrastructure to newly developed areas. In the case of the Kotari housing project, established sanitation systems were deemed inappropriate for the site, resulting in the deployment of novel technology, a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR). Such decentralised technologies contribute to the heterogenous infrastructure configurations which characterise Addis Ababa’s sanitation landscape, reflected not only in material configurations but also in how they are governed. In this paper, we use the concept of ‘infrastructure interfaces’ as an analytical device to identify the key material connection points in the system. Working across scales, we scrutinise the governance arrangements at these critical junctures: the household, the block, the condominium, and the city. Our analysis challenges established understandings of infrastructural heterogeneity driven by the private sector, either through financialized elite infrastructures or informal survivalist practices. In Kotari, the state is the driver and the target is the lower middle class. Centring the state in these infrastructure configurations provides nuance to our understanding of how heterogeneity emerges. Our methodological approach accounts for governance at various scales, providing fresh insights into the relationality of infrastructure, particularly the human/technology interface and infrastructural failures. The case shows the importance of transcending binary readings of infrastructure configurations, such as on/off grid, state/private and formal/informal. Future work on the post-network city must go beyond simply denigrating or valorising alternative modes of service delivery.

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“…It creates a strong link between sanitation and agriculture and contributes to food security as well as employment generation with regard to micro and small enterprises operating and managing the sanitation system. Experiences with regard to the use of the toilets and the use of human excreta products in agriculture to this day are promising and encourage the further dissemination of this technology (Meinzinger et al, 2009).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Sanitation in Morocco Promotion of the Urine-Diversion Dehydration Toilets-Case of Dayet Ifrah

Schönfeld)¹

2012

American Journal of Environmental Sciences

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Problem statement: Most of people in rural areas in Morocco don't have adequate systems of collection, evacuation and transport of black and gray water. They simply defecate in nature. There is a huge demand, which cannot possibly be met by conventional sanitation systems due to the enormous costs of the pipe network, lack of water and serious environmental drawbacks in order to avoid the disadvantages of conventional wastewater systems. For this reason, we have thought to promote ecological sanitation, or "ecosan" for short, that recognizes human excreta and water from households not as a waste but as resources that can be recovered, treated where necessary and safely used again. Ecosan is a philosophy which houses a multitude of different technologies applied in ecological sanitation projects such as Urine Diversion Dehydration Toilets (UDDT). Approach: The scope of the study was to highlight the ecosan promotion strategies and policies for its adoption by the future ecosan users in Morocco and to show that the development of ecosan pilot systems adapted to the sociocultural context of Morocco is possible and can be used as model for rural areas. Ecosan systems studied had been implemented in a small rural area in Morocco called "Dayet Ifrah". But, it's necessary at the beginning to sensitize people in Dayet Ifrah and to convince to adopt and accept urine diversion dehydration toilets. Marketing has been more successful than anything else in changing the behavior of people when they can see direct personal benefits. Choosing a (social) marketing approach means that the attractiveness of the product is one important factor. That was what happened in 2009. Results: After this phase of sensitizing, results reveal that the households were convinced of the benefits these infrastructures afford them. Ecosan reduces the health risks related to sanitation, contaminated water and waste, prevents the pollution of surface and groundwater, prevents the degradation of soil fertility and optimizes the management of nutrients and water resources. Conclusion:The users are satisfied with the ecosan approach to cleanse their wastewater. Our work shows that ecosan can succeed in very poor populations. It is particularly relevant as locomotors of agricultural economics.

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No waste, but a resource: Alternative approaches to urban sanitation in Ethiopia

Cited by 17 publications

References 0 publications

Rain water harvesting as additional water supply for multi-storey buildings in Arba Minch, Ethiopia

Rain water harvesting as additional water supply for multi-storey buildings in Arba Minch, Ethiopia

Infrastructure governance in the post-networked city: State-led, high-tech sanitation in Addis Ababa’s condominium housing

Ecological Sanitation in Morocco Promotion of the Urine-Diversion Dehydration Toilets-Case of Dayet Ifrah

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