SuSanA - Forum

Sustainable Sanitation Practice Issue 15 "Sanitation comics" - by: Langergraber

Mon, 22 Apr 2013 07:37:12 +0000

I am happy to announce that issue 15 of Sustainable Sanitation Practice is published and can be downloaded now from www.ecosan.at/ssp

best regards,
Guenter

Animated Video about Water, Sanitation and Development - by: JanKuenzl

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 12:26:41 +0000

The access to safe drinking water is a Human Right. On January 1st 2013, the United Nations introduced the International Year of Water Cooperation. On this important occasion, the German non-profit organization /e-politik.de / e.V. and edeos- digital education produced a new animated online-video which deals with water from a developmental perspective. The video is part of the WissensWerte project and can be viewed here:

As all the other videos of the WissensWerte Series, the clip about water is licensed as Creative Commons and may be used and shared for free.
For example, on websites, blogs, in classroom settings or on social media channels.

We would be glad if you would forward it to any person interested.

More information about the project WissensWerte and the other videos of the project :
www.edeos.org/en/projects.html

Kind regards,
Jan Künzl

--
Projektleiter WissensWerte
Gaudystr. 2
10437 Berlin/Germany
Tel: 030/23130075
Mob: 0176/20790628
www.wissenswerte.e-politik.de

Re: Invitation for contributions to SuSan COMICS of SSP journal - by: EMu

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 10:37:28 +0000

Dear All!

I just wanted to remind you that the deadline for contributions to the SSP journal on Comics is coming closer. It will be 1st of March.

We are still looking forward to contributions,
kindly,
Elke Müllegger (EcoSan Club Austria)

Re: Please help me respond to Qld's discussion paper on water/sewage - by: RowanBarber

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:52:06 +0000

Thanks Elisabeth and Cecile,

In considering a strategy for provision of water supplies and sewage treatment services across the State of Queensland, It is important to consider what we are doing well, as well as consider what we could do better.

Ro

Re: Please help me respond to Qld's discussion paper on water/sewage - by: muench

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 23:38:33 +0000

OK, but in "defence" of Australia (and in support of what Cecilia said), I have to say that I really enjoyed the experience of countless composting toilets that I have used while bushwalking or camping in any of the beautiful national parks while I lived in Brisbane! (and sometimes roadside stops as well) Composting toilets are totally the norm in national parks in Australia, I would say.

My experience back then (up to 2003) was that in the urban setup, people were very wasteful with water (this has changed now due to the long drought which Rowan mentioned). But in the country side or in the national parks, it was a different story. Rainwater was collected and used for drinking, and the toilets were dry (composting toilets) as I mentioned. (Mind you, people on remote or large properties usually had flush toilets and septic tanks.)

Speaking of camping toilets: I was very surprised the other day when I was on a camping trip in northern Natal in South Africa (close to the border with Mozambique): we were at a deserted camp site at a beach, and then walked up further the beach, and there was a public toilet (nice) but it was a flush toilet, which I found very odd. I mean we are out in nature, miles from nowhere, who would expect a flush toilet and why? A composting toilet would have been much better.

While speaking of touristic experiences: Rahul Ingle told me that in Uganda, he kept finding UDDTs in the lodges and guest houses where he stayed at without even searching for them. I thought that was interesting, too. He uploaded some interesting photos of these here (click on the link to see more):

Indoor UDDT in hotel rooms by Sustainable sanitation, on Flickr

But I am digressing from the original topic, sorry.

Cheers,
Elisabeth

Re: Please help me respond to Qld's discussion paper on water/sewage - by: RowanBarber

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:34:56 +0000

cecile wrote:

I would like to mention that sustainable sanitation people in France admire Australia because we always hear that in your country reuse of grey water is encouraged in gardens, that dry toilets are quite developed in national parks, golf courses and secondary houses. I would be interested to know your "insider"'s opinion.

Cecile,

Thanks for your response. From 2001 to 2009, Queensland (and the greater part of Eastern Australia) faced what is now called the Millennium drought.

During that time, the South East corner of Queensland came under mandatory water restrictions and residents and businesses worked very hard to conserve water.

Residents were permitted to reuse grey water in urban areas. Businesses were required to submit to "Water Efficiency Management Plans".

The State Government at the time spent $US7b on water infrastructure, including a desalination plant, miles of pipelines and a few advanced water treatment plants capable of purifying and recycling sewage effluent.

In 2011 and again 2013, Brisbane was inundated by floods and the advanced water treatment plants are hardly being used.

regards,

Ro

Re: Please help me respond to Qld's discussion paper on water/sewage - by: cecile

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 08:46:00 +0000

Hi Rowan,

I like SUDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) approach. Less sewage, more infiltration as close as possible from the water use point. The ojective is ground water recharge, rather than transporting to treatment plants and discharging into water bodies.
It is not really innovative, it is not high tech and it tends to lessen the use of sewers but it is a sustainable approach.
A couple of years ago we used in a project the guidance manual for SUDS in Wales. It has old fashionned drawings but very simple and practical.

I would like to mention that sustainable sanitation people in France admire Australia because we always hear that in your country reuse of grey water is encouraged in gardens, that dry toilets are quite developped in national parks, golf courses and secondary houses. I would be interested to know your "insider"'s opinion.

Kind regards,

Cecile

Re: Please help me respond to Qld's discussion paper on water/sewage - by: RowanBarber

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 11:08:28 +0000

How can Australians lead by example to ensure affordable, secure, sustainable water and sewerage services in our own communities and developing communities?

Book on source separation and decentralization - by: kudert

Fri, 01 Feb 2013 14:55:07 +0000

Dear all

We are happy to announce that the book "Source Separation and Decentralization for Wastewater Management" has been published. More than 50 scientists and practitioners from all over the world contributed to this book, which gives a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge of this novel sanitation concept.

The first part of the book presents the advantages and challenges of sanitation systems based on source separation and decentralization. This is followed by a discussion of established technologies and current technological developments. In the third part, international experts present case studies from Europe and Australia, as well as from emerging and developing countries. In the final section of the book, two renowned researchers highlight the need for a paradigm shift in wastewater management.

The book is intended for practitioners and scientist alike. We hope that it will boost further research on wastewater management alternatives, because they are needed to address the global sanitation challenges.

Further information about the book can be found at the publisher's website:
www.iwapublishing.com/template.cfm?name=isbn9781843393481

The editors: Tove A. Larsen, Kai M. Udert and Judit Lienert

Please help me respond to Qld's discussion paper on water/sewage - by: RowanBarber

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 21:37:18 +0000

I am writing a submission in response to a discussion paper on water and sewage treatment and transport in my own community in the state of Queensland, Australia.

I am interested in your thoughts on how my community can address issues of water and sewage in a first world context, with a view to also addressing the issues facing developing communities.

In November 2012, the State Water Supply Minister Mark McArdle launched a discussion paper to guide the development of a 30 Year Water Sector Strategy to ensure affordable, secure, sustainable and high quality water and sewerage services across Queensland, Australia.

The Queensland Water Sector Discussion Paper is designed to facilitate active discussion and participation in creating a new path for Queensland’s water future in urban, rural, regional and remote communities.

The Discussion Paper focuses on what Queensland’s future water needs may look like and discusses and identifies the opportunities and challenges Queenslanders are likely to face over the next 30 years.

The water vision for Queensland cannot be achieved by government alone, and this discussion paper needs input and innovative ideas and solutions to help realise Queensland's water future.

All aspects of the water industry will be examined, including how water is supplied and delivered to the myriad of end users, operation of infrastructure and how to improve the integration of water and sewerage management.

The consultation period for the discussion paper closes on 29 March 2013.

An animated video detailing the challenges faced by Queensland’s water sector has also been released to encourage householders, businesses and industry to participate in the discussion.

Further information is available at www.dews.qld.gov.au/policies/water-secto...-year-water-strategy or on Twitter @WaterQld

A right price to poo! Study on Benchmarking of Urban Sanitation Pricing and Tariffs Structure in Africa. - by: pascalgarde

Wed, 23 Jan 2013 10:52:33 +0000

Dear All,
As part of my work as a consultant doing policy research and analysis on various WASH issues, I wrote the attached note on behalf of Water & Sanitation for Africa (WSA) to present a recently published study funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Benchmarking of Urban Sanitation Pricing and Tariffs Structure in Africa. The synthesis report is available in SuSanA library at www.susana.org/lang-en/library?view=ccbk...;type=2&id=1698.

The study evaluates the effectiveness of sanitation pricing and tariff
models in six countries to support sustainable and equitable service
delivery. The study also looks at how tariffs are calculated, agreed and
charged; how these tariffs incentivize (or dis-incentivize) sustainable
business models for utilities and local governments as public service
providers; and how these models support service delivery and coverage at
municipality/country level.

The research process identified major information gaps in the areas of
setting the tariffs incorporating different perspectives, tariffs for
on-site sanitation and pit-emptying, politics of sanitation tariffs and
tariffs as a tool to promote stronger citizenship. The synthesis report
highlights the main points for further discussion and some ways current
models could be improved:

- Implementing subsidy schemes that promote the use and construction of
technologies adapted to low-income areas (i.e. on-site sanitation);

- Investing in the construction of sludge treatment plants to feed the
demand for services from households using on-site sanitation;

- Undertaking an analysis of the business options for developing the reuse
of treated sludge or production of bioenergy;

- Revising the government expenditure frameworks to reduce the financial
dependency of utilities and sanitation development programs;

- Establish consultation frameworks with households to identify priority
areas for investment and obtain the necessary data to assess their capacity
to pay;

- Reducing unloading fees at sludge treatment plant to encourage safe
disposal and incentivize the reuse of by-products to generate money or
reduce costs through energy sourcing;

- Produce regulations and standards on technology selection, design,
construction and maintenance of sanitation facilities, as well as on sludge
collection, transportation and disposal so as to limit human and
environmental health risks;

- Define the role of the government, utilities and non-state stakeholders
in the regulation, setting and implementation of tariffs along the
sanitation value chain, in particular for the emptying and transportation
segments.

Enjoy the reading.

Regards.

Pascal

Sustainable Sanitation Practice Issue 14 "Selected contributions from the 1st WATERBIOTECH conference" - by: Langergraber

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 08:18:13 +0000

I am happy to announce that issue 14 of the Sustainable Sanitation Practice (SSP) journal with "Selected contributions from the 1st WATERBIOTECH conference, 9-11 October 2012, Cairo, Egypt" is published and can be downloaded now from www.ecosan.at/ssp.

I kindly ask you also to promote the new issue within your network! You can also find us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/SustainableSanitationPractice and www.facebook.com/EcoSanClubAustria)!
The thematic topic of SSP´s next issue will be „Sanitation Comics“ (issue 15, April 2013). The comics on sanitation shall cover one of the following topics: hygiene, urine, faeces, prevention, reuse, recycle, toilets (school toilets, composting
toilets, urine diverting dry toilet), wastewater, sewer, waste water treatment plant. waste, compost, or any other topics related to sanitation. The comic shall comprise of a number of images and tell a short story. The comic can be in any language and will be translated into English before publishing.

We are still looking for contributions for this very special next issue. We rely fully on your volunteer contributions. For sure, contact details of the artist will be mentioned. The deadline for contributions for issue 15 is 1 March 2013. If you are or know a cartoonist, illustrator, drawer, etc. please contact us as soon as possible.

Best regards,
Günter Langergraber

Ableism a new lens to analyse footprint hierarchies - by: wolbring

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 01:19:13 +0000

Hi everybody,

here is a paper that employs the ableism lens to analyse hierarchies in footprints.
Sanitation advancement are also linked to the sentiment around what we see as waste of water and with that its also linked to sentiment of water footprint and its competition for attention with other footprints carbon for example.

The link below where the below is unfortunately linked to the whole issue, there is no link to just my article one would have to scroll to it.

Wolbring, Gregor; Leopatra, Verlyn and Noga Jacqueline (2012) The sentiment of waste and the measure of footprints evaluated through an ableism lens in Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics EJAIB Vol. 22 (3) page 117- 123
www.eubios.info/EJAIB52012.pdf

Call for contributions for issue 15 of SSP on "Sanitation comics" - by: EMu

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 07:59:29 +0000

Dear SuSan Community,

let me call again for Sanitation comics, with a bit more information.

The SSP editorial board looking for contributions for issue 15 of our journal Sustainable Sanitation Practice (www.ecosan.at/ssp) that has the topic "Sanitation COMICS".

The comic on sanitation can cover one of the the following topics:
hygiene, urine, faeces, prevention, reuse, recycle, toilets (school toilets, composting toilets, urine diverting dry toilet), waste water, sewer, waste water treatment plant. waste, compost, or any other topics related to sanitation.

The comic shall comprise of a number of images and tell a short story. The comic can be in any language and will be translated into English before publishing.
We rely fully on your volunteer contributions. The SSP journal is published on-line with a worldwide readership. For sure, the contact details of the artist will be mentioned in the publication.

The deadline for contributions is 1 March 2013.

Our vision is to have an issue full of comics from around the world. If you are or know a cartoonist, illustrator, drawer, etc. please contact us. (Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it )

Please share this invitation with your networks.
Thanks in advance and best regards,
Elke Müllegger
(EcoSan Club)

Swedish publication on alternative toilet systems - by: jkeichholz

Thu, 15 Nov 2012 19:22:08 +0000

I can't read Swedish and the publication seems to be available in Swedish only, but I still found the following publication on alternative toilet system for private households interesting enough to share it with you - if not only for an overview on systems which are apparently available to Swedish consumers: husagare.avloppsguiden.se/marknads%C3%B6versikt.html