Thank you Charlotte for your helpful response!

I have read in the UPSUP case study on SuSanA that around a quarter (24%) of toilets constructed through the program are connected to the network.

You said: "The catch in the programme is that for every project toilet constructed, it has to be connected to a sewer (if available) or a septic tank is constructed. The sewer charges are then incorporated as a percentage of the cost in the water bill."

I wondered if you could tell me how much does it cost (on average) for households to connect to the sewer, and who pays upfront for the costs of connection - the landlord or the utility? And who is responsible for the connection to the sewer?

Thanks a lot and best wishes
Meleesa

Hello Meleesa,

I am currently working in the Upscaling Basic Sanitation for the Urban Poor (UBSUP)programme in Kenya and we are improving the sanitation for people living in Urban Low Income Areas (LIAs) especially on plot and household level. In Kenya, the sewerage connection is very low in the urban LIAs therefore some of the ways we are directly using are:

1. The programme is being implemented by the Water Service Providers who have the mandate to provide water and sanitation/sewerage services to the people living in their jurisdiction. Therefore, for any plot they provide with incentivised toilets, they encourage to connect to the existing sewer.

2. The programme is based on a sanitation value chain concept. This entails the whole collection, storage, emptying, tansportation and treatment of the feacal sludge. In areas with sewer, this already justifies the value chain. Without the sewer, other residents are forced to construct septic tanks which are costly.

Whereas this two valid points do not encourage rapid connections to the sewer, they stimulate it. The catch in the programme is that for every project toilet constructed, it has to be connected to a sewer(if available) or a septic tank is constructed. The sewer charges are then incorporated as a percentage of the cost in the water bill.

Regards

Charlotte

Dear Elisabeth,

Thank you for your prompt response!
I am familiar with the WSP publication on Vietnam and Indonesia - that is precisely the type of insights we are interested in. However I am interested in hearing from experiences from more countries/ cities, and in a developing context.

In fact, we find that it is legally compulsory to connect to the sewerage network in many cities or countries, but in developing country contexts this is rarely enforced. Costs is one of the reasons, but there are other reasons as the WSP publication shows: lack of knowledge, low demand, the fact that neighbours are not connected...

We realise that the reasons for not connecting to an existing network may vary depending on the context and would like to hear from the experiences of the SuSanA members. We are particularly interested in experiences in cities in South Asia, African cities (where there is not much sewerage, but when it exists, connections are very low) and Eastern European/ CIS cities.

Thanks for the link to the settled sewerage forum question - pardon my ignorance, is this the same as condominial? I am mostly looking at connections to existing conventional sewerage networks.

Thanks and best wishes
Meleesa

Dear Meleesa!

Welcome to this Forum!

You have probably already browsed through the existing threads on similar topics and found them not to answer your question.
But just in case you haven't, I wanted to point out two that are somewhat related (perhaps you could explain why they are different to your situation though):
In Indonesia and Vietnam, it is for the government to make house connections with the main sewers - forum.susana.org/component/kunena/165-ce...with-the-main-sewers

Case studies for Settled Sewerage system - forum.susana.org/component/kunena/165-ce...tled-sewerage-system

In Germany we have a legal instrument called "Anschlusszwang" in German which means translated "being forced to connect". So by law - if there is a sewer system - you HAVE TO connect to it, and pay the wastewater fees (which has caused some legal fights by home owners who had constructed wetlands)

Regards,
Elisabeth

Hello and thank you for having me on the Forum!

My name is Meleesa and I work as a consultant for the World Bank. I also work part-time for the secretariat of a sister network of SuSanA, the Rural Water Supply Network.

My question is to do with some research I am conducting for the World Bank. One of the many challenges faced in urban settings is getting households to connect to existing sewer networks. I would be interested in hearing the experiences of members/ institutions in getting households to connect to existing conventional sewerage in cities in developing countries, or cases they may be familiar with. In particular, it would be great to hear from those programs that were not successful in getting households to connect, and potential reasons why.

The programs that I have come across so far use: (i) financial incentives and subsidies; (ii) social programs and other communication strategies; (iii) legal mechanisms; and (iv) activities that reduce the transaction costs for households (e.g., simplifying the bureaucratic process). I am interested in all these approaches, plus any other factors that may have contributed to helping people connect (or not).

Thanks and best wishes,
Meleesa