Water with excrement entered the houses of a complete block in the neighvourhood ”Cristo del Rosario”. The residents affirm that it happens each time it rains, but that yesterday, without any rains, their houses were flooded.
Jorge Sandoval, a resident, indicates that the problem started two years ago. “When they started cleaning-up of the lake they changed the sewer system with less thick pipes”.
Residents have called the Nicaraguan Aqueducts and Sewer Systems (Enacal) for help, but the only answer received was that they should open a hole so that the water goes out into the street.
“Each time it rains we have a mess in our yards and if we don’t remove the water ourselves it comes into the house. When this happens the water comes from the toilets and from the drainage of our bath”, says Juana Balladares Obando.
The Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) has taken a hands off approach into the treating of effluent discharges of Angostura Ltd. In fact, Sunday Guardian has learnt that Angostura Ltd is set to commence discussions with a
contractor in relation to the construction of a plant to treat its own discharges.
Recycling urban wastewater and using it to grow food crops can help mitigate water scarcity problems and reduce water pollution, but the practice is not being as widely implemented as it should, according to a new UN food and agriculture organization (FAO) report [1]. The FAO has called for governments to increase the amount of treated wastewater being used for irrigation purposes as this will reduce costs for farmers and cities and improved water quality.
The FAO report used case studies from Spain and Mexico to test methodologies for cost-benefit and cost-effective analyses of wastewater reuse projects. The Mexico case studies were drawn from three regions:
Mexico City & Tula Valley
Guanajuato City & La Purísima irrigation module
Durango City & Guadalupe Victoria irrigation module
“The case studies in this report show that safely harnessing wastewater for food production can offer a way to mitigate competition between cities and agriculture for water in regions of growing water scarcity,” said Pasquale Steduto, Deputy Director of FAO’s Land and Water Division. “In the right settings, it can also help to deal with urban wastewater effluent and downstream pollution.”
[1] Winpenny, J. … [et al.] (2010). The wealth of waste : the economics of wastewater use in agriculture. (FAO water reports ; 35). Rome, Italy, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). xv, 129 p. Download full report
For over 100 years farmers in Hidalgo State use “the black waters” (wastewater) from Mexico City to irrigate their land.
So when word got out that the government was finally going to build a giant wastewater treatment plant, one might have expected the farmers around here to be excited. Instead, they were suspicious.
“Without that water, there is no life, “ said Gregorio Cruz Alamilla, 60, who has worked his family’s 12-acre farm since he was a boy.
Mr. Cruz knows the water is loaded with toxic substances, including chemicals dumped by factories, and he tires of clearing his field of plastic bottles and wrappings every time he irrigates.
But like many others here, he worries that treating the water, though it may remove harmful contaminants, will also strip away some of the natural fertilizers that even the authorities here say have helped make this valley so productive. And despite the government’s assurances, the farmers here suspect the worst: that once the water is treated, it will be pumped back to Mexico City, leaving the farms dry.
Farmer using “the black waters” for irrigation in Mezquital Valley. Photo: Janet Jarman, New York Times. Janet Jarman, New : :
Wastewater reuse for irrigation is common throughout the developing world, but nowhere on the scale of Mezquital Valley with its 350 square miles (906 square kilometres) of irrigated fields.
But now, Mexico City (pop. 20 million) is building a stormwater drainage system and treatment plant to deal with the growing problem of flooding during the rainy season.
“It was a predictable problem, but we never paid enough attention to it,” said Ernesto E. Espino de la O, who manages the treatment and water supply project for the National Water Commission. A collapse of the crumbling system, warned one study from Mexico’s National Autonomous University of Mexico, would be catastrophic, flooding large parts of the city.
Engineers have started to construct a 38.5-mile (62 km) drainage tunnel that will transport stormwater to the town of Atotonilco, where a wastewater treatment is plant is planned.
The plant, which is budgeted to cost $1 billion and will begin operating in 2012, will clean 60 percent of the city’s wastewater. The water commission’s measurements show that the water is laced with heavy metals like lead and arsenic, filled with high levels of pathogens and parasites, and weighed down by grease.
But the farmers “are worried that the treatment plant will take out the nutrients, that the water will go back to Mexico City and that it will be privatized,” said Filemón Rodríguez Castillo, the director of the main irrigation district here. “The water is very much appreciated here, independent of the fact that it smells so ugly, that it stinks.”
One of his jobs is to persuade local residents that even though the residents of Mexico City will have to pay to have their water treated, they will not get it back.
The main benefit of irrigating with clean water, he has told them, is that they will be able to grow many kinds of vegetables, which are now restricted to protect consumers from illness.
Officials here now direct farmers not to grow crops in which the edible part comes into contact with the irrigation water and is eaten raw, ruling out vegetables like lettuce, carrots or beets. Alfalfa is permitted because it is used as animal feed. But enforcement is spotty and the farmers abide by an elastic interpretation of the regulations, planting broccoli and cauliflower, for example.
To the farmers here, whose sturdy opinions match their surprisingly good health, the proof that their water is good is in what they see around them. “Plants won’t absorb poison; they would die,” said Jesús Aldana Ángeles, a 75-year-old fifth-generation farmer, who was watching his small flock of sheep munch on the remains of his harvested alfalfa field. “There is no better laboratory than the ground. The earth absorbs everything. It purifies it, it treats it.”
Read more about wastewater irrigation read “Wastewater irrigation and health : assessing and mitigating risk in low-income countries”.
he Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority (Prasa) has agreed to implement major capital improvements and upgrades to resolve alleged longstanding violations of the Clean Water Act at 126 drinking water plants across the island and violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act at three others, the U.S. Justice Department and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Tuesday. Most of the communities served by the drinking water treatment plants that will be upgraded under the agreement are in low-income communities.
The agreement, filed in federal court in the District of Puerto Rico, requires Prasa to implement measures to properly handle harmful pollution from 126 drinking water treatment plants that discharge into Puerto Rico’s lakes, rivers and streams, some of which are sources of drinking water. The work required by the agreement, when fully implemented by the public utility, is estimated to cost more than $195 million.
“Today’s settlement agreement sets the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority on a clear path to improve the infrastructure of their facilities, reduce the amount of harmful pollutants entering the environment and ultimately provide safer drinking water to the people of Puerto Rico,” said Moreno.
Prasa’s efforts to improve the water quality of either Lake Toa Vaca or both Lake Toa Vaca and Lake Cidra will address the growing amount of nutrients in the lakes, both of which are drinking water sources for portions of Puerto Rico. Increased levels of nutrients in water bodies can severely impact ecosystems and human health. As a supplemental environmental project, Prasa will set aside $2.2 million to design and construct an aeration system that will increase oxygen levels in the lakes and an additional $324,000 to operate and maintain the system. This project, when implemented, will enhance the condition of the aquatic ecosystem and restore the water quality of the lakes. A supplemental environmental project is an environmentally-beneficial project that a violator voluntarily agrees to undertake in a settlement and one the violator would not otherwise be required to perform.
The Peruvian environment ministry’s (Minam) new standards for wastewater effluents will have little impact given the country’s low wastewater treatment coverage [15%], Laureano del Castillo, lawyer and hydrological expert with the national center for social studies (Cepes), told BNamericas. President Alan García aims to reach 100% wastewater treatment coverage by 2015.
For Minam’s full decree outlining the new norms, in Spanish, go to this link.
In January 2010, the president of Sedapal, the state water utility agency, Guillermo León, was accused of too easily awarding a 13.6 million soles ( US$ 4.75 million) contract to TFKC Reprex in December 2008, a company formed just one month prior to the controversial contract selection as a representative of Brazilian Puritech. The contract was awarded for the construction of two waste water treatment plants in San Bartolo, southern Lima.
Following the controversy, Guillermo León resigned from his post as the president of Sedapal.
The scandal has led to suspicions of corruption in other tenders worth some 700 million soles (US$ 245 million).
Sedapal workers’ union head Henry Viera highlighted the need for an independent third party to oversee tender processes.
Sanitation conditions in Haiti are gradually improving thanks to the efforts of aid workers following the earthquake that devastated the capital Port-au-Prince on 12 January 2010. However, progress has been slow and there are many obstacles that still need to be overcome.
As of 31 January 2010, the damage from the earthquake has left 112,405 dead, 196,595 injured and over 11 million people homeless, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The Haitian capital lacks sewerage infrastructure and the earthquake ruptured the city’s water lines. Garbage is also accumulating in the streets which is exacerbating the health risks.
The WASH Cluster is now reaching 500,000 people with 5 litres per person per day, according to the DFID situation report of 2 February 2010. With water provision now adequate, sanitation is the next priority. The cluster reports that 7,000 latrines are needed. A distribution plan for 1,169 latrine slabs has been agreed with partners in Port-au-Prince, Leogane and Jacmel.
UNICEF video on emergency water and sanitation in Haiti
The WASH Cluster Haiti Update of 30 January 2010 reports that 292 latrines have been completed or are under construction across the country, serving a potential 29,000 people assuming 1 latrine serves 100 people. The Sanitation Strategic Working Group composed of the WASH Cluster, UNICEF, Oxfam, Care, World Vision, ACF and ICRC are proposing the use of portable chemical toilets through a joint venture between a local sanitation firm and Armal Inc.
Slow Progress
Action Against Hunger (ACF) is distributing potable water and food, although the recovery process is moving slowly, according to Lucile Grosjean from ACF in Haiti. “There is garbage everywhere,” Grosjean said.
The local government did not allow ACF or any organization to dig trenches in the Haitian capital’s central plaza, the Champs de Mars, said Grosjean. These trenches were to be used to dispose of the accumulating waste and human feces of between 20,000 and 25,000 people which have congregated in the area.
As a result, ACF has started to build above-ground latrines and began digging trenches to install the latrines in the Croix Deprez area, according to Grosjean.
At the same time, International Migration Organization (IOM) is distributing tents, hygiene kits, blankets, jerry cans, plastic sheeting, water bladders and water purifying kits, donated by the US, Japanese and Turkish governments. These efforts are expected to benefit some 26,000 people, IOM reported on its website.
Meanwhile, international aid organization Care is distributing hygiene kits and training survivors to purify contaminated water.
Care representatives are showing people how to use the purifying packets, since the objective is for Haitians to start carrying out the process by themselves.
“We are trying to identify people in neighborhoods or communities and train them so they can then go on to train more people,” the official added.
Care will be distributing PUR packets in the coming weeks together with large buckets where water can be purified. The organization will also provide other items such as soap and sanitary napkins.
During the emergency phase of the earthquake, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) ensured a round-the-clock supply of water by trucks to Cité Soleil, the poorest area of the capital Port-au-Prince.
Removing the rubble
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) is working to remove rubble and garbage, in an effort to improve general sanitation conditions.
UNDP is currently employing more than 1,000 Haitians to restart economic activity. After the emergency, the organization hired 700 inhabitants to remove rubble and rehabilitate essential social infrastructure, such as street repairs and electricity.
Prior to the earthquake UNDP had 400 employees carrying out an ecological project in Carrefour, a neighborhood located south of Port-au-Prince. Following the earthquake, the workers and trucks from this project started to remove the rubble and clean streets so other trucks carrying aid could go through, the official said.
In spite of the urgency to reorganize capital Port-au-Prince, resources continue to be limited. UNDP estimates that a US$41.3mn donation is needed for early recovery initiatives in Haiti. This is part of a nearly US$600mn flash appeal launched by UNDP on January 15. The organization estimates some US$58.8mn needs to be invested in water, sanitation and hygiene programs.
Relocation
Using free transport provided by the government, more than 235,000 people have left Port-au-Prince and moved to rural neighborhoods where the effects of the earthquake were not so severe. Some 62,000 have relocated to Artibonite, for example. However, 800,000 people are still living in temporary camps in the capital, OCHA reported.
To avoid the spread of diseases, the government is planning to relocate another 400,000 from Port-au-Prince to new settlements which are being set up. The relocation program will be carried out in the coming weeks.
Next Steps
Haiti declared the search and rescue phase over on 23 January 2010 so international rescue teams are concentrating more on humanitarian aid for those who need it, instead of searching the rubble for survivors.
Multilateral entities such as the World Bank and IDB are already taking steps to waive debts. UK-based charity Oxfam has urged donor countries to have Haiti’s foreign debts cancelled. It called for about US$900mn owed to the UN, the World Bank and countries including the US, France, Canada and Brazil to be written off.
Guatemala’s protected areas authority Conap will start planting tulle in Atitlán lake in Sololá province by March 2010. Tulle acts as a natural filter and will help clean up the highly contaminated lake. Conap also plans to install biofilters in certain areas of the lake, after conducting a feasibility study together with the Amatitlán lake sustainable use authority Amsa.
Read full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 29 Jan 2010
Costa Rica’s state water utility AyA will invest US$270mn to start treating the 2,800l/s of wastewater currently produced in the greater metropolitan area in and around capital San José. The project involves the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the sewerage networks in nine municipalities. The initiative is partly financed with a US$130mn loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
Read full article on: BNamericas.com [subscription site], 25 Jan 2010
Brazil is on track when it comes to applying necessary investments to achieve its goal of universal potable water supply and sewage collection and treatment services in 20 years, the president of nati...
Latin American water utilities that are able to cover their costs through tariffs are most likely providing wider potable water coverage in their areas of competence, a paper by the UN Economic Commis...
Uruguay's state water utility OSE has awarded a tender for the construction of a wastewater treatment plant in the northwestern city of Salto to a consortium comprised of local companies Saceem and Cu...
Peru's authorities filed 86 water and sanitation projects in the national public investment system (SNIP) in the week from May 18-24, totaling 393mn soles (US$147mn), according to SNIP figures analyze...
The Guyanese government is carrying out an US$18mn investment program to upgrade the country's solid waste management practices and citizens' behavior in this regard, state news agency GINA reported. ...
The environmental evaluation service (SEA) of northern Chile's region II was set to vote on May 24 on the environmental impact study (EIS) for the Sierra Gorda aqueduct project. The regional SEA is...
On Friday, Chile's environmental supervision agency (SMA) ordered Canadian Barrick Gold (NYSE, TSX: ABX) to pay 16,000 of the country's annual tax units (UTAs), or US$15.8mn, in relation to the charge...
A WASH News blog maintained by IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre.
