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Sanitation

There are two types of definition, the broad and the specific.

  • Broader definitions usually relate to the wider environment and the whole range of possible pathogen transmission routes. In doing so, this definition includes food hygiene, pest control, storm water drainage, solid waste disposal, etc. An example of such a definition is the one used by UNICEF:“A process whereby people (men, women and children) demand, effect and sustain a hygienic and healthy environment for themselves” (UNICEF Sanitation Programming handbook).This broader definition is sometimes referred to as environmental sanitation.
  • Specific definition is aimed direction at excreta as in: “The process of separating and keeping separated humans from their excreta”.

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Sanitation demand

The aggregated choice of individual households to pay for and install home sanitation facilities (or not) among a population group at a given time.

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Sanitation ladder

The 'ladder' comprises of a series of pictures, usually designed and drawn by a local artist, depicting a range of sanitation practices drawn from the local context. The bottom rung of the ladder is usually open defection or burying faeces like a cat and the highest rung is the latrine perceived to be of the highest status/quality e.g. VIP latrine or water closet. The ladder allows families and communities to reflect where they are positioned on the 'ladder' and where they aspire to be. It provides an opportunity for discussing remedial action for high-risk practices as well as introducing new ideas for consideration, not as giant leaps but as incremental steps.

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Sanitation marketing

Uses the principles and techniques of commercial marketing for developing sustainable latrine building and usage. Successful sanitation marketing starts with understanding the household as a consumer. It seeks to build on an understanding of what technologies (products) they want, will use and maintain, and which of these are appropriate to the local context. It is understood that, like consumers everywhere, householders in developing countries make decisions and choices based on needs, preferences and constraints.

Marketing involves a multi-component coordinated intervention that uses a variety of strategies simultaneously to address the four core P’s of marketing:

  1. Product – Latrine designs must respond to what people want, rather than what sanitation engineers believe they should have. Selling products and services without subsidy is the most reliable way to know you have the right design.
  2. Price – Most of those who need sanitation are poor, and can least afford it. Thus, keeping costs down, reducing up-front costs, and marketing a range of products (and qualities) at different price tags is needed. Extreme low-cost product innovations can release demand among the poor
  3. Place - Products must reach the right place, and the supply chain of products, information and services must reach potentially to every household.
  4. Promotion – This includes communications, advertising and sales techniques about the product and service to get customers’ attention, disseminate product information, and convince consumers why they should buy the product.

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Sanitation Platform

The Sanplat is an improved pit latrine slab that is smooth and slopes to promote hygienic cleaning. It has a cover for the hole, to prevent fly-breeding. It uses less cement than usual slabs and is light-weight.

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Scaling up

Compromises two basic factors:

  • Inclusion of the vast majority of the target population among those receiving sustainable, improved services within a reasonable time.
  • Institutionalisation of the necessary capacity and resources within public, private and civic entities to deliver sustainable services indefinitely.

Segmentation

Refers to the process of dividing the target audiences into groups with similar behaviours and needs. Segmentation is done so that promoters can address the needs of each segment of the target audience.

Septage

The partially treated waste in a septic tank is called septage. It generally consists of all the household wastes that are disposed of through a homes plumbing system that do not drain out into the soil or is converted to gases by the special bacteria in the tank.

Septic tank

An underground tank (with at least 2 or 3 compartments) where the water-borne waste (designed for black water only or black plus grey water) from a house (or institution) is deposited and decomposed by bacteria and the BOD is substantially reduced. Solids and dead bacteria settle to the bottom of the first compartment as sludge while the liquid portion flows from the final compartment into the ground through a "soak away" comprising of either a network of underground slotted pipes or a stone filled pit that allows the effluent to percolate into the soil. The sludge needs to be removed periodically in order for the tank to function properly. The design of a septic tank requires knowledge of the volume of incoming wastewater, to ensure adequate retention time.

Sewage

Wastewater usually containing excreta carried away for treatment by sewers or drains.

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Sewage sludge

The precipitate produced by Sewage treatment.

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Sewage treatment

It is the process of removing contaminants from sewage. It includes physical, chemical and biological processes to remove different types of contaminants.

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Sewer

A pipe or drain, usually underground, used to carry away wastewater.

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Sewerage

It is a system of sewers that conveys wastewater to a treatment plant or disposal point. It comprises the entire system of wastewater collection, treatment and disposal. The term sewerage also includes all the pumps, rising mains, gravity mains, air release valves, screens, overflows and associated infrastructure.

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Skyloo

An above the ground twin vault urine diverting eco-sanitation based latrine. Two vaults are built above ground level and a slab and superstructure built on top. The faeces drop through a squat hole into one of the vaults with the urine being diverted to a separate receptacle or soak away. The twin pit system is used i.e. one filling whilst the other is maturing, when the second is full, empty the first and use again. A dry mixture of soil and ash (or just ash) is added to the faeces after each use which prevent odour and keeps contents damp andaerobic. The vault contents should only be emptied when they are deemed to be relatively free from pathogens, normally 12 months. After emptying they are dug into the ground to increase soil fertility. In areas of rock or high water table the Skyloo is the ecological sanitation based solution.

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Sludge

Accumulated and concentrated solids generated within the wastewater treatment process that have not undergone stabilization.

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Sludge accumulation

The build up in volume of excreta, normally within a latrine pit or septic tank.

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Smart subsidy

Smart subsidies accelerate the rate of latrine adoption without distorting the behavior of the private supply and have the goal of achieving and maintaining usage and coverage at 100% without the need of further subsidy. To be smart the subsidies also need to be:

  • Simple and light to administer
  • Transparent to calculate and easily accountable
  • Easy to monitor
  • Limit the potential of embezzlement to tolerable levels.

The ultimate test for whether a subsidy is smart is whether it can be withdrawn without the final user noticing the impact either in price of product or the level of service.

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Soak away

Soak pit or drainage trench for subsoil dispersion of liquid waste.

Social marketing

The use of commercial marketing techniques to promote the adaptation of behaviour that will improve the health or well-being of the target audience or of society as a whole.

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Storm water

Precipitation that does not infiltrate into the ground or evaporate due to impervious land surfaces but instead flows onto adjacent land or water areas and, in some cases, is routed into drain or Sewer systems.

Strategic Sanitation Approach

This seeks to integrate social, technical, institutional and economic factors that have an impact on the sustainability of service provision. It is built on the key assumption that the provision of sustainable sanitation to urban areas is only possible by a demand oriented service delivery system, which implies a system that has the flexibility to offer alternative technological options and corresponding institutional arrangements for service delivery. The operational implications of SSA include:

  • Providing technical support at the community level
  • Widening the technological options
  • Assessing sanitation demand
  • Unbundling sanitation investments to permit incremental improvements at affordable costs
  • Financing and cost recovery

The importance of financial policies (at community and agency level) and emphasis on incentives (to perform) for various actors in all stages of the process of service provision, including construction, financing and maintenance, are stressed.

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Subsidy

Financial assistance, either through direct payments or through indirect means such as price cuts and favourable contracts, to a person or group in order to promote a public objective (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

Gregersen (1984; cited in Pardo 1990) say that public incentives to private individuals or the private sector are “justified in an economic sense when the social benefits go beyond the private benefits associated with a given private action”.

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Sullage

Wastewater from bathing, laundry, preparation of food, cooking and other personal and domestic activities that may be expected to contain considerably fewer pathogenic organisms than sewage.

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Superstructure

Part of the latrine building above ground level used to provide privacy to users.

Sustainability

A sanitation service is sustainable when:

  • It is functioning and being used
  • It is able to deliver an appropriate level of benefits (quality, quantity, convenience, continuity, health) to all, including the poorest women and men;
  • It continues to function over a prolonged period of time (which goes beyond the life span of the original equipment)
  • Its management is institutionalized
  • Its operation, maintenance, administrative and replacement costs are covered at the local level
  • It can be operated and maintained at local level with limited but feasible external support
  • It does not affect the environment negatively

Although this appears straightforward, various organizations, institutions and individuals with different backgrounds may interpret the definition differently.

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Sustainable excreta disposal

Can be said to have been achieved when:

  • Latrines are being consistently used by all members of the family.
  • The community/society is maintaining latrine coverage at 100% without external support.
  • There is no significant risk to community health from disposal techniques.
  • There is no significant degradation of the environment.
  • It can be maintained over a prolonged period i.e. 20 years and includes the financial sustainability to ensure proper operations and maintenance.

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Sustainable sanitation

A meaningless phase without a clear definition of the term sanitation. It is often used to mean sustainable excreta disposal. It is also used on occasion by some as an alternative for ecological sanitation, but this is not common practice.

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Supply-driven approach

A supply driven sanitation approach is one where the latrine building process is driven by the implementer taking little or no account of the householder’s attitudes, needs and constraints. Such implementers usually have pre-designed products which are pushed downstream towards the households in the target area. The implementers commonly have to apply pressure or provide incentives in the form of hardware subsidies to the householder in order to maintain downstream momentum and to meet pre-determined latrine building targets.

Target audience

A target audience is the primary group of people that something, usually an advertising campaign, is aimed at appealing to. It can be people of a certain age group, gender etc. Knowledge about the target audience is essential for a successful advertising or promotion campaign.

Tariffs and charges

Raise revenues for water services and are necessary for the operation and development of water supply and sanitation and wastewater services. Nevertheless, it is common that users only pay for water supply and consumption and not for the provision of sanitation services.

Top-down sanitation program

Usually starts with a sanitation technology which the promoters see as a solution to a problem defined by outside experts. This has often led to the promotion of technology which is unaffordable and inappropriate.

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Toilet

A place of defecation and urination. Can be used interchangeably with latrine.

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Traditional latrine

The most common of all the on-site latrine designs. A pit either lined or unlined depending on the soil conditions and dug to a depth of around 2.5 metres. The pit is covered with large logs which act as a means of support for smaller logs/ branches in order to form a squatting platform. Access to the pit for faeces is via a small drop hole. The platform is finished with a layer of mud to form a smooth level surface. A superstructure is added for privacy and can be constructed from a wide range of locally available materials.

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Total Sanitation

An open-defecation free environment.

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Twin pit pour-flush latrine

Used in communities using water wash for anal cleansing. A simple pour-flush squatting platform (porcelain or cement) is set into a brick and concrete based and the outlet piped to a junction box. From this box the faeces and flush waste is directed to one of two shallow pits (more pits are possible) for storage and maturing. The alternating pit principle is used i.e. one filling whilst the other is maturing, when the second is full, empty the first and use again. The pits are usually brick lined and covered with a wooden or concrete slab to prevent people falling into them. A superstructure is added for privacy and can be constructed from a wide range of locally available materials.

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  XWiki.beddowve   Victoria Beddow