Study on Planning Scheme to Improve the Living Environment Through Safe Water Supply and Sanitation in a Rural Village of Bangladesh

Abstract

To cope with groundwater arsenic contamination, which is widespread throughout Bangladesh, securing alternative drinking water sources is an urgent issue. However, the current prevalence of inappropriate sanitary practices in many parts of the country has resulted in extensive surface water pollution, which limits the safe use of such water for drinking. To facilitate improved water quality and water conservation, water supply and sanitation improvements should be integrated. In this chapter, a project aimed at improving the living environment through water supply safety and sanitation upgrades will be introduced. This chapter focuses on one of the two study-area villages discussed in Chap. 7 that are located in arsenic affected areas. However, in this village, due to the limited support provided previously, most villagers were forced to subsist on arsenic-contaminated groundwater, and were mostly unwilling to take steps that would improve the situation. Herein, the authors will present a scheme aimed at overcoming the problems that had resulted from the previous failed projects, and discuss locally appropriate technology options that consider continuous community-based management practices. This scheme focuses on pond sand filter (PSF) systems and ecological sanitation, as it was expected that use of PSF systems would increase villager awareness regarding their drinking water source, the quality of which must be maintained by sound ecological sanitation measures. Finally, after describing the current situation, issues related to the community-based management of the installed facilities will be discussed.

An erratum to this chapter is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55169-0_18

Please note the Erratum to this chapter at the end of the book

An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-4-431-55169-0_18