Pre-feasibility Report

1.0 Summary:

WASSER is partnership project funded by European Union in the context of the Asia ProEco-IIB where as the lead partner is city of Munich –
Germany.

This is an Environmental Sanitation project aims to alleviate the poverty by improving the basic living conditions through participatory city
consultation process, Creating and disseminating environmental information by adopting spatial data management tools such as GIS , building
capacities on EPM in the city administration., addressing the sanitation issues by constructing and expanding appropriate Waste Water Management
schemes in the Tsunami resettlement schemes. to move in alignment with the ongoing projects.

2. Introduction:

This report intends to provide primary information for the appropriate technology selection to the sanitation issues faced in the regions where
abject environmental pollution prevails in the city of Kalmunai.Unplanned urbanization prolonged due to the various reasons such as political,
economical and socio cultural

Understanding the local context with in which the project is going to be operated is very much essential prior to making a direct intervention. The
aim of the report is to

• review the existing situation for finding alternative solutions in accordance with acceptable standards.
• select and appropriate technology which is environmentally sound, technically and economically viable
• facilitate decision makers ( Municipal councilors) for taking administrative and policy decisions in respect sanitation.

This report consists of three major sections , they are

a) The sector analysis which embodies how water and sanitation is practiced in the area of concern.
b) Back ground of the project area and need assessment: Describes the main features of the working area, an outlook of its population, socio
economical characteristics.
c) Solutions and alternatives to address the sanitation issues.
 Since an environmental profile is already prepared, information pertaining to the sector and project area is shortly briefed. Information in relation
with EPM and EMIS are discussed in greater length as to give an in depth detail in order to foresee the operational and maintenance issues in order
to design the sanitation infrastructure sustainable.

On site collection and pre-treatment systems with off site night soil treatment facility, is deemed to be appropriate as it is emphasized by the
experts1. Alternatives on secondary treatment or ternary treatment and disposal methods are discussed.

3.0 Water and Sanitation Sector

Back ground of the country situation on sanitation.

Most of Sri Lanka is not sewered. Cities and towns have drains, which are used to drain storm water, grey wastewater and often septic tank effluent.
Wastewater from drains is not treated, but flows freely to streams, rivers and waterlogged depressions. There is no system for proper septic tank
sludge treatment. Combined sewer systems of the biggest cities are pumped to the ocean.
Most common excreta disposal systems in rural areas are water sealed pour flush toileis with leaching pits. Pits are normally fairly big, enough for 10
to 25 years use. When pit is full the toilet is abandoned and the owner waits for support to build a new one. Grey wastewater from dishwashing is
thrown on the yard, laundry and bathing takes place at the own or shared well, or stream or other water body.

In rural setting this type of sanitation is generally acceptable, but when population density grows the environmental hygiene problems arise.
Kalmunai is a good example of a strictly limited land area with fast growing population with changing consumption pattern and subsequent
environmental hygiene problems. There is an urgent need to turn the development trend to new direction.

Major Cities – Colombo South and North and planned for Moratuwa- Ratmalana and Ekala –Ja Ela - Disposal to sea

Housing Schemes – several have sewerage with treatment plants – eg. Rukmale, Digana – Waste Stabilization Pond systems and Activated
Sludge Treatment

Commercial Establishments – Extended Aeration systems, RBCs, Anaerobic systems

Urban areas – shallow sewers and septic tank systems

Suburban and rural areas – on-site disposal

1
Study done By JICA –Interim report of Relief Recovery and Reconstruction in the regions of Eastern Srilanka – Prepared by Nippon Koe Ltd –KRI
international
Over view of the situation in Kalmunai MC

• Most of the houses (90%) have either planned or constructed water sealed toilet with squatting pan
• The remaining 10% of the houses have, or will have western type toilet seat with flushing cistern (this trend is actively marketed and spreads easily)
• Most of the houses have leaching toilet pit of 2 to 3 m3, while some have septic tank with
j,. soak-away.
• In most of the houses grey wastewater is drained to the yard or street (many builders say that they plan to dig another pit for kitchen wastewater)
• Many plots are so small that toilet pit is located under the house due to the lack of space (smallest plots are below the regulated 3 perch (75 m2)
• Many of the streets re so narrow that “gulley suckers” can’t negotiate the street corners, if there will be a need of emptying the septic tanks (house
owners say that leaching pits don’t need emptying)
• Most of the houses have or will have house connection for drinking and cooking water. And many households have closed and backfilled their wells
to get more space for the house. Some families have returned to use their well, at least for bathing and washing, when the salinity has decreased
after two years’ rains.
In Kalmunai there will be approximately 50 to 100 houses per hectare that will produce 30 to 60 m3/d wastewater per hectare. The current system of
infiltrating wastewater into the ground will eventually contaminate groundwater resources and directing grey wastewater to yards or streets will attract
mosquitoes, flies and rodents. The end result is unhealthy environment.

Institutional Arrangement

Pre- Tsunami:

Being the authority for Environmental Planning and Management (EPM), Kalmunai MC has not performed any significant role. This is due to the
lack of the institutional capacity in the areas of planning and monitoring of Municipal sanitation.

National Water supply and Drainage Board (NWS&DB) was engaged in expanding its Integrated Water Supply scheme in the Eastern Coastal
Towns of Amparai District (ECTAD) to cover Maruthamunai and Pandiruppu.

Post Tsunami

After the Natural catastrophe, it was the major human imperative for the IDP camps and host families to have minimum facilities of sanitation.

There has been a district Water and sanitation Coordinating committee formed to address the relief gaps and work efficiently. This committee, which
constitutes Government and NGO sector, is supposed to be the sub-committee of the District Coordinating Committee.
National Water Supply and Drainage Board is leading with UNICEF on the counterpart of representing NGOs.
4.0 Background of the project Area

Land scarcity: Kalmunai has the unique problem in finding suitable land for the basic facilities such as housing for Tsunami Victims, Disposal sites
and Schools. Prolonged ethnic conflict confined the Muslim dominated coastal regions to grow with in the available land.

JICA has anticipated that, to accommodate the population in 2030 ,there should be 2400 acres of paddy land to be filled and reclaimed to make
Kalmunai is a sustainable city. This becomes a policy issue and poised in between agriculture and human settlement, procedures and formalities to
be adhered , consensus is to be established among the local community.

After the declaration of coastal buffer zone on account of Tsunami disaster zone creating voluntary land filling to accommodate the victims in the
BZ. 50 acres of Lands in Sainthamaruthu and 23 Acres in Kalmunai were acquired of which 10 acres of the land is to be filled and developed for the
resettlement in each divisions by the Government through RADA .UDA is undertaking the planning of the new urban area.

Capacity of the Local authority. There are 8 tractors and 32 crews in service for the collection and dumping of the garbage. : Kalmunai is the only
Municipality is running with out a single PHI

It is remaining in this condition due to financial and staffing controls imposed by the provincial and local governments. There are about 125 cadres
to be approved by the cadre commission

.
Tsunami and future Development

Human settlements within 500m of the coast were hit by the tsunami, which destroyed and damaged 13% of the entire housing stock of the coastal
divisions and districts. At some locations, livelihoods and business life were wiped out. As public buildings, banks and market places were inundated,
legal records, stocks and products were destroyed. While some families lost all their savings, banks and businesses lost their customers. Workers
that should be high in demand have no tools and are faced with a clientele that cannot afford to pay for them. Roads, bridges, drainage and other
infrastructure as well as means of transport have been destroyed or blocked. The extend of debris and sand left on land is enormous, polluting land
and beaches and increasing the risk of flooding, water-logging and loss of productive land. All dug wells where the tsunami came on land were
contaminated by sea water, and often by wastewater and sewage.

A number of factors increased the vulnerability of human settlements to the tsunami in Sri Lanka. Among them are the historical absence of building
standards, construction that was uninfluenced by a tradition of risk aversion because of a perceived absence of major natural disasters, a lack of city
planning and zoning regulations, and a resulting haphazard pattern of construction. Other aggravating factors included weak local government
institutions with poor response capacities for the provision of basic urban services, poor access to services by most people resulting in the need to
find on-site solutions for solid waste, drinking water and sanitation, and high densities in unplanned settlements. These factors combined to
undermine standards in the built environment of Sri Lanka even at the best of times. Largely bypassed by the mainstream development process, the
poor in particular have found themselves living in informal, illegal and unhealthy conditions. Such conditions had made the poor, and particularly
women and children, more vulnerable both to daily stresses and to natural disasters.

4.0 Alternatives for Sanitation

Study and analysis of the sanitation situation and finding solutions to the identified problems. It involves of the studies and relevant
documents prepared earlier in the context of the sanitation .

The tentative solution would be construction of on-site treatment systems like septic tank with aerobic/ anaerobic filters and treatment
of the night soil after desludging.

Not withstanding to the fact that ,in the proposal ,it was described about a sewerage system ,but the objective is to restore a healthy
environment. For better operation and maintenance of the system , a self running gravity flow system would more desirable.

In the design there may be at some locations ,pumping may be required. If pumping is involved ,there should be a proper income
generation way to run the operation cost (electricity, fuel and labor).So sewer systems will have to be thoroughly understood , policy
is to be set and need community participation.

In Kalmunai MC limits, only some of the regions we can find this kind of topography and at those areas a small pipe network can be
laid.

So in overall context, there can be basically two systems

1 One site- filtered water is allowed, to infiltrate through the soil/ to discharge water body. After 5 or 6 years the sludge removal is to
taken place, where the accessibility of the gully sucker plays a deciding role.
2. One site collection + offsite treatment and disposal- Piloting has to be done for establishing operational guide. If mechanical
equipments are needed such as pumps, Rotating contactors –it has to be treated as a policy issue.

I have been engaged in designing an appropriate technology for the night soil treatment facility. From my point of view there can be
three schemes that fit for the Night soil treatment.

1.0 Constructed wet land –vertical flow – Aesthetic ,pleasant environment ,need less area –can be placed significantly closer to the
settlement areas.
2.0 Drying bed-Co composting with organic Waste with saw dust ,rice hay and rice husk
( European union is funding UNOPS for Environmental restoration project under the EU-Amparai Partnership program. In that, there
are two waste management facilities –composting and re-cycling centers two locations is going to be provided. So we can request
EU/UNOPS to consider a co-composting center)

3.0 A big scale night soil treatment facility with anaerobic and maturation tanks. Suitably a cluster site at proposed Land Fill site-This
is too be discussed with EU/ UNOPS .

Schematic Diagram of the proposed interventns.

 Vertical flow
Constructed
Wetland

Cluster
Desludging by gully NSTF
Sucker after 3-5
Years
Co-composting
with organic
Waste

DISPOSAL
AerobicFilter TO LAND
(Soakage pit)
Source Septic Tank

Anaerobic
Filter Horizontal
flow DISPOSAL
Constructed TO WATER
Wetland
Sewer
network Bio Cell/RBC/Waste
stabilization Pond /