5.

5: Building services
5.5 Books

Sandy Cairncross and Richard G. Feachem..

(1993), Environmental health engineering in
the tropics : an introductory text Wiley
(TD 145.C2)
5.5.1 Building services
Types of services

• Electricity
• Solid waste management
• Drainage
• Water supply
• Sanitation
5.5.1 Building services
Problems
5.5.1 Building services
Problems
5.5.1 Building services
Provision

• Public utilities
– Services as a right
– Investment usually in the form of loans or aid

• Private companies
– Services to be paid for (full cost recovery)
– Money invested from outside but usually repaid
in tariffs (with profit exported)

• Private or community project

– Organisation?
– Often led by outside non governmental
organisations (NGOs)
5.5.1 Building services
Provision: cross subsidy

• Ideal
– rich pay a higher tariff than the poor (usually by
way of “entitlements”)
– High use is discouraged due to rising tariffs

• Reality
– The rich (particularly industry) can opt out
passing the cost back to the poor
– “free” services are often overused
– Perceived or real high cost can result in further
informal connections
– Surveys have centred around “willingness to
pay” rather than “ability to pay”
5.5.2 Building services
Water supply

• MDG Goal 7, Target 10

“Reduce by half the proportion of people
without sustainable access to safe drinking
water”
– Indicated by the percentage of the population
using improved drinking water sources

Improved drinking water sources Unimproved drinking water sources

• Household connection
• Public standpipe
• Borehole
• Protected dug well
• Protected spring
• Rainwater collection
• Unprotected well
• Unprotected spring
• Rivers or ponds
• Vendor-provided water
• Bottled water*
• Tanker truck water
5.5.2 Building services
Water supply

• Starting point (1990) – 1 billion people have

no access to safe drinking water
5.5.2 Building services
Water supply options

• Ground water
– Bore hole
– Shallow well
– Protected springs

• Surface water (usually after treatment)

– Ponds
– Lakes
– Rivers
– Reservoirs

• Rainwater harvesting
5.5.2 Building services
Water distribution options

• Density
– Stand pipes (how dense, cost-coverage trade
off)
– Household connections (cost)

• Distribution method
– Pumped (cost, reliability, servicing,
management)
– Gravity
5.5.2 Building services
Water supply options: Borehole
5.5.2 Building services
Water supply options: Borehole: VLOM
Pump
5.5.2 Building services
Water supply options: Borehole: VLOM
Pump
5.5.2 Building services
Water supply options: Protected hand
dug well
5.5.2 Building services
Water supply options: Protected spring
5.5.2 Building services
Water supply options: Rainwater
Harvesting
5.4.3 Building services
Sanitation

• MDG Goal 7, Target 10

“Reduce by half the proportion of people
without sustainable access to basic sanitation”
– Indicated by the percentage of the population
using improved sanitation facilities

Improved sanitation Unimproved drinking water

sources
• Connection to a public sewer • Public or shared latrine
• Connection to a septic • Open pit latrine
system
• Bucket latrine
• Pour-flush latrine
• Simple pit latrine**
• Ventilated improved pit
latrine
5.4.3 Building services
Sanitation

• Starting point (1990) – 2.6 billion people (half

the worlds population) have no access to basic
sanitation
5.4.3 Building services
Sanitation: Sanitation ladder
5.4.3 Building services
Sanitation: Sanitation ladder

Option Approximate cost per person

(US$)
including O&M
Connection to conventional sewer 300

Sewer connection with local labour 175

Septic tank 160

Pour flush latrine 70

Ventilated pit latrine 65

Simple pit latrine 45

Improved traditional practice 10

5.4.3 Building services
Sanitation: VIP Latrine
5.4.3 Building services
Sanitation: Pour flush latrine
5.4.3 Building services
Sanitation: ECOSAN latrine
Next: Disaster mitigation