As cities in low- and middle-income countries expand rapidly, sanitation infrastructure struggles to keep pace, with nearly 700 million people still lacking even basic sanitation access. Lack of sanitation access leads to open defecation, overflowing pit latrines, and untreated discharge into waterways – with health impacts disproportionally felt by the poorest and most vulnerable parts of the population. But in the rush to provide safe sanitation services, are we thinking enough about their impact on the climate?

Recent research reveals that some sanitation solutions release significant methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide[1]. A study conducted by USAID Urban Resilience by Building Partnerships and Applying New Evidence in WASH (URBAN WASH) projected methane emissions associated with future sanitation scenarios in urban Sub-Saharan Africa. It estimates that sanitation systems in urban sub-Saharan Africa currently contribute 3-5% of the region’s total annual anthropogenic methane emissions. This percentage is projected to increase to nearly double by 2030 if current technologies continue to be adopted (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Estimated emissions from sanitation in urban Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) (excluding South Africa) as a proportion of total annual anthropogenic methane emissions

With limited coverage of sewerage in low- and middle- income countries, most of these emissions come from household waste containment systems, such as pits and septic tanks. As these facilities fill, they generate methane. And, once emptied, the treatment of the sludge, like the treatment of wastewater, can release significant amounts of methane. Promising solutions exist to curb these emissions during containment and treatment. This study assessed interventions across the sanitation chain – waste containment and treatment.

Some of the solutions include reducing water content in containment systems, such as by lining dry pits in areas with high groundwater tables. But methane abatement solutions are still missing for wet containment technologies. At treatment plants, solutions like composting, drying beds, or that directly capture methane during treatment, can mitigate emissions. Integrated sanitation service models like container-based sanitation, which safely captures waste in a frequently emptied container that is taken for treatment off-site, are an alternative to traditional systems. However, barriers impede scaling of these solutions.

Here are four ways we can work collaboratively to design climate-smart sanitation systems while also protecting public health:

1. Implement proven solutions where they are contextually appropriate.
2. Experiment with promising interventions to generate evidence for further scaling.
3. Innovate to address gaps in the identified abatement approaches.
4. Create a favorable enabling environment to increase awareness of the climate impact of sanitation systems and incentivise the adoption of more climate-friendly technologies and services.

Some key questions remain. For approaches that we know can eliminate, or greatly minimise, methane emissions, there are still questions about how to make them viable in low- and middle-income countries. For many of the promising approaches, we still need more empirical research to understand their emission profiles at scale. And we still need research and development of new technologies and novel approaches.

While more research is needed, the urgency of climate change means we need action today. Implementing no-regret solutions where possible, generating evidence, supporting innovation, and strengthening the enabling environment must start now.

The sanitation sector aims to eliminate public health hazards. By integrating climate-conscious planning, the sanitation sector can simultaneously become a part of the climate solution. Turning the sanitation sector from a driver to a reducer of emissions requires rethinking how we approach sanitation but can be done without sacrificing our public health goals. As access to sanitation expands across rapidly developing countries over the next 10-15 years, now is the time to bring climate into the conversation. At the moment, the sector’s greenhouse gas footprint is rapidly expanding; it is our responsibility to ensure that we do all we can to reduce and reverse this trend.

Want to learn more about designing lower-methane sanitation systems? Attend the workshop “Climate impact of sanitation technologies: Where are we headed?” on Thursday 14 December, Session 2 in Room MH1 at the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition in Kigali, Rwanda on Thursday 14 December 2023 where we will explore research insights, challenges, and potential solutions to curb methane emissions from sanitation.  You can also access URBAN WASH’s recent publication on this topic here: “Managing the climate impact of human waste”.

Join us and other water and development experts who will convene to find relevant solutions tailored for low- and middle-income countries. Registration is open.

[1] Johnson, J., Zakaria, F., Nkurunziza, A. G., Way, C., Camargo-Valero, M. A., & Evans, B. (2022). Whole-system analysis reveals high greenhouse-gas emissions from citywide sanitation in Kampala, Uganda. Communications Earth & Environment, 3(1), 80.

*WS 36 Mitigating The Climate Impact Of Sanitation: Where Are We Headed? on Thursday 14 December, Session 2, Room MH1 

This week, the international community is meeting at COP28, a critical milestone in our collective effort to combat climate change. As the world turns its attention to this pivotal event, it’s essential to recognise that the fight against climate change is deeply intertwined with another global crisis: water security. According to the Global Risks Report by the World Economic Forum, which has consistently ranked water crises among the top five risks since 2015, over 90% of disasters are water-related, with climate change exerting its most significant impact through water, as highlighted in the UN Water Conference. Water is at the heart of both climate change impacts and nature crises, and sustainable finance is emerging as a crucial tool in addressing this intricate challenge. Addressing this, water regulation becomes a critical focus, especially with the urgency need of integrating water into sustainable finance conversations. 

Before we dive into the world of sustainable finance for water, let’s take a moment to highlight an important precursor event that I’ve attended: the OECD Forum on Green Finance and Investment. As we move toward COP28, this event has set the stage for critical conversations on financing solutions to address water-related challenges. The 2023 edition of the OECD Forum took place on 2-3 October 2023 in Paris, France, and was developed under the theme of ‘Accelerating Policy Action to Close the Credibility Gap’. The event aimed to underscore the urgency of green and sustainable finance in our current global landscape.  

While gathering some of the leading actors from the green finance community, the Forum passed a clear message when it comes to water: although all actors rely on water to some sort of degree, water is not appearing in climate strategies, underscoring its importance and underappreciated its related risks. One of the pressing issues to be addressed is the financial sector’s exposure to water-related physical risks. Despite the critical nature of these risks, they are not yet comprehensively integrated into current risk-assessment tools. This oversight leaves the financial system vulnerable to water-related challenges while missing out on investment opportunities tied to water solutions. 

To effectively address these crises, the financial sector’s understanding of water-related risks must be enhanced. Moreover, it’s increasingly evident that nature-related risks, including those related to water, can have significant macroeconomic implications. Failing to account for, mitigate, and adapt to these risks poses a threat to financial stability. 

Second, there is a need to expand innovative water systems and nature-based solutions (NbS). Multilateral development banks and philanthropic organisations can play a pivotal role in this landscape. Sustainable financing is emerging as a key enabler in fast-tracking these critical water and nature-focused initiatives. Their vast resources and influence can be channelled toward enhancing climate change adaptation efforts and resilience. Moreover, they can provide innovative financial tools that mitigate the risks associated with investments in these projects.  

As we explore sustainable finance initiatives, water regulation emerges as a linchpin, guiding successful projects around the world. For instance, New York City has an initiative aimed at protecting its drinking water through safeguarding its watershed ecosystem services in place since the 90’s. This initiative, which has become a model for many cities in the US, highlights significant cost savings on their financial reports, compared to a filtration plant, making it a fiscally responsible and sustainable choice. In 2016, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission issued green bonds to finance projects that enhance water supply, water quality, and wastewater management. This initiative not only raised funds sustainably but also increased investor confidence. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has issued green bonds specifically for water and wastewater projects. These bonds enable EIB to allocate funds to support sustainable water infrastructure development in Europe and beyond.  

These initiatives showcase the potential impact of sustainable finance in the water sector, ranging from improving water access in developing countries to financing large-scale infrastructure projects in water-scarce regions. They not only secure the necessary funds but also promote environmental and social sustainability. As the global climate leaders gather at COP28 starting on 30 November in Dubai, we need to remind them that the intertwined challenges of climate change and water scarcity demand innovative solutions. Sustainable finance is poised to be critical in our efforts to build a water-wise world that can thrive in the face of these challenges.

Stay tuned for insights and discussions emerging from the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition in Kigali, as we explore the path to a sustainable water future by 2030. 

The climate crisis demands urgent action across all sectors to reduce emissions and adapt to changing climatic conditions and sanitation is no exception. While there are no quick fixes, emerging research shows that actively managed services such as container-based sanitation benefit both adaptation and mitigation and should have the potential to secure valuable – and so far, elusive – sources of climate finance.

Sanitation is estimated to contribute a whopping 4% of global human-caused greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including 2-6% of global methane and 1-3% of global nitrous oxide emissions. In Kampala, half the city’s emissions are due to sanitation despite the city having many other sources of emissions. Researchers are only recently discovering the significance of sanitation, which has been estimated by the GWI to contribute two-thirds of global WASH emissions, with water contributing the remaining third. Of these, half are estimated to stem from sewers and half from off grid sanitation – the latter largely stemming from anaerobic digestion in pit latrines and septic tanks that are not frequently emptied, and from wastewater treatment plants lacking methane capture.

At the World Water Week session on Mobilizing Innovations: taking action on climate resilient sanitation in last August, convened by partners of the Climate Resilient Sanitation coalition, Barbara Evans of Leeds University presented her recent research on measuring emissions from off grid sanitation. She was clear: there are no magic bullets, BUT but most of the evidence suggests that ‘actively managed WASH’ helps improve resilience and reduce emissions.  

How does this work? By frequently collecting and treating waste, and often separating faeces from urine, actively managed services such as container-based sanitation (CBS) reduce anaerobic degradation and related emissions.  

In the container-based sanitation (CBS) community, we have long been passionate about seeing sanitation as a service, not just a technology. We’re often asked about our toilet design and hardware, which varies amongst providers – as do their waste treatment processes and human waste-derived products. A key common thread, however, is the service element. To our surprise, we’re now realising that the frequent emptying that the service provides brings added climate benefits – both for adaptation as well as mitigation.

Actively managed services also support adaptation by reducing the risk of untreated waste leaking into the environment during flooding. CBS systems also use little if any water and are thus well suited to areas facing water scarcity.  

With the mitigation potential in mind, in 2020 CBSA developed a calculator tool to measure CBS greenhouse gas emissions and found that CBS systems can significantly reduce GHG emissions from sanitation, estimating that the four operators studied collectively mitigated 44,000 tCO2e over a year, representing 60% to 96% of baseline emissions, confirming CBS as a climate-smart solution. Further research in Haiti, found CBS reduced GHG by 126 kg CO2e per person per year. These figures are the equivalent of 112,796 and 323 miles driven by an average petrol-powered car, respectively.  

Despite this, the links between sanitation and climate are still lacking. There is minimal inclusion of sanitation in climate policy and financing, including in countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) climate pledges and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). This means that little climate finance, which aims to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change, reaches water and sanitation projects.  

Recognising this, CBSA has been looking into the potential of carbon credits for unlocking a form of climate finance. Our 2022 feasibility study found that, despite several challenges, carbon credits have the potential to provide a viable revenue stream for CBS providers in urban contexts. Modelling CBS scale up projections using existing carbon credit methodologies, the five services examined, collectively earned US$2.4 million in eligible carbon credit revenue over five years for approximately 81,000 toilets and co-treated solid waste.  

While this is exciting, accessing carbon credits remains costly and complex and only starts to become viable when operating at a particular scale, i.e., at least a small neighbourhood of 5-10,000 households. Still, given these numbers, the twin benefits of adaptation and mitigation could be an interesting win-win for climate-conscious utilities and for those trying to raise climate finance which is still heavily skewed towards mitigation.  

To be clear, while some forms of sanitation may be able to gain revenue from carbon credits, they will not be lucrative enough to close the funding gap left between actual servicing costs and user payments/product sales. This is partly because of the significant registry and consultant fees; partly because the latest emission factors have not yet been officially acknowledged and partly because of many eligibility rules and other carbon credit complexities. CBSA is currently working to address these where possible to make carbon credits more accessible to CBS operators. 

The sector still has a long way to go, but the adaptation and mitigation benefits of active management provide an important, and potentially game-changing, opportunity to address climate issues and unlock new sources of funding.

Photo credits: SOIL (cover image) and Clean Team Ghana

Water takes centre stage on this World Food Day, whose theme is ‘Water is life, water is food. Leave no one behind.’ The 2023 campaign, led by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, underscores the pivotal role water plays in securing our food supply. At the recent FAO Rome Water Dialogue, attended by various institutions, delegates, and speakers from around the world, there was a unanimous agreement that this is truly the year of water.

The UN Water Conference held in New York this March, the first of its kind in half a century, marked a turning point in recognising water as a critical issue deserving our immediate attention. From the sessions that I have attended in Rome, it’s become clear that addressing water issues within the confines of the water sector is inadequate. Water knows no boundaries, and is a cross-cutting issue affecting many, if not all, sectors. Food production is indeed one of the sectors most affected by water, and by climate change. A staggering 72% of global freshwater withdrawals are attributed to agriculture, with 16% allocated to municipalities for households and services, and 12% used by industries.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu emphasised the interconnectedness of water, energy, and food as crucial themes leading up to COP 28 later this year in Dubai. Water emerges as a key connector to address these pressing challenges. Climate change, as highlighted by the speakers, has severely disrupted the water cycle, resulting in a surge of extreme weather events, many of which are witnessed around the world, from the recent floods in India to New York. It is often farming and agriculture that bear the most profound impact from extreme water events.

While there are plenty of solutions nowadays, they often remain fragmented and sector-specific. Innovative projects and approaches are emerging to bridge this gap. One of the most interesting takeaways from the Rome Water Dialogue was the ecosystem-based approach, which is a strategy for integrated water management of land, water, and more. Coupled with Nature-based Solutions (NbS), the ecosystem-based approach can be a lifesaver for the benefit of people and nature. Institutions are now calling on governments to design science- and evidence-based policies that harness data and innovation and coordinate across sectors to plan and manage water better. The International Water Association (IWA) and the Nature Conservancy (TNC), for example, have a Memorandum of Understanding to work on NbS mainstreaming in water infrastructure, planning, spending and management among utilities and regulators worldwide. The importance of regulation and governance was also widely discussed and is gaining momentum worldwide as a means to achieve the SDGs. IWA will be hosting the 8^th International Water Regulators Forum in Kigali this December, with the purpose of contextualising water and sanitation regulation in different settings.

Water, energy, and food are inextricably linked, and for policies to be successful, it’s important that they manage often competing interests without compromising the health of our ecosystems. A very useful tool for governments and policymakers to take concrete action is through the National Water Roadmaps. The UN is closely working with governments and communities to build country-owned and country-led National Water Roadmaps to strengthen intersectoral coordination of water at the national level. It also builds the datasets and technology they need to make well-informed decisions.

Another key aspect that was touched on is the integration of water within the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). For example, NGOs and other actors are now implementing measures to empower farmers and indigenous peoples to become agents of water management and be equipped with the right tools to do so sustainably while protecting biodiversity. Managing water starts by selecting and using the right biodiversity in production systems.

Water is not only a resource. Water is food and life itself. It supports all life forms on the planet and therefore it’s crucial to protect and preserve water for a thriving planet. We all need to stop taking water for granted. Making informed decisions about what we consume, wasting less water and food, and preventing pollution are easy things that all of us can do to contribute to positive #WaterAction for a brighter future for food, people, and the planet.

Nature-based Solutions, climate resilience and the circular economy of water are all key topics that will be discussed at the upcoming IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition in Kigali, Rwanda, on 10-14 December. Join this crucial gathering of water and development experts who will convene to find relevant solutions tailored for low- and middle-income countries. Registration is open.

While the water supply and sanitation sector in Uganda has undergone significant, systemic changes over the last decade, the 2009 Tariff Policy no longer spoke to the realities of delivering safe, financially sustainable, and socially equitable services. For this reason, Uganda’s Ministry of Water and Environment (MWE) decided to review existing water tariffs and develop a new tariff policy suitable for multiple models of managing networked and non-networked water service systems and sources.

The first step was to assess the 2009 Tariff Policy. The major observations were:

• Limited scope: The policy mostly covered small towns, rural growth centres, and sewered sanitation, with little attention on urban areas and non-sewered sanitation.
• Out of date: The policy’s strategy and targets aligned with outdated national and international goals (e.g., the Poverty Eradication Action Plan (PEAP), which ended in 2011, and the Millennium Development Goals, which ended in 2015).
• Inadequate subsidisation framework: The policy did not allow for cross-subsidisation between customer types.
• Unclear steps for implementation: Implementation activities, roles, and responsibilities were not clearly outlined or assigned.

Through further research and consultations, four key priorities emerged for a new tariff policy:

1. Structured and transparent subsidies: A policy should encourage clarity and transparency about how and why public finance is being leveraged to improve services.
2. Flexibility: A policy should outline common guiding principles for all providers while allowing them to develop tariff structures appropriate for their service delivery context.
3. Reinforce service provider contracts and business plans: A policy should guide how various instruments will work together to guide service planning and delivery.
4. Long-term cost recovery: Tariffs should be situated in a long-term strategy to improve cost-recovery rates.

The new tariff policy, developed by Athena Infonomics in partnership with WSS Services (U) Ltd., was accepted by MWE in 2023 and now:

• Covers all declared water and sewer authorities, water point sources, and all aspects of sewered sanitation and non-sewered sanitation.
• Establishes a uniform tariff structure across all systems and service areas.
• Promotes inclusivity through different tariffs for specific customer groups, including poor households who were previously only able to access lower-cost water through public standpipes, and allows for cross-subsidisation within a service area.
• Provides a more relevant and expanded concept of subsidies, including eligibility requirements for subsidies linked to performance improvement plans.
• Includes an implementation strategy that stipulates activities and assigns roles and responsibilities to MWE departments.

This last point is fundamental. One of the findings from this process was that many service authorities need to build up their own internal systems, assign roles and responsibilities, before they can design and implement a sophisticated, context-appropriate tariff structure. This is especially true in the case of Uganda’s six regional ‘Umbrella Authorities’ (UAs), which cover rural communities and small towns that the national water utility does not reach. As relatively new service authorities, the UAs need to build up their internal organisational capacities and processes if they are to serve geographically disparate and financially challenging customer bases without government support.

The new policy’s accompanying implementation strategy therefore includes several prerequisites if new tariff structures are to be successfully designed and applied. Efforts to professionalise the UAs are underway, including a World Bank-funded project where Athena Infonomics is supporting improved accounting/financial systems and ingraining sustainable operations and maintenance practices.

Positioning UAs and other stakeholders to respond to the new tariff policy will take time, but the revised policy and associated tariff-setting guidelines are a major turning point in the delivery of water sanitation services in Uganda, underlining MWE’s commitment to achieving universal access to safely managed water and sanitation through steady systems-building. The provisions in the new tariff policy are also well aligned with the principles of citywide inclusive sanitation. The International Water Association’s publication on “Lessons Learnt: Regulating for Citywide Inclusive Sanitation” particularly highlights cross-subsidisation from water to sanitation, and from affluent areas to less affluent areas, to make service provision affordable and feasible.

We invite you to continue the discussion around inclusive water and sanitation systems and regulations at the upcoming IWA Water and Development Congress in Kigali, Rwanda on 10-14 December 2023. Registration is open.

Cover image: courtesy of Nina R. via Flickr

Water is a vital resource that sustains life, drives economic development, and maintains ecological balance. Despite Rwanda’s abundant rainfall, the water sector faces significant hurdles. Limited water storage infrastructure, high water losses, and the impacts of climate change necessitate sustainable solutions. As we approach the Water and Development Congress & Exhibition in Kigali on 10-14 December 2023, here we shed light on the increasingly important role played by young water professionals in tackling Rwanda’s water sector challenges. Looking ahead, join us and explore how young water professionals are shaping the future of water management in Rwanda at the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition in Kigali, where we will come together to discuss and seek sustainable solutions for a water-wise future. 

Water Challenges in Rwanda 

Rwanda, known for its lush landscapes, has a complex water situation. The country is characterised as water-scarce, with only 670 m³ of water per capita per year. Furthermore, climate change exacerbates the situation, leading to frequent floods and landslides. In 2020 alone, devastating floods and landslides caused numerous fatalities and extensive damage to infrastructure and crops. To address these challenges, innovative approaches and a skilled workforce are essential. 

The IWA Young Water Professionals (YWP) Rwanda Chapter, informally operating since 2012 and officially registered as an NGO in 2019, plays a pivotal role in addressing water sector challenges. Comprising talented young professionals with diverse skills, the chapter leverages state-of-the-art skills and expertise to find sustainable solutions. Our contributions span several areas: 

1. Flood Risk Management: Through advanced modelling and forecasting techniques, including artificial intelligence, we assess and predict flood risks. Emphasising nature-based solutions, we prioritise adaptation and mitigation measures for enhanced climate resilience. 
2. Sanitation Technologies: Building on our expertise in natural wastewater treatment systems, we develop innovative and effective sanitation technologies. Our aim is to improve sanitation access and promote environmentally friendly solutions. 
3. Non-Revenue Water Reduction: Addressing high water losses during the supply chain, we actively contribute to the development of state-of-the-art technologies that monitor and reduce non-revenue water. These efforts enhance water management efficiency. 
4. Workforce Development: Recognising the significance of a skilled workforce, we focus on capacity building initiatives. By equipping young professionals with essential knowledge and skills, we contribute to the professional development of Rwanda’s water sector workforce. 

Looking forward to the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition 

The YWP Rwanda Chapter eagerly anticipates active participation in the IWA Water and Development Congress & Exhibition. Our abstract on “Nature-based Flood Adaptation Measures in Informal Settlements” reflects our commitment to context-specific solutions and showcases our research-oriented projects. Additionally, we will actively contribute to the Emerging Water Leaders Forum, tailored for young water professionals. More information coming soon!

The Congress provides a unique platform for the YWP Rwanda Chapter to connect with other IWA YWP chapters worldwide. We will exchange knowledge, share experiences, and develop future strategies. This event offers valuable networking opportunities and the chance to establish strategic partnerships, further advancing water and development solutions in Rwanda. By fostering collaboration, knowledge exchange, and sustainable practices, we can all contribute significantly to sustainable development. 

We hope that the Water and Development Congress & Exhibition, coupled with our initiatives, inspires water sector professionals worldwide and highlights the transformative power of water for development in Rwanda and beyond. Registration for the event is now open, find out more: www.waterdevelopmentcongress.org

The involvement of IWA’s Specialist Group on Sustainability in the Water Sector on the issue of Women in Water dates back to IWA’s 2018 World Water Congress & Exhibition in Tokyo, when our SG co-hosted a workshop that addressed workforce issues such as staff training and retention.  After the workshop, two young female attendees told me that they appreciated the good ideas they had heard, but that since they were women and worked for men who were not interested in hearing the opinions of women, they probably would not be able to put the information they had learned in the workshop to effective use.  

This story may seem to support the idea that the issue of women in the water sector should be primarily viewed through an equity lens.  But our Specialist Group addresses the topic more broadly.  Given the massive challenges confronting the water industry today, incomplete use and development of the skills and talents are not only unfair to women, but a disservice to everyone – male co-workers who do not get the benefit of women’s knowledge and skills, communities and businesses the water industry should serve, and the ecosystems that we all should protect.  Building on over 30 years of experience as a Manager at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission which provides water, wastewater, and power services to the San Francisco Bay Area, I know that our work is complicated and requires all our contributions.  Experience has also taught me that men as well as women have questions about how we can work together more effectively.  

The webinars and workshop our Specialist Group has provided on Women in Water throughout the years (an international webinar on Women’s Day in 2021, a webinar focused on Spanish speakers on Women’s Day in 2022, and a workshop at the IWA World Water Congress in Copenhagen in 2022), have focused on how we can work together to help women optimise their contributions to the water industry.  

 Our Specialist Group has worked collaboratively with the African Water Association (AfWA) on many issues, including the role of utilities in Africa in supporting the Sustainable Development Goals, the digital worker, and women in water.  On Women’s Day this year, AfWA and IWA will co-host a webinar to empower women in water with enriching perspectives and experiences from the African region.  

Speakers include:  

Maha Salah Khalla, GIZ Nile Delta Water Management Programme, Egypt

Chataigne Djuma, IWA YWP Steering Committee, Congo

Geraldine Mpoum,a Logmo, CAMWATER, Cameroon

Maggie Momba, Tshwane University of Technology, South Africa

Leunita Sumba, WIWAS, Kenya

Topics discussed will include:  

• Advancing in the water industry;  
• Providing and receiving mentoring;  
• Effective responses to disrespectful and discriminatory behaviour; 
• Multiple life/work responsibilities; 
• Age discrimination; and 
• Self-confidence and self-presentation.   

 Our goal is to help both men and women develop a greater understanding of the challenges they face in the water sector, so that they can work better together and untap their full potential.  

In our webinars we speak plainly and clearly about issues that affect all of us in the water industry, so we hope you will join us for our webinar on Women in Water, which will be held at 15:00 GMT on 8 March 2023. You can register to attend the webinar free of charge, and let us know about the questions and topics that are of most interest to you.

Young Water Professionals from around the world joined forces to organise a full-day workshop at the recent IWA Water Resource Recovery Modelling Seminar (WRRMOD2022+) in Stellenbosch, South Africa on 18-22 January 2023. Co-chaired by Eugene Fotso Simo (National Coordination Lead – Water Institute of Southern Africa – YWP & Zutari, South Africa) and Nerea Uri Carreño (Chair of IWA-YWP Denmark & VCS Denmark), the workshop organising committee was exclusively composed of YWPs from around the world, including Cameroon, Nigeria, Denmark, South Africa, USA, Canada, Rwanda, Togo, Tanzania and more.  

The Resource Recovery Seminar was organised by the University of Cape Town’s Water Research Group (WRG) with Prof David Ikumi as the Organising Chair, and with the support of The International Water Association (IWA) and the Water Institute of South Africa (WISA). WRRMOD2022+ brought together leading global actors in the modelling field to discuss advances in the modelling of Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRF) and to build consensus on debated topics such as digital twins and the validation and calibration of models.  

Kicking off the seminar, the YWP workshop on 18 January consisted of presentations and sessions from junior professionals at the forefront of modelling across the globe. The workshop went through the development and evolution of models in a chronological sequence. The main themes covered were: 

• Origins and advancements of wastewater treatment plant modelling 
• The transition from modelling of treatment to resource recovery and full-scale applications 
• Future of WRRF modelling 
• YWP’s vision for WRRF modelling 

The main takeaways from YWPs after this knowledge-packed workshop were as follows: 

• The context will be crucial in the development of models in the future 
• Information sharing will be the new norm amongst practitioners and researchers
• With the technological advances in modelling and digital water, cybersecurity must be implemented to avoid risks
• To improve models and facilities, better stakeholder engagement is needed as part of the model development process

Having a full-day workshop planned, executed, and fully run by YWPs helped them gain significant skills. The workshop was also an opportunity to create a global community of YWP modellers, with the hope of continuing interactions and engagements as part of this dynamic group of modellers in the future.  

The rest of the seminar was made up of workshops, platform presentations and poster presentations. Some of the topics covered included: 

• Water reuse modelling 
• Hybrid models 
• Digital twins 
• CFD models and more…

Over a hundred participants attended the seminar, which was an overall success with excellent feedback.

The world faces a global sanitation crisis as nearly 4.2 billion people, or more than half of the global population, are still living without access to safely managed sanitation services, which include both sewered and non-sewered/on-site sanitation systems (OSSs). The world is urbanising rapidly: more than half of the global population currently resides in cities and towns. In Africa, particularly, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) – considered the world’s fastest urbanising region – the global share of African urban dwellers is projected to grow from 11.3% in 2010 to 20.2% by 2050. Unfortunately, rapidly urbanising cities and towns in low- and middle-income countries are drastically falling behind in the goal of universal safely managed sanitation services.

Indicator 6.2.1 (a) of the Sustainable Development Goals underscores the importance of “safely managed sanitation services” including faecal sludge management, focusing on the entire sanitation service chain, entailing containment; emptying and transport; treatment; and disposal/re-use. This is just one target out of the six under SDG 6, which are all interlinked and need to be addressed holistically as highlighted in the UN-Water analytical brief. For example, increased access to safely managed sanitation [target 6.2] must be matched by increased wastewater and faecal sludge treatment [target 6.3] if good ambient water quality [target 6.3] and healthy water-related ecosystems [target 6.6] are to be sustained. Thus, when we talk of water resources, what comes to mind and is usually given more attention is the “visible” water resources, while groundwater, an “invisible” resource, is often overlooked.

Source: totabc.org/sdg/clean-water-sanitation

Groundwater is – and will always be – an important resource for sustaining ecosystems. In SSA, over 70% of the population relies on groundwater for domestic use, where about the same population is served by unimproved OSSs, the majority of which are in informal settlements and urban poor households. In Kampala city, less than 10% of the population has access to sewerage services while over 90% are reliant on on-site sanitation systems (OSS).  In informal settlements and low-income areas (hosting 60% of the urban population in Kampala city), the most common drinking water source is groundwater from on-site water supply systems such as shallow wells and protected springs. The percentage of drinking water produced from these sources is higher (greater than 25%) compared to high and medium-income areas. In these areas, pit latrines are the predominant OSS systems and are mostly unimproved with varying quality and standards.

View of Kampala City, Uganda

Questions that remain to be answered are:  What happens when the pit is full? What happens when there are either no toilet facilities or the existing ones are of poor quality? What happens after the toilet is flushed?

The fact of the matter is that faecal sludge generated from the majority of the OSSs is usually unsafely managed, i.e., uncontained, unemptied, and indiscriminately disposed of. Similarly, wastewater is not safely managed due to blockages and overflows in the sewer network, and improper treatment. This results in significant public health risks and pollution of the environment, including contamination of groundwater sources and ecosystems. These challenges are more pronounced in informal settlements and low-income areas, often characterised by high population densities, high housing density, high water table, and prevalence of unimproved sanitation facilities.  The risks for groundwater pollution are significantly higher in informal settlements and low-income areas which are often located in valleys with high groundwater tables (less than 5m) and less than 10m radial distance of sanitation facilities to groundwater sources, as opposed to medium- and high-income areas. Faecal contamination is the most prevalent groundwater contamination hazard due to inadequate, unsafe, and poor-quality sanitary facilities. As is frequently stated, “what doesn’t get measured, definitely doesn’t get managed”.

This must be a wake-up call to water and sanitation sector actors to institute effective regulation, data management, and monitoring mechanisms of service provision, holistically addressing all targets of SDG 6.

Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA), a government agency in charge of managing the city, including waste and sanitation services, has in the recent past made efforts to institute clear and effective regulations to enhance the City-wide Inclusive Sanitation (CWIS) approach to tackle the sanitation service delivery challenges in the city. Given the public health risks and ecosystem pollution associated with poor management of wastewater and faecal sludge, the city authority has instituted the Kampala Capital City Authority (Sewage and Faecal Sludge Management) Ordinance, a regulatory instrument, complemented by minimum standards for onsite sanitation technology options, which offers guidance to inform planning, construction and enforcement of sanitation service provision in Kampala city. These are incremental but significant steps that the city authority has undertaken, among other efforts, to realise the ultimate goal of availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Lessons learned from the International Water Association (IWA) Regulating for City-Wide Inclusive Sanitation initiative emphasise that sanitation – and its administration and delivery – is closely linked to water supply, as well as to solid waste management, drainage, land use planning, and housing development. IWA has recently launched a new initiative on Inclusive Urban Sanitation to further amplify and re-shape this agenda on a global scale.

It is, thus, undoubtedly clear that the increased risk of groundwater contamination is a significant hindrance to meeting SDG 6. This calls for an improved understanding of the status and risks posed by on-site water and sanitation systems, especially in informal settlements and low-income areas. Routine groundwater contamination risk assessment is key to preventing this. Stakeholders at all levels need to adopt more than a “business as usual” approach to accelerate progress as stipulated in the SDG 6 Global Acceleration Framework.  The UN-Water Summit on Groundwater happening in December 2022 aims to bring attention to and amplify the groundwater agenda at the highest international level, noting that “groundwater may be out of sight, but it must not be out of mind”.

As we mark this year’s World Toilet Day, it is imperative to recognise the interdependency of the targets under SDG 6 from a holistic point of view, and most importantly, highlight the link between groundwater and sanitation: making the invisible, visible!

We are nearing a ‘moment’ where digital adoption by many water utilities in low- and middle-income countries is increasingly in reach. Technologies are maturing at the same time as many of the fundamental ingredients needed for adoption are increasingly in place. This blog provides a summary of recent research conducted by the GSMA , delivered in partnership with Water and Sanitation for the Urban Poor (WSUP), on digital adoption by four water utilities in Kenya.

Read the report: Water Utility Digitalisation in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Experiences from the Kenyan water sector

Digital adoption by Kenyan water utilities

The motivation for our work with WSUP stemmed from the fact that we are still unable to answer some very basic questions surrounding digital adoption. What’s the proportion of utilities accepting digital payments, how many have digitalised customer relationships, or use smart meters? We simply don’t have good answers to these questions at the moment. Furthermore, beyond understanding just which specific digitalisation initiatives have been undertaken we have a limited understanding of the processes utilities move through in progressive digitalisation. And as highlighted in a recent systematic review of the literature on LMIC adoption, we are also lacking good data on the costs and benefits of these initiatives.

The work we did was a ‘small N’ study, and looked in-depth at just a few utilities, and in no way addresses all of the big questions above. Nonetheless, it is one of the few pieces that takes a detailed look at digital adoption processes over a longer period. For that reason, we hope that it is a useful resource in drawing attention to LMIC digitalisation and can serve as inspiration for further work.

The four utilities in this research serve three of Kenya’s four largest cities. Combined, they are responsible for the water services of more than six million people, employ over 4,000 people and have an annual turnover of 11 billion Kenyan Shillings (about USD 104 million). In short, they are some of the larger and better-performing water utilities in Kenya. The aims of this work were to build detailed case studies, mapping the use of technology across six key domains, to build a clearer picture of patterns in digital adoption. Though there was of course variation between the utilities we found that generally there were some common progressions at different points in time:

• Pre-2015– the initial stages of digitalisation generally focused on payments and digitalising some specific utility functions like meter reading and billing.

• 2015–2019– here there was more of a focus on overhauling customer relationships and engagement, including web and social media presence. Many utilities also started piloting different smart meters or smart-ready meters and GIS mapping their customers.

• 2019–present– after implementing some of the specific initiatives above, focus shifted more to digital systems, and overhauling their ERP systems to create single digital environments and lay the foundations for more advanced solutions. There was also an increased focus on deploying smart meters for household connections and kiosks.

The full report contains an analysis of the factors that act as a barriers or enablers, and a summary of some key lessons. For the sake of brevity, we do not discuss them in this blog.

Where to next?

As part of the research, five key opportunities were identified for the utilities. These were written in reference to the Kenyan water sector but have been adapted here to highlight their broader relevance.

• Stronger peer learning between utilities could support more effective implementation. In many cases, we observed the experience of one utility held lessons for others. Some of the workshops we hosted were the first time utilities had the opportunity to exchange directly on digitalisation. There is scope here for leadership from a wide range of stakeholders working with utilities to take on this convening role.

• Better documentation of the pros and cons and the costs of digitalisation initiatives would equip utilities to make more informed decisions. Robust data on these are still relatively limited, leaving utilities in the dark in making procurement and investment decisions. Regulators codifying learning in guidance could also be beneficial in many contexts.

• Advanced metering (including PAYG solutions) and network monitoring and control remains frontier tech for many utilities.  In Kenya these were the technologies most likely to address non-revenue water (NRW) losses, which were still only at the piloting stages of implementation.

• Digitally enabled financing solutions are increasingly becoming available. Innovative and flexible financing is already underway as new players emerge and new funds are developed by existing players.

• Stronger partnerships with mobile operators could offer new opportunities. Many of the digital solutions discussed in the report have mobile services at their core, making mobile operators an important partner for utilities, and there is scope to extend these partnerships beyond simple integrations.

While the utilities were selected for their size and as we knew of specific digitalisation initiatives, the research team was genuinely surprised at how far and fast the utilities were moving, with little documentation or attention. Our suspicion is that this is the case with many more utilities across African and Asian markets, and that there is likely much more we have to learn.

There are many encouraging initiatives in this area. For example, the IWA’s Digital Transformation Hub seeks to collect digitalisation case studies from utilities, takes open submissions, and would certainly be enriched through LMIC contributions. At World Water Week 2022 the GSMA will be presenting alongside colleagues from the World Bank who have been doing work on developing a Digital Maturity Tool, and in another session with Aqua for All and National Bank Kenya on their experiences with digitally enabled innovative finance. Looking across regions, the findings from our work in Kenya have striking similarities with those emerging from ADB’s work, highlighted in the recently published comprehensive set of case studies cropping up from their e-Marketplaces on Water Security and Resilience.

While all of this work unquestionably adds much, it’s far from a crowded field, and there’s scope for the wide range of stakeholders that work with utilities – regulators, associations, national ministries, donors, and development banks – to take on leadership roles. From our experience there is also certainly demand for this learning to be packaged in practical guidance for utilities, as many are still at those fundamental first steps in their digitalisation journeys.

About the GSMA 

The GSMA Mobile for Development programme works at the intersection of the mobile ecosystem and the development sector to stimulate digital innovation. For over a decade, we have supported digital innovation through a mix of seed grants to innovators, brokering partnerships with mobile operators, research and insights, and advocacy.

The last decade has seen a phenomenal expansion in connectivity and mobile financial services. In 2021 the mobile money ecosystem passed a major milestone, processing over $1 trillion in payments from 1.3 billion registered accounts. And in 2020 the scales tipped so that a majority of the world, over 4 billion people, accessed the internet through a mobile device; with 94 per cent of the global population is now covered by a mobile broadband network. These two changes in particular are critical enablers for digital adoption. Of course, not all digital solutions in water draw on mobile services, but many do, and this is one of the reasons that we include Digital Utilities as one of our focus areas.