Grantee Research Project Results

Final Report: Pathogen Reduction with Sustainable and Appropriate Technology for a Secondary School Sanitation Facility in Azové, Benin

EPA Grant Number: SU831834
Title: Pathogen Reduction with Sustainable and Appropriate Technology for a Secondary School Sanitation Facility in Azové, Benin
Investigators: Striebig, Bradley A. , Dacquisto, John F. , Langenhuizen, Brendon , Olson, Christa , Hardy, Danielle , Culbreth, Ian , Rowden, Katherine , Hall, Katie , Boger, Kevin , Raleigh, Mark , Fagnant, Thomas , Jantzen, Tyler
Institution: Gonzaga University
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: September 1, 2004 through May 30, 2005
Project Amount: $10,000
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2004) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , Drinking Water , P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources , Sustainable and Healthy Communities

Objective:

Azové is located in the coastal region of western Benin near the border with Togo. The village is comprised primarily of Aja and Fon people. Less than 10,000 people live in Azové and the surrounding area. Over 1,200 seventh to tenth grade students attend the College d’Enseignment Generale (CEG) School in Azové. CEG Azové is located at N6 57.03 1 El 4 1.809 at an elevation of 151m(496ft).

Like most children in the developing world, the students at CEG lack access to clean water and basic sanitation facilities.¹ Sustainable and appropriate technologies were utilized to reduce pathogens associated with student practices at the CEG. A potable water supply for drinking water and a waste treatment system for the school were designed and evaluated. Pathogens were removed from water with a ceramic filter and pathogens were destroyed in wastewater solids through the composting processes.

This community-focused project directly addressed seven of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) set by the United Nations (UN).² The P3 design objectives were to:

• Establish a readily available source of water for drinking and handwashing.
• Design a facility for collecting and treating solid and liquid human wastes.
• Reduce exposure and subsequent illness due to intestinal parasites and disease.

The scope of the Phase I design effort included a site visit, water transport and treatment, treatment of human wastes, and the structural design for the facility. The unique combination of ceramic filters for drinking water and composting toilets for pathogen reduction promotes sustainable resource consumption and will decrease disease.

Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):

A site visit to the CEG confirmed that water and sanitation are priorities of the school board and parents of the children at the school. Both the need and desire for clean water and improved sanitation was apparent. The skills and materials needed to build the structure and treatment systems were also available in the region.

The quantity of water available at CEG was sufficient; however, the water was contaminated with microorganisms that commonly indicate sewerage contamination as shown in Table 1. Ceramic filters, called Filtrons, were affordable, available regionally in Ghana, and significantly reduced the concentrations of parasites and pathogens in drinking water. Additional reductions in source contamination were achieved with composting toilets. The composting toilets can be manufactured from locally available materials and used to collect and treat human wastes.

Table 1: Demonstrated reduction in microbial contaminants with Filtron ceramic water filters and composting toilets

Contaminant	Water at CEG Azové (MPN/100 ml)	Percent Reduction Filtron Composting Toilets	Expected Reduction in Exposure*
Fecal Coliforms	20	>98.9 99.999	>109
Total Coliforms	1600	>98.9 0	>103
E. Coli	NA	>98.9 90	>104
Pathogens (H2S producing bacteria)	>8	>98.9 90	>104
Streptococci	NA	>98.9 NA	>103
pH	6.36 ±0.06	NA NA	NA
Arsenic	ND(<10ppb)	ND ND	NA

NA data was not available
* - assumes consumption of 800 ml of water per day and exposure to 100 ml of residual wastes

Upon implementation, exposure to pathogenic organisms is expected to decrease by a factor of 10³ to 10⁹ each day! Disease prevention will be accomplished with systems that are affordable to individual families. When technologies are transferred to the community at large, sickness and death from water-borne disease will be significantly reduced.

Conclusions:

The site assessment confirmed students at CEG do not have adequate supplies of clean water or sanitation facilities. The current water supply at CEG has a higher risk of disease associated with it than the sewerage influent to the wastewater treatment plant in Spokane, WA. Protecting the health of the students at CEG was the school board’s highest priority. Providing the students with potable water and sanitation was also a high priority of the school board, especially when the associated health risks were explained.

• The important link between contaminated water and sanitation practices was discussed with school board members and teachers at CEG Azové.
• A source of water was ascertained.
• A water treatment system that was appropriate, economical, and effective at reducing microbial contaminants in the water was designed.
• A waste treatment system that successfully contained and reduced microbial contaminants associated with human wastes was designed.
• The structural details and construction drawings for a building, water treatment systems, and human waste treatment systems were completed.
• The design incorporated local practices and building materials.
• The sanitation facility, when implemented, will reduce student exposure to pathogenic organisms and parasites at the school.

The educational outcomes demonstrated by this project were exceptional. A survey was conducted that included professional engineers and students in the School of Engineering. Junior and senior students were encouraged to consider sustainability issues in design and problems associated with water and sanitation in the developing world. Professional engineers reported that the project successfully demonstrated the importance of sustainability in design and greatly increased the value of students’ education. This value has also been demonstrated by the number of employment opportunities offered to P3 participants compared to their peers.

In addition to the quantifiable educational outcomes, there was a more important transformation of student viewpoints. Brendon, Christa, Danielle, Ian, Katherine, Katie, Kevin, Mark, Tom and Tyler actively participated in the EPA P3 grant program and developed a much deeper understanding of the difficulties of designing sustainable solutions to promote people, prosperity and the planet. These students came to fully appreciate the impact their talents and education has had on individuals half-way around the world. That realization has impacted the students’ career choices, which include graduate research and work in developing countries.

The Phase II project will encourage another group of students to consider the importance sustainability plays in project design and implementation. The Phase 11 project scope will allow full implementation of the Phase I design. The Phase II project will significantly reduce the risk of disease for students at CEG.

Proposed Phase II Objectives and Strategies

The sanitation facility at CEG in Azové, will be a sustainable system that utilizes locally available materials and appropriate technologies. Technology transfer of the design will also develop economic opportunities in the community. EWB-Gonzaga’s Phase II project goals are to:

• Construct the sanitation facility at CEG Azové.
• Provide pathogen-free drinking water.
• Collect and treat human wastes.
• Reduce exposure and subsequent illness associated with water-borne disease for the CEG students (shown in Figure 1).
• Increase economic opportunities via technology transfer of ceramic water filters, composting toilets, compost, and water quality information.
• Stimulate interest in sustainability, water, and sanitation issues within the developing world by incorporating this project into the engineering curriculum.

Figure 1: CEG Azové students after school on November 23^rd, 2004.

The EPA Phase I grant allowed EWB-Gonzaga to complete the first step in a decade-long commitment to the Azové community. International aid programs have demonstrated the importance of long term involvement in water and sanitation development. These experiences have also demonstrated the importance of listening to and learning from the Azové community. In Phase 1, a plan to provide basic needs for the children in Azové based upon the requests of village leaders was developed. In Phase II we will implement the Phase I design and demonstrate the technologies to the communities. Once the CEG staff gains confidence in this commitment through implementation of Phase II, the level of trust will increase and a foundation for additional water, sanitation, health, and education projects will be firmly established. Subsequent work will involve long term follow-up of the systems installed to ensure their utility, improve the design, and transfer the design into primary schools and homes in Azové and surrounding communities.

Journal Articles:

No journal articles submitted with this report: View all 11 publications for this project

Supplemental Keywords:

Sustainable engineering, health, education, educational outcomes, Filtron, composting toilets, washwater garden, coliforms, helminths, pathogens, and cholera,, RFA, Scientific Discipline, PHYSICAL ASPECTS, TREATMENT/CONTROL, Water, POLLUTANTS/TOXICS, Health Risk Assessment, Physical Processes, Water Pollution Control, Wastewater, Environmental Microbiology, Arsenic, Microorganisms, Drinking Water, Water Pollutants, viability methods, treatment, microbiological organisms, natural waters, microbial risk management, parasites, pathogens, monitoring, aqueous waste stream, drinking water treatment, drinking water system, drinking water contaminants, water treatment, exposure, ceramic filters, waterborne disease, wastewater treatment, ceramic filter, environmental chemistry, adaptive technology, exposure and effects, bacteria

Relevant Websites:

http://barney.gonzaga.edu/~ewb/ Exit
http://www.ewb-usa.org/ewb/project/display.do?mode=display&ID=96 Exit