afrialliancesocialinnovationInnovation in water reuse and the potential of new water resources

The overall objective of the AfriAlliance Social In-novation Factsheets (SIF) is to highlight innovation op-portunities that scientists NGOs managers and SMEs can act upon in order to foster short-term improve-ments in the preparedness of African stakeholders for water and climate change challenges

Over the duration of AfriAlliance (2016-2021) four sets of SIFs will be delivered Each set will cover one main theme and explore it across five Social Innova-tion Factsheets CC proof IWRM is the main theme of this second series of SIFs covering the following five sub-themes

Innovation in water reuse and the potential of new water resources (this SIF)

Water use efficiency

Local knowledge amp climate change adaptation

Ecosystem based approaches amp Ecosystem ser-vicesIntegrated Water Resources Management at river-basin scale

As detailed below social innovation combines four dimensions technological governance capacity deve-lopment and business road map Each is described in a specific section of this thematic SIF

DESCRIPTION

In order to satisfy the increasing demands for water communities in Africa and across the world are turning to non-traditional water resources such as treated was-tewater or agricultural drainage water While demands are increasing for both urban (domestic industrial) and agricultural use traditional water resources are often facing

depletion and are under threat of pollu-tion Climate change population growth and urbanisation make the demand- supply balance even less favourable par-ticularly in many African countries

Traditional sources such as natural groundwater and surface water bodies or artificial dams could be augmented by treated wastewater agricultural drainage water desalinated seawater or brackish groundwater These options often require

extensive and complicated infrastructure However this is not the case for decentra-lised harvesting of rainwater urban storm water or household wastewater Although wastewater is a potential public health risk it is increasingly also perceived as a poten-tial alternative resource Recent technological innovations can be applied either in large scale treatment plants or at decentralised scale The latter is especially promising for cities without or with poor sewer systems

Most wastewater actually goes untreated (75 around the world gt95 for sub-Saharan Africa [a]) and is not reused or if it is it is usually done so in an un-safe manner Barriers for water reuse projects around the world include the lack of knowledge regarding innovative technologies of realistic risk assessments of public knowledge and acceptance There is also a need for better documentation of the bene-fits of water reuse in order to generate support by regulators and politicians to free up funds for investment For case studies see the WASLA network ([b])

1

2

3

4

SOCIETAL CHALLENGESIN AFRICA DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE

bull Given the manifestations of Climate Change and the constraints of ecosystems as well as socio-economic systems the societal challenges in Africa are to

ndash ensure food security water security and energy security and the balance among them (short term)

ndash transform into a low carbon resilient and sustainable society (long term)

5

SOCIAL INNOVATIONbull In AfriAlliance social innovation means tackling societal water-related challenges arising from Climate Change by combining the technological amp non-technological dimensions of innovation

bull Social innovation refers to those processes and outcomes focussed on addressing societal goals unsatisfied collective needs or societal ndash as opposed to mere economic ndash returns It is particularly salient in the context of the complex and cross-cutting challenges that need to be addressed in the field of water and Climate Change ndash and which will not be met by relying on market signals alone

bull Social innovation consists of new combina-tions (or hybrids of existing and new) products processes and services In order to succeed social innovation needs to pay attention to tech-nological as well as non-technological dimen-sions 1) technology 2) capacity development 3) governance structures and 4) business road map As such these four dimensions of the social innovation process cut across organisa-tional sectoral and disciplinary boundaries and imply new patterns of stakeholder involvement and learning

bull The success of social innovation is reliant on the accountability of diverse stakeholders and across all government levels

Social Innovation Factsheet

2 bullCLIMATE CHANGE

PROOF IWRM

1AfriAlliance

AfriAlliance is a five year project funded by the European Unionrsquos Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme AfriAlliance faci-litates the collaboration of African and European stakeholders in the areas of water and climate innovation research policy and capacity development by supporting knowledge sharing and technology trans-fer

Rather than creating new networks the 16 European and African partners in this project consolidate existing ones The ultimate objec-tive is to strengthen African preparedness for future climate change challenges AfriAlliance is led by the IHE Delft Institute for Water Edu-cation (Project Director Dr Uta Wehn) and runs from 2016 to 2021

Website httpafriallianceorg

AfriAlliance activities Africa-EU cooperation is taken to a practical level by identifying (non-)

technological innovation and solutions for local needs and challenges AfriAlliance also identifies constraints and develops strategic advice for improving collaboration within Africa and between Africa and the EU

To help improve water and climate Monitoring amp Forecasting in Africa AfriAlliance is developping a triple sensor approach whereby water and climate data from three independent sources are geo-spa-tially collocated space-based (satellites) in-situ hydro-meteorological station observation networks and data collected by citizens

Sharing of knowledge is facilitated through a series of events and through an innovative online platform Demand-driven AfriAlliance lsquoAc-tion Groupsrsquo bring together African and European peers with relevant knowledge and expertise to work jointly towards solutions

Realisation Authors Peter van der Steen (IHE Delft) Uta When (IHE Delft)

Contributors Natacha Amorsi (OIEau) Edouard Boinet (INBO) An-geles Mendoza-Sammet (IHE) David Smith (WEampB)

Graphic Design OIEau

Version May 2019

References

DESCRIPTION

[a] WHOUNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply Sani-tation and Hygiene Update 2017 Retrieved January 2019 from httpswashdataorgdatacountryWLDdownload[b] AWASLA The Africa Water and Sanitation Local Authorities Network case studies profile locally-based projects and actions supporting sus-tainability in the water and sanitation sector in Africa Available online at httpwwwawaslaorgpublications-casestudies

TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS

[c] ISIDIMA The DEWdrop system Available from httpswwwisidimanetdewdrop[d] eThekwini Municipality and University of Kwazulu Natal The Newlands Mashu Research site Available from httpswwweawagchfileadminDo-main1Abteilungenengprojektevuna doc Newlands_Brochurepdf [e] Valley View University Available online at httpsecologyvvuedughindexphp

CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

[j] Vallejo B and Wehn U (2015) Capacity Development Evaluation The Challenge of the Results Agenda and Measuring Return on Invest-ment in Capacity Development in the Global South World Develop-ment Vol 79 pp1-13 doi101016jworlddev201510044[k] Wehn U (2015) The Global Context National Capacity Develop-ment Strategies Tailor Made Training for contact points of Ugandarsquos National Water and Environment Capacity Development Strategy in collaboration with the Ministry for Water and Environment (Uganda) Kampala Uganda 10-11 November[l] httpwwwresilientafricaorg[m] httpswwwwhointwater_sanitation_healthpublicationspubli-cation_9789241562638en

GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES

[f] Lautze J de Silva S Giordano M Sanford L (2011) Putting the cart before the horse Water governance and IWRM Natural Resources Forum 35 1-8

[g] Wehn U (2017) Digital transformations and the governance of human societies presentation at EC Joint Research Centre ISPRA Italy 7 April

[h] WHO Sanitation safety planning manual for safe use and disposal of wastewater greywater and excreta Retrieved January 2019 from httpswwwwhointwater_sanitation _healthpublicationsssp-ma-nualen

[i] Ministry of Water and Irrigation of Jordan (2016) Decentralized Wastewater Management Policy Retrieved January 2019 from httpwwwmwigovjo

LIST OF ACRONYMS

bull CC Climate Change bull CD Capacity development bull FAO Food and Agriculture Organization bull IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management bull SIF Social Innovation Factsheet

bull WHO World Health Organization

Further reading Presentation of

AFRIALLIANCE HAS RECEIVED FUNDING FROM THE EUROPEAN UNIONrsquoS HORIZON 2020 RESEARCH AND INNOVATION PROGRAMME UNDER GRANT AGREEMENT NO 689162

An alternative local water source that can replace the transfer of water over large distances is rainwater collected from roofs In combi-nation with lsquopoint-of-usersquo water filtration systems this is an interes-ting option for the decentralised supply of drinking water provided that sufficient disinfection is achieved

A good way to save water at household level is through various types of dry toilets both traditional and innovative Provided that the users support these choices and health and hygiene are ensured these are ex-cellent ways to reduce water consumption

In case of water based sanitation the separation between grey (kitchen laundry) black (toilet) and yellow (urine) waters opens up more effective ways of treatment and reuse Grey wastewater has low pathogen content and therefore requires little treatment before local reuse Black wastewater is very small in volume and can be converted into biogas while yellow wastewater can be recovered to form the basis for fertilisers

Good governance of non-traditional water resource systems such as wastewater reclamation is in the first place essential to select a proper technology and then to plan and implement its construction and opera-tion jointly with stakeholders

Governance structure may address water scarcity at the level of a country region or down to a village or a farmland The ministry in charge of a countryrsquos water balance may decide to increase the use of non-traditional water resources Seawater desalination can only be implemented as part of such a national strategy and requires large investments Wastewater recycling of large cities (ie Amman Cairo

In order to strengthen the capacity to plan and implement projects for the reuse of (waste) water and the use of non-traditional water re-sources the key aspects are

mdash For national water ministries to realistically assess the (future) potential of the various non-traditional resources and to prepare policies that help water utilities and regional water authorities to develop these resources A pre-requisite is reliable data for calcula-ting the national water balance The Resilient Africa Tool ([l]) can be used to support decision-makers and planners to make adaptation plans based on climate scenarios In-house capacity is required to make this an inclusive and holistic process that considers relevant stakeholders identifies affected sectors analyses risks and deve-lops adaptation options and SMART goals

mdash For public health and environmental authorities to ensure that the water quality of these water resources is fit for the intended pur-poses The capacity to monitor water quality and to manage risks using a risk management approach as is advocated by the WHO in the Water Safety Planning manual ([m])

mdash For implementing organisations such as water utilities and municipalities capacity is required to develop projects

that are sustainable in the broadest sense of the word ie in terms of environmental impact financial economic and social aspects and stakeholder buy-in

In many countries wastewater treatment plants are not well maintained and operated below standards The reuse of treated wastewater turn farmers or their organisations into clients with a

strong interest in the proper treatment of the wastewater These clients may pressure wastewater utilities to improve or maintain standards of good operation Balancing these interests requires the capacity to implement an integrated approach that goes beyond traditional borders of sanitary engineering

An example of a grey wastewater treatment technology is the DEW-drop system that uses biological treatment and indigenous plants to pro-duce an lsquoon-taprsquo supply of recycled water suitable for toilet flushing and

garden watering ([c] ISIDIMA) An example of the production of biogas and struvite-fertiliser (a precipitate containing nitrogen and phosphorous) is taken from the decentralised DEWATS system (Decentralised Wastewa-ter Treatment System was successfully demonstrated in eThekwini (South Africa [d]) At Valley View University in Ghana a similar system produces biogas for cooking in the central kitchen ([e])

Less complicated technologically includes constructed wetlands which are biological filters that can often be integrated into the urban landscape The subsurface flow prevents breeding of mosquitorsquos or other nuisances in standing water The effluent of a well-de-signed filter can also be reused (ie toilet flushing)

Tel Aviv Nairobi etc) also require large infrastructure projects and resources On the other hand brackish groundwater desalination could be the initiative of one commercial farmer Wastewater reuse could be a project of a village neighbourhood or even a household

For both large-scale centralised wastewater reuse schemes and de-centralised initiatives it is important that the public health authorities control and manage health risks to acceptable levels The WHOrsquos Sani-tation Safety Planning Manual for safe use and disposal of wastewater greywater and excreta ([h]) can support water and health regulators and policy-makers to develop national policies and regulations

Projects for the reuse of treated wastewater combine environmen-tal protection and the recovery of a resource Environmental protection can only be achieved sustainably if the polluter-pays-principle is ef-fectively implemented Resource recovery may recover some of the costs for treatment but even with todayrsquos innovations the economic value of wastewater is negative and therefore payment for treatment is necessary

The application of decentralised infrastructure provides the possi-bility for small scale local companies to enter this market Large scale infrastructure is often implemented by international consortia limiting local economic benefits At country level it is recommended to develop a policy on where large scale sewer-treatment-reuse systems should be applied with preferably decentralised small scale systems ([i])

The scheme below highlights the key business opportunities that exist at the different stages indicating key activities and their socio-en-vironmental values for co-creators

TECHNOLOGICAL SOLUTIONS CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT

GOVERNANCE STRUCTURES BUSINESS ROAD MAP

Innovative nature-based technologies unlock the potential of resource recovery from waste water Technologies ranging from improved septic-tanks to membrane bioreactors are now applied at decentralised scales and produce water for landscaping toilet flushing or peri- urban agriculture

laquo Governance is essentially the processes and institutions through which decisions are made raquo [f]

laquoCapacity Development (CD) is conceived as the inherent responsibility of peopleorganisations and societies themselves in which support by external parties

can play an important roleraquo [j]

Social innovation relies on means other than market mechanismsin order to link the demand and supply sides

Stakeholders from both sides (solution providers and potential users) need to interact during the different stages of the innovation process to create a common ground for the co-production of the re-quired knowledge from the comprehension of the need to the design implementation and use of innovative solutions

source [g]

The lsquopolluter paysrsquo principle is an environmental policy principle which requires that the costs of pollution be borne by those who cause it

source [k]