![: Reasons and examples for lack of sanitation during the immediate aftermath [5] Reason Example Location](https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Missaka-Hettiarachchi/publication/237568883/figure/tbl1/AS:667686967181319@1536200386587/Reasons-and-examples-for-lack-of-sanitation-during-the-immediate-aftermath-5-Reason_Q320.jpg)
Content uploaded by Missaka Hettiarachchi
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Missaka Hettiarachchi on May 09, 2017
Content may be subject to copyright.
Sanitation during disaster relief and reconstruction;
the experiences of Asian Tsunami 2004
Missaka Hettiarachchi
Department of Chemical and Process Engineering,
University of Moratuwa,
Sri Lanka
(email: missaka@cheng.mrt.ac.lk, nandalochan@yahoo.co.uk )
Abstract
Sanitation is an issue often neglected in development decision making. This situation becomes
more evident under the extreme conditions of a disaster aftermath, where lack of sanitation can
expand from a mere inconvenience to a full-scale secondary disaster causing epidemic out-
breaks, permanent degradation of water resources and social unrest. Furthermore neglecting the
importance of sanitation during disaster rehabilitation may jeopardize the sustainability of entire
rebuilding projects.
This paper is an attempt to delineate and suggest solutions to the critical problems encountered
in providing proper and adequate sanitation during refugee situations and post-disaster
rehabilitation projects in underdeveloped tropical countries. The author records the experiences
gained in several projects carried out as a partnership of Government and NGO sector
organizations during the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami incident in Sri Lanka. The paper also
discuss how “proper and adequate sanitation” can be ensured through a proper disaster
management framework. The paper would critically review the institutional drawbacks and
failures which lead to the above mentioned unfortunate situations.
Keywords: Disaster Sanitation, Post-disaster rehabilitation, Social Acceptance, Sustainability,
Institutional frameworks, Governance
1. Background
1.1 Disasters and Sanitation
Sanitation was officially identified as a “Basic Human Need” under the Mellenium
Development Goals declared by the UN prior to year 2000. Further efforts are currently
underway to recognize Sanitation as a “Basic Human Right”. The available technology and
know-how in the sanitation sector is sufficient to provide “Proper Sanitation” in any major
geographical/climatic region of the world. Despite all these technical and policy advancements,
sanitation still remains a second priority in development decision making in many developing
countries. This fact becomes woefully evident during disaster relief and rehabilitation.
1431
Access to “Proper and Adequate Sanitation” is a factor that determines the stability of a
community under extreme situations. This makes it an important concern in all the phases of
disaster management. But during many recent disaster situations which occurred in the South /
Southeast Asia, such as the Asian Tsunami of 2004, Great Earth Quake of Pakistan (2005) etc
many failures were recorded in providing access to sanitation. This paper gives a Birdseye View
of how the sanitation issues were handled during the Asian Tsunami aftermath in Sri Lanka
reviewing technology, management systems and institutional aspects.
Any disaster management program can be divided into three phases, which are namely: a)
Immediate relief b) Intermediate rehabilitation and c) Permanent rehabilitation. Provision of
“Access to Proper and Adequate Sanitation” is an important aspect in all three phases, but the
methods, technology and tools applicable may vary significantly from phase to phase. A proper
and adequate sanitation scheme ensures hygiene, minimal environmental impacts, social
acceptability, durability, comfort and safety of the users [7]. The adequacy of a sanitation
scheme may be easily judged by the existing standards on sanitation(disaster guidelines,
regulations etc.), but assessing the appropriateness (“proper”) is not that straightforward and
may differ significantly according to the geography, social setup etc. During the immediate
relief and intermediate rehabilitation phases the adequacy may be defined by disaster guidelines
such as “Sphere Handbook” developed by UNHCR. In the Permanent Rehabilitation Phase the
existing standards and regulations on sanitation in the country would ultimately define the
adequacy.
An appropriate technology, proper awareness on sanitation among all the stakeholders and an
effective framework for implementation should essentially be brought together for success of
any disaster sanitation scheme. Failure to fulfil any of the above requirements would inevitably
lead to an abrupt or gradual failure of the entire scheme (see figure 01).
Again the nature of technology, strategies for
awareness building and the structure of the
management framework may change significantly
among different stages of disaster relief and
reconstruction. The paper will discuss the experience
gained by the author during each phase of Tsunami
relief and rehabilitation in Sri Lanka with regard to
sanitation. It separately takes into account the aspects
of Technology, Awareness and Implementation
Framework for each phase.
Figure 01: Three Components of
Disaster Sanitation
1432
2. Immediate Relief and Intermediate Rehabilitation
2.1 Situation Analysis of 2004 Tsunami
Tsunami wave of December 26th 2004 rendered nearly a million people homeless in the
immediate aftermath. Food & Shelter, Medical attention and Sanitation were the three main
aspects which had to be given focus by the organizations looking after the Internally Displaced
People (IDPs). Although the first two issues were successfully coped with, there is evidence to
believe that post tsunami relief operations failed to ensure access to proper sanitation facilities
for the IDPs in some places. Table 01 gives a list of such typical failures and their causes along
with some actual examples.
Table 01: Reasons and examples for lack of sanitation during the immediate aftermath [5]
Reason Example Location
Large number of IDPs
concentrated in certain
camps
1000 inmates with only one toilet at a
transit camp near Colombo Transit camp at Koralawella
–
Moratuwa managed by
SERV Sri Lanka
Constraint of space 162 IDP families cramped in a 3-4 acre
compound in a IDP camp in Negambo Government IDP camp at
Fisheries Training Centre -
N
egambo
Lack of funds Allocated funds to provide sanitation
facilities are inadequate or diverted to
other needs DO
Unhygienic habits o
f
some groups of inmates Fisher communities in Negambo had poo
r
sanitation habits this lead to a difficulty in
maintaining hygiene in the camps DO
Lack of expertise &
Lack of labor Skilled workers were also among the
affected people in many areas and could
not render their services
IDP Camp Malharus Maha
Vidyala, Sainthamarathu,
Eastern Province
Unsuitable physical
conditions High groundwater level and none-soaking
soils frequently found in the coastal areas
of Sri Lanka made the conventional
disaster latrine techniques inapplicable
DO
Lack of awareness about the importance of sanitation among the institutions involved in disaster
management could also be observed generally in all the effected areas. The institutional capacity
(i.e. Skills or Resources) to handle the issue of sanitation were either inadequate or non-existent.
Therefore many weaknesses were observed during the immediate aftermath of the 2004
Tsunami in Sri Lanka in all the three components of Disaster Sanitation (Technology,
Awareness and Implementation Framework).
1433
2.2 Technology and Practice
The disaster sanitation techniques that were in practice prior to the 2004 Tsunami were confined
mainly to open pit or trench latrine systems. Portable chemical latrines were available in the
country, but were mainly hired by private companies for public events [5]. Provision of
detergents and sanitation chemicals were not taken as an aspect of sanitation, it was looked after
under provision of medical and health supplies. Therefore only the latrine construction
techniques will be reviewed here. Some of the weaknesses of conventional disaster latrine
techniques are given in Table 02.
Table 02: Weaknesses in conventional emergency latrine techniques [5]
Due to the scale and complexity of the Tsunami disaster, the weaknesses of the disaster
sanitation techniques practiced until then became more evident. It was clear that these
techniques should be replaced with a set of scientifically proven and systematic techniques
which are applicable to different site-specific conditions. The author was involved in an
intensive program to develop and implement a set of appropriate sanitation techniques for IDP
camps in the immediate aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami. This was carried-out as a joint project
of Department of Chemical and Process Engineering University of Moratuwa (Sri Lanka),
Department of Civil Engineering University of Peradeniya (Sri Lanka) and Network for Women
Technique Main draw-backs
Temporary pit latrines In most areas the soil was not good for unlined pit latrines. Soil type
found in most of tsunami affected coastal areas (Sandy Regasols) would
easily collapse under self weight due to the low cohesion factor. The
conventional slab and pit configuration can be very dangerous, if the
slab is not constructed under proper supervision.
Shallow Open-trench
latrines Due to the fact that sewage or faeces remain exposed to atmosphere and
insects/vectors (only covered by a thin layer of soil), open trench latrines
may release bad odour and become a threat to public health. This
situation will be aggravated under excessive-use conditions in tsunami
IDP camps. Many elderly inmates as well as small children will find it
difficult and psychologically unfit to use trench latrines.
Portable latrines or
“Portaloos” Both construction and maintenance of Portaloos are expensive in several
folds than other emergency latrine types. Portaloos were not readily
available with any government institution in Sri Lanka. Portaloos are
heavy and bulky structures. The destruction of roads and railways due to
tsunami would have hindered the transport of Portaloos to affected areas
even if they were available.
1434
Water Professionals, Sri Lanka. The project identified the points given in BOX 1 as the essential
characteristics of an appropriate disaster latrine technique;
During the problem identification phase of the project it was observed that construction of lined
pits, construction of sanitary toilet
floors and discharge of effluent
under un-soaking conditions were
the main problem areas. Taking
these into consideration and based
on the above guidelines a series of
disaster latrine techniques called the
Sri Lankan Disaster Latrine (SDL)
Series was developed. There were
four versions in the series (SDL 1 –
SDL Plat).
SDL 1: Main objective of SDL 1
was to provide a successful fast-
construction and low-cost alternative
for brick or concrete lined pits. SDL
1 uses a steel or HDPE barrel in
place of a brick or concrete lined pit. It was calculated that with proper perforation and
providing adequate soakage area a simple 250l steel barrel could be used as a pit for 3- 5 moths
by 20 people. Price of a used barrel is only a fraction of the original fabrication cost but the
strength of the material remains intact.
SDL 2: With the delays in constructing intermediate camps and difficulties in providing
permanent toilets in them, SDL 1 had to be modified to last longer. To extend the usable life
SDL 2 was designed with a provision to for de-sludging and finished with anti-corrosive
treatment so that it could remain underground without corroding for at least one year.
Bother SDL 1 & 2 were successfully constructed and used in two IDP camps in Negambo.
SDL 3: Both SDL 2 and SDL 1 could only deal with site conditions which permit soil soaking.
In places where soils were water logged or none-soaking the effluent after solids retention had
to be released to a surface drain. Therefore a new version had to be developed where the
discharge from the barrel is further treated (secondary treatment) before released into the
environment. After considering several methods available for low-cost insitu treatment of night-
soil, it was decided that attached growth upward anaerobic filter (anaerobic filter) is the best
method for secondary treatment in this case. Therefore SDL 3 was designed as a twin barrel
system where one acts as the septic tank and other as the Upward Anaerobic Filter.
SDL 3 was constructed in a small IDP camp in Moratuwa (20km South of Colombo) only as a
pilot project and was tested for performance.
1. Technically sound and suitable for site
conditions.
2. Hygienic and safe for any category of users.
3. Minimum environmental impacts
4. Low cost of construction and maintenance.
5. Simple technology (both construction and
maintenance) & Minimum requirement of
technical expertise.
6. Local availability of required construction
materials.
7. Quick installation.
8. Social acceptance
BOX 1
1435
SDL – Plat: A prefabricated ferro-cement sanitary platform for toiled floors. SDL plat was
designed in a way that it can be installed within a site in less than 3 hours. But it is a
prefabricated item which should be kept manufactured as disaster preparedness measure.
Figure 02: SDL 1 Figure 03: SDL 2
Vent pipe
Perforated
portion
From
the Pan
Soaking Surface
400 mm
Removal of Slud
g
e
Removable
Lid
From the
Pan
Course
material filling
(35 -50mm)
1
1
Barrel
3
2
5
4
6
7
1- Removable Lid
2- Inlet Pipe
3- Internal plumbing
4- Dispersion bucket
5- Filter media (20 cm
hard rock)
6- Outlet pipe
7- Soaking Trench
Barrel
Figure 04: Sectional view of SDL 3
1436
Table 03: Costs and comparison of different SDL units
Unit Cost
(SLR) Merits Demerits
SDL 1 800.00 Simple, Low-cost, No need to
prefabricate Short life time, not applicable to
waterlogged conditions
SDL 2 1100.00 Simple, No need to
prefabricate, Durable not applicable to waterlogged
conditions
SDL 3 3800.00 Applied to water logged
conditions, Durable Cost is higher than SDL 1& SDL
3, Pre-fabricated unit, Needs
storage space
SDL-Plat 1200.00 Simple, Low-cost, Fast
installation Pre-fabricated unit, Needs storage
space
2.3 Awareness
A general lack of awareness about the importance of sanitation was observed in the disaster
management hierarchy of most organizations during the Tsunami Aftermath. A National
Disaster Management Centre (NDMC) established in 1994 was already in operation at the time,
there were disaster handbooks prepared by this centre for several disaster prone district of the
country (Hambanthota, Rathnapura etc.). The sanitation aspects were mentioned in these
handbooks but the emphasis given to the importance of it was inadequate [2]. Most of the NGOs
involved in disaster management were using the “Sphere handbook” as their guideline, although
the “Sphere Handbook” gives sufficient emphasis to the importance of sanitation most of the
organisations failed to incorporate the provision of “proper and adequate sanitation” into their
“Immediate Relief” check lists. In certain IDP camps some level of access to sanitation was
provided but no attempts were made to assess the appropriateness or adequacy of these
facilities.
F
i
g
ure 05: SDL – Plat and
f
ormwor
k
Two pieced formwork for SDL-Plat
All dimensions are in millimetres
1437
2.4 Implementation Framework
A disaster management act was passed by the parliament of Sri Lanka in October 2005, mainly
to cater for the grave concerns which emerged in the aftermath of the 2004 Tsunami. With this
act a new Disaster Management Centre (DMC) was established under the Ministry of Disaster
Management with a clear and nationwide mandate than its predecessor NDMC which was under
the Ministry of Social Welfare. It is commendable that the organizational structure of DMC
integrates the government institutions relevant to all aspects of disaster management. Figure 07
gives the Institutional Frame work for Disaster Response and Mitigation under the Disaster
Management Act. Not taking into account the role of NGOs and CBOs whose contribution is
immense at ground level implementation of disaster relief, is a notable drawback of this
proposed institutional framework. Furthermore the arrangement is based mainly on vertical
integration; lack of cross sectional consultation and delegation might lead into failures in
practice.
From the experience of the 2004 Tsunami the author contends that a DRM program should have
a mechanism embedded in its framework for providing access to proper sanitation to affected
people. The main features of such a mechanism should be,
1. Preparedness ahead of the disaster
2. Training of volunteer foremen/technicians
3. Awareness material and Training kits
Figure 07: Institutional Framework for Disaster Response and Mitigation Proposed by the
Disaster Management Act of Sri Lanka
1438
4. One subject agency to look after the implementation of work
5. Locations to store equipment and supplies during the pre-disaster period
6. Networking for Technical Support
7. Monitoring and Evaluation
8. Research and Development
Figure 08 gives a generic structure for such a framework. This was suggested as a sub-layer for
the main DRM framework given by fig 07. The agency in charge of sanitation (subject agency)
should preferably be a central government organization like the National Water Supply and
Drainage Board (NWS&DB) which has the expertise and resources at local levels. The
partnerships of local administrative authorities and CBOs, NGOs or Cooperatives are essential
at community level to operate during a disaster. These partnerships can be assisted and
overlooked by the Subject Agency. There should be some pre-identified organizations to
provide technical support and R & D, learning from each disaster faced. The agency responsible
for sanitation may have its own technical expertise, but it’s always better to have relationships
with other organizations such as State Universities for research and development work.
3. Permanent Rehabilitation
3.1 Situation Analysis of 2004 Tsunami
With the constrains encountered in allocating land for Tsunami permanent reconstruction
projects, the “Environmental Suitability” naturally became a secondary concern. Once the
construction of some of these projects started the environmental problems began to get
Central Agency
DMC
Subject Agencies
Local Administrative
Authorities
Network Partners
Volunteer
Foreman
Local
Relief
Officers
Volunteer
Relief
Workers
Technical Support
1
2 3
4
Figure 08: Implementation Framework for
Diasaster Sanitation
1439
highlighted. The author was involved in a study to investigate the potential environmental
impacts of proposed permanent housing schemes for Tsunami Affected People. One of the
major causes of pollution highlighted in this study was the possibility of ground & surface water
contamination due to improper sanitation methods/ techniques used. Out of total number of
housing projects investigated under this study approximately about 55% had sanitation related
problems. The percentage was as high as 90% in Trincomalee district whereas it was less than
10% in the Gampaha district. Most of these problems were related to;
Improper disposal system: Soils soaking systems introduced in low permeability, water logged
soils or excessively drained soils
Incorrect design: Incorrect sizing of tanks and soakage pits. Incompatibility with national
standards. Inadequate setback distances.
Durability of Structures: Poor material selection, poor workmanship.
It should be noted that these weaknesses were not only encountered in the projects where design
or construction was generally poor, but also in some sites where other aspects of design were
quite satisfactory. Most of the problems were related to the back-end (disposal system) of
latrines. In many cases where attached toilets were provided the front-end (superstructure) of
latrine was considerably well designed and constructed.
3.2 Technology and Practice
The most established form of permanent sanitation in Sri Lanka is the onsite soil soaking
system. Most of these latrines are single pit systems where solid accumulation and soaking
happens in the same pit. Simple pit latrines are still in use but gradually disappearing due to
their proven hazards and lack of hygiene. Apart from this Septic tank and Soakage pit systems
are also widely used. Septic tanks followed by secondary and tertiary treatment systems such as
Anaerobic Filters, Horizontal Flow Wetlands, Vertical Flow Wetlands and Percolation Beds are
being introduced at different levels but are yet to enter the wide practice. Ecological sanitation
methods are also being experimented with various communities of the country mainly in areas
where conventional water borne sanitation systems are not applicable [3].
There are several guidelines and regulations governing the design and construction of septic
systems and soak ways in Sri Lanka. The most comprehensive one out of these is the National
Standard SLS 745 of 2003. The Wastewater Manual of National Water Supply and Drainage
Board and the Manual for the Sri Lanka Public Health Inspector published by the Ministry of
Health are the other guidelines available. Apart from this the National Housing Development
Authority (Sri Lanka) published a guideline (CFRR Manual) on housing reconstruction for
Tsunami Rehabilitation Projects, this also included a section on sanitation [6].
Although it’s difficult to give an exact percentage, no soil permeability tests had been carried
out before the design of soak-ways in most Tsunami Reconstruction Projects. Spacing of the
1440
soakage pits were insufficient in some projects especially in Galle, Kaluthara and Trincomalee
districts because the land allocated for a single plot was small. The typical shortcomings related
to design and construction of sanitation facilities were mainly caused by the following reasons;
1. Lack of knowledge about the sanitation techniques and methods available
2. Lack of awareness about the existing standards and regulations on sanitation in the
country
3. Inadequate professional input in design and construction supervision
4. Ineffective monitoring by the relevant authorities (i.e. Environmental Officers/PHI of
Local Authorities, Central Environmental Authority etc.)
5. Absence of a proper mechanism to evaluate the appropriateness of the sanitation
facilities by the approving agency of the project.
It should also be noted that although the Sri Lankan regulations take the micro level pollution of
groundwater by a single toilet into account, none of them cover the macro-level impact of large
scale onsite disposal of sewage into a given aquifer. Therefore even the housing schemes which
comply with the national regulations can contribute towards a long term degradation of the
aquifer especially because most of the lowland aquifers near the coastal areas of Sri Lanka are
discontinuous and highly sensitive to local impacts. The situation will be critical in the Jaffna
Peninsula where a confined sedimentary limestone domain aquifer is present [1].
3.3 Awareness
The average sanitation coverage (Improved Access to Sanitation) of Sri Lanka is as high as
72.6%, but some areas affected by the 2004 Tsunami were fishing villages where sanitation
coverage were particularly poor. Some of these areas (e.g Some parts of Duwa area Negambo)
had zero coverage and open defecation was the standard practice in the sanitation culture of
these communities. Therefore it was important to improve the sanitation awareness of the IDPs
while they are in the Intermediate relief camps. There were some efforts made by the IDP camp
mangers to accomplish this objective. Different strategies used by them for this purpose ranged
from direct lectures to street dramas and film shows.
But unlike in the case of immediate relief & intermediate rehabilitation the institutions involved
in Permanent Rehabilitation work had a basic understanding about the importance of providing
access to sanitation. The shortcomings in awareness for them were as follows;
1. Inability to assess the appropriateness of sanitation techniques
2. Lack of awareness about the different technical options available in Sri Lanka for
providing sanitation
3. Poor understanding about the environmental problems related to inadequate & improper
sanitation
1441
Therefore it is important to ensure a substantial improvement of sanitation literacy among the
building industry professionals in coming years to avoid the repetition of mistakes and blunders
made in the 2004 Tsunami rehabilitation work.
3.4 Implementation Framework
Developing an implementation framework for long term disaster rehabilitation is not as
straightforward as in the case of Immediate and Intermediate Disaster Relief. It is difficult to
coordinate the entire process through a central agency like a Disaster Management Centre.
Usually long term rehabilitation work takes place in the form of any other development program
and a Central Agency such as the DMC in Sri Lanka will bear only a monitoring responsibility.
Therefore ensuring access to Proper and Adequate Sanitation in the Permanent Rehabilitation
Phase of Disaster Management has more to do with awareness building and improving the Skill
levels and Capacities of the Institutions (Government or Non-governmental) with regard to
sanitation aspects.
4. Conclusions
Many weaknesses and drawbacks were observed with regard to ensuring access to Proper and
Adequate Sanitation during all three phases of the 2004 Tsunami disaster management process.
The resulting failures extended from inconveniences for IDPs in the immediate response stage
to considerable waste of resources in the permanent rehabilitation stage. From the observations
made by the author it is clear that the technical resources available for providing disaster and
permanent sanitation in Sri Lanka is satisfactory, the weaknesses exist mainly in the awareness
and the implementation frame work of the institutions involved in disaster management.
Improvement of Sanitation Literacy among general public is also an important requirement.
Furthermore it was observed that a direct intervention and implementation approach will be
affective in providing access to sanitation during the Immediate Response and Intermediate
rehabilitation stages whereas a more indirect approach which involves awareness & capacity
building, development of proper documents on sanitation standards and regulations etc. should
be followed in the permanent rehabilitation stage. Mainstreaming the aspect of sanitation in
Disaster Management decision making in the country should be the ultimate objective of this
whole process.
References
[1] D R I B Werellagama, Gemunu Herath, Missaka Hettiarachchi and Shiroma Basnayake Safe
Distance between a dinking well and a source of fecal pollution for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka:
National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Sri Lanka, 48 pp, 2004.
[2] District Disaster Preparedness and Response Plan - Hambantota, UNDP, Sri Lanka, 2004
[3] Herath N., Manual 1: Latrine Construction, Helvetas, Sri Lank,2001
1442
[4] Herath, H.M.S.S.D. (Ed.) (1989) A Manual for the Sri Lanka Public Health Inspector,
Ministry of Health, Sri Lanka
[5] Missaka Hettiarachchi and D R I B Warellagama, Improving Access to Better Sanitation
during Disaster Situations through Low Cost and Fast Construction Sanitation Solutions,
ENGINEER, IESL 2005, vol-4, Sri Lanka
[6] Missaka Hettiarachchi and Induni Hettiarachchi, A comparison of guidelines on septic tanks
and soakage systems in Sri Lanka, 32nd WEDC Conference, Nov. 2006, Colombo, Sri Lanka
[7] Peter Havey, Sohrab Bhagri and Bob Reed, Emergency Sanitation, WEDC,
Loaghbourough,2002, ISBN1 83380 005 5
1443
