We present the July 2009 issue of our electronic newsletter on DEWATS Information for Sustainable Habitation “e-Disha”. It is our endeavor to promote decentralised basic need services as environmental sustainable solutions to the sanitation. We look forward to your continued support in creating a wider network for promoting decentralised basic need services in our country through various training Programmes. Let us put in renewed efforts towards realising the MDG’s and also to achieve these goals.
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Written By Ashish Kumbhare
BORDA Partner - CDD Society

A half-day Introductory Seminar on ‘Decentralised Approaches to Wastewater Treatment’ was conducted by the Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination (CDD) Society in collaboration with the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) on Saturday, 20^th June at the Auditorium of the KSPCB, Bangalore.

This Seminar aimed to provide a forum to business entities and professionals in the housing and construction industry to learn about decentralised wastewater treatment solutions and understand their role in the emerging era of green technologies. The participants were mostly real estate developers, housing and construction project developers, consulting architects, city and town planners, government officials and professionals from not-for-profit organisations.

Written by Anwaar Ashraf
BORDA Partner CDD Regional Co-operation Office, Nagpur

Recently the CDD RCO representatives visited Pune to check the status of the DEWATS plants there. During the visit, CDD representatives met Mr. Anil S. Gujar, Secretary, Maharashtra Arogya Mandal at Sane Guruji Ayurvedic Hospital, Hadapsar, to obtain the status of DEWATS plant implemented there.

Written by Anwaar Ashraf
BORDA Partner CDD Regional Co-operation Office, Nagpur

On 2^nd April, 2009, the CDD Regional Co-operation Office Project Engineer and Social Work Coordinator visited the Sulabh International Toilet complex located in the State Transport Bus Stand, Saoner and conducted a pre-feasibility study. An enquiry was received from Sulabh International, who evinced interest to integrate DEWATS as the only option to address the problem of wastewater treatment.

Written by Anwaar Ashraf
BORDA Partner CDD Regional Co-operation Office, Nagpur

CDD Society has implemented three DEWATS plants in Kolhapur. Two of these plants have been completed in  May 2008. To review these plants, CDD Regional office representatives visited Kolhapur on 4^th May, 2009. The first visit was to the Rajendra Nagar community-based sanitation unit integrated with DEWATS. During the visit, the maintenance of DEWATS units has been done.

Awareness Campaign on Solid Waste and Garbage Disposal Problems and its Management in Leh, Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir
Written by Pranai Thapa
BORDA Partner - LEDeG

The Ladakh region consists of one of the most fragile ecological areas in the entire Himalayan range. The ecology of this Region is directly related to the livelihoods of people there. The recent rapid economic developments in the Region have slowly begun to impact negatively on the surrounding environment. Numerous negative impacts such as glacial recession, scarcity of water resources, water pollution and change in climatic patterns are now visible. Another major problem that equally threatens the environment is solid waste or garbage disposal problems and its management in the small towns of the Ladakh region. 

Written by Dominik Hock
BORDA Network Partner CDD Regional Cooperation Office - Chennai

Bramadesam School as well as Nagar School are two schools located in the district of Villupuram in Tamil Nadu, a 45-minute drive from Auroville. Due to the close connection of CDD Regional office to local partners, in this case to the Auroville based Eco-Pro, CDD RCO Chennai was requested to assess the possibility of treating the sewage water generated at the schools by means of DEWATS.CDD RCO Chennai conducted a site visit on June 04^th 2009 to both locations, accompanied by Dr. Lucas Dengel (CEO, Eco Pro), Mrs. P. Sumathy (Technical Officer, Eco Pro) and Max Schuh, a German student of Environmental Studies.

Written by Ashish Kumbhare
BORDA Partner – CDD Society

A national-level conference and exhibition on “Urban Eco-Planning and Energy Efficiency in the Urban Sector” was held in Bangalore on the 5^th & 6^th June, 2009.

The objectives of the Conference-cum-exhibition were:
• To build awareness among the elected and administrative municipal leaders for energy-efficient systems and green energy in urban areas
• To build Government capacity to be ‘informed buyers’ of services, technologies and products in energy efficiency
• To provide market players the opportunity to showcase their services, technologies and products, network with potential customers, share knowledge and experiences.

Written by Dr G William
BORDA Network Partner, Rural literacy and Health Programme, Mysore

Increasing environmental degradation, air pollution and depletion of natural resources and the ozone layer has become a serious concern among the nations across the world. In India, rapid urbanisation, changing consumption patterns and a growing population have created the problem of ‘waste’. Although the average Indian only generates around half to one kilo of solid waste per day, the cumulative volume generated is large, considering the population. Of the total solid waste generated, 20 to 30 percent is collected, and 94 percent is disposed unscientifically. Only 70 percent of Indian cities have adequate waste transportation facilities. The waste is often left unattended at the disposal sites, creating a major health hazard. Despite concerted efforts by policy makers to create a legal framework around the issue, solid waste in India is still in need of massive attention and acute management.

Written by Jens Goetzenberger
BORDA partner – DHAN Foundation

Workshop on design of Decentralised Wastewater Treatment Systems (DEWATS)

On May 28^th and 29^th, 2009, a DEWATS Design Workshop was held at the campus of DHAN Foundation’s People Academy in Pulloothu near Madurai. The two-day Workshop was organised by DHAN’s Centre for Urban Water Resources (CURE) and conducted with support from CDD Society, Bangalore. The object of the Workshop was to familiarize engineers from DHAN Foundation and the CDD Regional Office Chennai with the design aspects of DEWATS modules. The training was deliberately conducted in a small group consisting of six participants with previous knowledge to be able to facilitate focusing on individual needs and questions. During the two days, two specialists from CDD Society Bangalore shared their experiences in design and construction of DEWATS and with activities in regard to monitoring and research and development (R&D). (Picture 1: example calculations by participants)