WATER SUPPLY AND SANITATION IN COASTAL BELT PROJECT

The Water Supply and Sanitation Coastal Belt project is part of the water supply and sanitation component and covers the completion of the remaining work in 303 unions within the eight coastal districts of Bangladesh: Noakhali, Feni, Lakshmipur, Patuakhali, Barguna, Barisal, Pirojpur and Jhalokhati. The project is also catering for the completion of the remaining water supply and sanitation facilities in four mid-sized towns (pourashavas): Feni, Patharghata, Noakhali and Ramganj Pourashavas and continues to support ongoing institutional development activities in pourashavas covered under phase I.

The remaining 146 unions in the Coastal Belt area are supported through Hygiene, Sanitation and Water (HYSAWA) Fund project which also is a component under WSSPS Phase II. HYSAWA Fund comprises of a Local Government Support Unit (LGSU) in the Department of Public Health Engineering (DPHE).

The strategy for the project is based on the principles of the ‘National Policy for Safe Water Supply and Sanitation 1998’, ‘National Strategy for Arsenic Mitigation and Implementation Plan for Arsenic Mitigation in Bangladesh 2004’ and the ‘National Sanitation Strategy 2005’. Issues related to poverty reduction and cross cutting issues regarding gender, good governance and environment as well as strengthening of local institutions, establishment of partnership and ownership and sustainability are all part of the project.

The overall objective of the Water Supply and Sanitation Costal Belt project is to contribute to the improvement of health condition of the population residing within the eight coastal districts of Bangladesh. The main thrust of the project is to improve hygiene practices through the provision of safe water supply and sanitation facilities and by involving local organisations towards long term sustainability. The project will contribute to achieving 100 percent sanitation coverage by 2010 as declared by the GoB and increase coverage of safe water supply to the population living in un-served and underserved areas.

The three immediate objectives of the project are:

1. to improve hygiene behaviours/practices;
2. to promote community-led total sanitation; and
3. to increase the coverage of safe water supply services

The project is supporting the poorer section of the population living in un-served and underserved areas by providing water supply and sanitation services. Sustainability of the facilities are given due importance through enhancing the capacity of the users, communities and local bodies and by involving the Union Parishads (UP) as the focal points for implementation of all activities.
As the project concerns the extension and completion of ongoing activities for another three years, the installation of water supply facilities in the 303 unions is the responsibility of DPHE like in the case under phase I.

Two regional support organisations consisting of both socio-economists and engineers are engaged to build the capacity of the service providers and facilitate the implementation at the different levels.

The outputs of the project in relation to the immediate objectives of WSSPS are:

• Improved hygiene behaviour with the use of safe water and hygiene practices
• All households use and maintain sanitary latrines
• Community sanitation facilities established, used and maintained
• 9.000 safe water supply facilities consisting of Deep Hand Tube-wells (DHTWs), Pond Sand Filters (PSFs), Rain Water Harvesting Units (RWHUs), Mini Piped Water Supply Schemes (MSWSSs) etc. installed in un-served and underserved areas
• All installed water supply facilities are maintained and functioning properly.

The target group of the Water Supply and Sanitation Coastal Belt project is the population of the 303 unions of 31 upazilas who have not been served throughout WSSPS Phase I. The total population in the 303 unions is almost 7.7 million of which 75 percent have access to safe water supply and around 58 percent have access to latrines.

The Coastal Belt project is centrally managed by DPHE and is implemented through a Central Coordination Unit (CCU) for the water supply and sanitation component located in DPHE. The CCU is also serving as the management unit for LGSU in order to share the available resources and support functions.

The total budget is DKK 98.4 million for a period of three years. GoB is contributing with DKK 33.2 million towards the labour cost, custom duties and value added tax and is furthermore providing professional staff, office spaces, etc. Danida’s contribution account for approximately DKK 65.2 million and technical assistance support through expatriate and local advisers.



Drilling of deep hand tube well

Water Supply and Sanitation in Coastal Belt Project: Urban Sub-Project

The DPHE/Danida ‘Urban Water Supply and Sanitation’ component started in 1997 under WSSPS Phase 1 with the aim to implement water supply and sanitation activities within 53 urban centres in Noakhali, Feni, Lakshmipur, Patuakhali and Barguna districts.

Out of these 53 urban centres, nine pourashavas were planned to be provided with a piped water supply systems. These pourashavas were Noakhali, Feni, Ramganj, Raipur, Patuakhali, Amtali, Kalapara, Galachipa and Patharghata. Other provisions in these nine pourashavas included DHTW in the fringe and slum areas outside the piped water supply networks, public toilets, drains, and solid waste management activities to improve the environmental sanitation conditions. However the work did not finish within the timescale.

The Urban sub-project is an extension for further three years of the ‘Urban Water Supply and Sanitation’ component within phase I and is expected to finish in December 2008. The extension is covering the additional water supply and sanitation work in Feni, Patharghata, Noakhali and Ramganj Pourashavas and institutional development activities in all nine pourashavas.
The objective of the Urban sub-project is to complete the remaining water supply and sanitation facilities in selected pourashavas covered under WSSPS Phase I and make the facilities sustainable through building capacity of the centre authorities.

Capacity building activities towards institution building are given high priority during the extended period. The Pourashava Water Supply Section (PWSS) in all nine piped water supply pourashavas has been strengthened with necessary staff and training so that the system runs effectively. The conservancy sections of the nine pourashavas have also been provided with necessary training and logistic supports to strengthen the sections’ capacity in respect of establishing effective mechanism for operation and maintenance of sanitation, drainage and management of solid waste. The sub-urban project is also catering for follow-up training activities in the remaining 44 centres covered under the first phase.

The management, financial and technical efficiency of the PWSSs are strengthening through ensuring reliable water supplies, effective tariff collection and proper operation and maintenance. Simultaneously the capacity of the conservancy sections has been strengthened to ensure proper operation and maintenance of sanitation facilities, drainage and solid waste.
The pourashava management and the staff of the respective sections will be provided with necessary manuals and guidelines for effective operation and maintenance.

DPHE is responsible for the implementation of the major items under the piped water supply schemes such as overhead tanks and treatment plant, while the rest of the items are implemented by the respective pourashavas through Pourashava Implementation Committees (PIC).
Socio-economic activities include campaigns for house connections, hygiene promotion, promotion of sanitation, and capacity building of the communities for operation and maintenance of the water supply and sanitation facilities. Implementation is carried out by the local NGOs to be engaged by the project management.



Hygiene promotion