Browsing by Autor "Jennifer McConville"

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A multiple regime analysis of the water and sanitation sectors in the Kanata metropolitan region, Bolivia
(Elsevier BV, 2021) Ida Helgegren; Jennifer McConville; Graciela Landaeta; Sébastien Rauch
Erratum to “Willingness among food consumers to recycle human urine as crop fertiliser: Evidence from a multinational survey” [Sci. Total Environ. 765 (2021), 144438]
(Elsevier BV, 2021) Prithvi Simha; Melissa A. Barton; Luis Fernando Perez-Mercado; Jennifer McConville; Cecilia Lalander; Maria Elisa Magri; Shanta Dutta; Humayun Kabir; Albert Selvakumar; Xiaoqin Zhou
EVAS - a practical tool to assess the sustainability of small wastewater treatment systems in low and lower-middle-income countries
(Elsevier BV, 2020) Claudia Cossio; Jennifer McConville; Ann E. Mattsson; Alvaro Mercado; Jenny Norrman
Small wastewater treatment systems (WWTSs) in low and lower-middle income countries still face challenges to achieve optimal performance and acceptable levels of sustainability. Thus, a practical tool, easy to apply by locals, to diagnose the actual status of WWTSs is required in order to identify weak areas for further improvement. This study presents a sustainability assessment tool, EVAS (EVAluación de Sostenibilidad: EVAluation of Sustainability), for small WWTSs in low and lower-middle income countries. The EVAS tool is developed based on a set of contextualized sustainability indicators and sub-indicators in five dimensions (technical, environmental, social, economic, institutional). Each indicator or sub-indicator is broken down into factors, each associated with specific targets to fulfil, and scored using a traffic light scale (0 to 4) indicating unsustainable-low-medium to high levels of sustainability. The tool was developed taking into consideration that local data may sometimes be incomplete and encourages the collection and monitoring of relevant data. The assessment results support local managers or other stakeholders responsible for wastewater management with the identification of weaknesses that need to be addressed. The tool was tested using two case studies involving WWTSs in Bolivia. One WWTS received a medium sustainability rating, whereas the other system received a low sustainability rating, which indicates that several improvements are required in all sustainability dimensions. Stakeholders in the case studies found the tool useful, and suggested ways in which it could be further improved. It is expected that the application of this tool can contribute to raising the sustainability level of small WWTSs in low and lower-middle-income countries.
Facilitating factors for community-managed wastewater systems in the Kanata metropolitan region, Bolivia
(Elsevier BV, 2021) Ida Helgegren; Francesca Minelli; Jennifer McConville; Graciela Landaeta; Sébastien Rauch
Impact of treatment plant management on human health and ecological risks from wastewater irrigation in developing countries – case studies from Cochabamba, Bolivia
(Taylor & Francis, 2019) Claudia Cossio; Luis Fernando Perez-Mercado; Jenny Norrman; Sahar Dalahmeh; Björn Vinnerås; Alvaro Mercado; Jennifer McConville
Wastewater irrigation is a common practice in developing countries due to water scarcity and increasing demand for food production. However, there are health risks and ecological risks associated with this practice. Small-scale wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) intend to decrease these risks but still face management challenges. This study assessed how the management status of five small-scale WWTPs in Cochabamba, Bolivia affects health risks associated with consumption of lettuce and ecological risks due to the accumulation of nutrients in the soil for lettuce and maize crops. Risk simulations for three wastewater irrigation scenarios were: raw wastewater, actual effluent and expected effluent. Results showed that weak O&M practices can increase risk outcomes to higher levels than irrigating with raw wastewater. Improving O&M to achieve optimal functioning of small-scale WWTPs can reduce human health risks and ecological risks up to 2 log10 DALY person-1 year-1 and to 2 log10 kg nitrogen ha-1 accumulated in soil, respectively.
Importance of internal factors for community-managed water and wastewater systems in Cochabamba, Bolivia
(Taylor & Francis, 2019) Ida Helgegren; Jennifer McConville; Graciela Landaeta; Sébastien Rauch
Community management is often seen as part of the solution to increase access to drinking water and wastewater management where municipal services are lacking. This article intends to increase the knowledge regarding self-organized community-managed water and wastewater systems in urban and peri-urban areas. A theory-building case-study approach, including three different neighbourhoods in Bolivia and their respective community-based organizations, was selected. Four prerequisites – leadership, agreed vision, collective action and management – and associated enabling factors connected to three distinct planning and management phases were found to be of major importance for community-managed water and wastewater systems.
Importance of triggers and veto-barriers for the implementation of sanitation in informal peri-urban settlements – The case of Cochabamba, Bolivia
(Public Library of Science, 2018) Ida Helgegren; Sébastien Rauch; Claudia Cossio; Graciela Landaeta; Jennifer McConville
An estimated 2.4 billion people lack access to improved sanitation which has devastating consequences for human health and the environment. Understanding what constitute sanitation demand is crucial for accelerating the spread of improved sanitation. This study aims to understand the adoption mechanisms for improved sanitation. An informal peri-urban settlement in Cochabamba, Bolivia was selected as a case study to understand adoption patterns. Various qualitative methods of data collection and analysis were employed. The findings showed that pour-flush toilets was the only preferred sanitation alternative at the study site. An adoption framework for waterborne toilets was developed based on diffusion of innovation theory. Factors that influence adoption were identified. Some functioned as triggers and initiated adoption, whereas some factors blocked adoption and constituted veto-barriers. Most factors were connected to the individual household situation and its members, but neighborhood development also affected pour-flush adoption. Based on adoption time the residents were divided into the following adoption groups: first adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards and non-adopters. Each adoption group followed its own adoption route with specific characteristics and respective triggers or veto-barriers. We argue that the strong demand for waterborne toilets in peri-urban areas need to be recognized and the developed framework could be used for customizing sanitation improvement programs for certain target groups.
Indicators for sustainability assessment of small-scale wastewater treatment plants in low and lower-middle income countries
(Elsevier BV, 2020) Claudia Cossio; Jenny Norrman; Jennifer McConville; Alvaro Mercado; Sébastien Rauch
Wastewater treatment in low and lower-middle income countries is often limited by lack of local technical expertise, institutional capacity, and financial resources, making it challenging to reach SDG6-target 6.3, i.e. halving the proportion of untreated wastewater. Several studies suggest sets of sustainability indicators for assessing the planning and/or operation of WWTPs. However, existing standard indicators are typically focused on the context of high and upper-middle income countries, whereas low and lower-middle income countries face other types of issues. The development of a contextualized set of relevant and effective sustainability indicators to support the planning and/or operation of small-scale WWTPs in low and lower-middle income countries is crucial. This study develops a contextualized set of sustainability indicators for small-scale wastewater treatment plants in Bolivia, which is classified as a lower-middle income country. Indicators were identified using a literature review combined with empirical studies using focus groups with managers and operators, as well as, workshops with experts. The aim of the focus groups and workshops was to acquire an understanding of the local context and identify relevant sustainability indicators. The practical investigation took place at five sites in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The results suggest that sustainability assessment of WWTPs in low and lower-middle income countries should emphasize the institutional dimension (e.g. Institutional capacity, Interactions, and Information) and the technical dimension (e.g. Sewage network functionality and Expertise) alongside indicators in the social, economic and environmental dimensions.
Wastewater management in small towns – understanding the failure of small treatment plants in Bolivia
(Taylor & Francis, 2017) Claudia Cossio; Jennifer McConville; Sébastien Rauch; Britt‐Marie Wilén; Sahar Dalahmeh; Alvaro Mercado; Ana Malvis Romero
Wastewater management in developing countries is a challenge, especially in small towns with rapid population growth. This study aims at assessing the performance and management of five treatment plants (TPs) in rural areas of Cochabamba, Bolivia. Pollutants' concentrations, wastewater flows, hydraulic and organic loads and hydraulic retention times were determined in three small treatment plants (2000-10,000 population equivalent [p.e.]; flow > 432 m3/d) and two very small treatment plants (<2000 p.e.; flow < 432 m3/d). The performance assessment was based on operational parameters, treatment efficiency and effluent quality. Management data were collected through semi-structured interviews with managers of local water associations. The results support that the poor performance of the TPs is due to lack of operational expertise and financial resources for adequate operation and maintenance (O&M). Additionally, effective treatment was affected by the type of technology used and whether the plant design included plans for O&M with available resources. This study contributes to a better understanding of actual operating conditions of wastewater TPs in small towns, thus providing needed information regarding technology selection, design, implementation and operation.
Willingness among food consumers to recycle human urine as crop fertiliser: Evidence from a multinational survey
(Elsevier BV, 2020) Prithvi Simha; Melissa A. Barton; Luis Fernando Perez-Mercado; Jennifer McConville; Cecilia Lalander; Maria Elisa Magri; Shanta Dutta; Humayun Kabir; Albert Selvakumar; Xiaoqin Zhou
Source-separating sanitation systems offer the possibility of recycling nutrients present in wastewater as crop fertilisers. Thereby, they can reduce agriculture's impacts on global sources, sinks, and cycles for nitrogen and phosphorous, as well as their associated environmental costs. However, it has been broadly assumed that people would be reluctant to perform the new sanitation behaviours that are necessary for implementing such systems in practice. Yet, few studies have tried to systematically gather evidence in support of this assumption. To address this gap, we surveyed 3763 people at 20 universities in 16 countries using a standardised questionnaire. We identified and systematically assessed cross-cultural and country-level explanatory factors that were strongly associated with people's willingness to consume food grown using human urine as fertiliser. Overall, 68% of the respondents favoured recycling human urine, 59% stated a willingness to eat urine-fertilised food, and only 11% believed that urine posed health risks that could not be mitigated by treatment. Most people did not expect to pay less for urine-fertilised food, but only 15% were willing to pay a price premium. Consumer perceptions were found to differ greatly by country and the strongest predictive factors for acceptance overall were cognitive factors (perceptions of risks and benefits) and social norms. Increasing awareness and building trust among consumers about the effectiveness of new sanitation systems via cognitive and normative messaging can help increase acceptance. Based on our findings, we believe that in many countries, acceptance by food consumers will not be the major social barrier to closing the loop on human urine. That a potential market exists for urine-fertilised food, however, needs to be communicated to other stakeholders in the sanitation service chain.