A Study on Planning Scheme to Improve the Living Environment through Safe Water Supply and Sanitation in a Rural Village in Bangladesh

摘要

Safe water supply and sanitation are basic human needs and the basis of sustainable social development. In Bangladesh, an urgent issue related to water supply is wide spread arsenic contamination of groundwater, on which most people in this country rely for drinking water through tube-wells. Although surface water is an alternative drinking water source, low coverage of improved sanitation and lack of appropriate human excreta management causes surface water pollution, which restricts the use of surface water for drinking. Through water quality conservation, safe water supply and improved sanitation should be integrated to obtain the better living environment. In rural areas of Bangladesh, people suffer from disease due to unhygienic environments, and medical expenditures burden family finances. Inappropriate human excreta management also hampers nutrient cycling and leads to soil degradation of farmland threatening agricultural productivity. Therefore, sanitary improvements with appropriate human excreta management relate to safe water supply and poverty alleviation. In this study, a project aiming to improve the living environment through safe water supply and sanitation was undertaken, establishment of a community based organization (CBO) was also incorporated. In the project area, all of the tube-wells were contaminated with arsenic. However, due to limited support from outside, most villagers were drinking arsenic contaminated groundwater. Under previous situations, although people were aware of the health risks of arsenic contamination, willingness to improve their hazardous situation was low due to a lack of prospects for obtaining a safe water supply. The purpose of this study was to present a scheme based on discussions on the locally appropriate technology options that consider continuous community based management. The pond sand filter (PSF) system was selected, PSF increases the local people's concerns on the quality of pond water, which is their drinking water source, and the sand filter targets community based management. Ecological sanitation was combined to prevent pond water pollution. The authors show how the local people have increased their awareness of water and sanitation issues and willingness to improve their living environment after installing the facilities. The results revealed that the present scheme has encouraged the local people to understand the perspectives of an improved living environment, which has accelerated an increase in their willingness to improve living environment.