The Anil Agarwal Dialogues: Excreta Does Matter

“The Anil Agarwal Dialogues 2013: Excreta Does Matter” conference was a platform for innovators and pioneers in the fields of water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) to showcase their work along with the new techniques and methodologies that hold the most promise for improved sanitation systems in India.

Organised by the Centre for Science and Environment, this, the second edition of the Anil Agarwal dialogues, was held in the India Habitat Centre. Presenters from both the public and private sector shared case studies from their work to address some of the most pressing concerns for Indian sanitation: What is the current status of India’s fresh water reserves? Where will our fresh water come from in the near and distant future? What is the state of India’s sewage system?

Akshay, Kevin and I, from Quicksand, attended the event as a way of further immersing ourselves in India’s sanitation sector and to deepen our understanding of the underlying systems (and ecosystems) in place that impact Project Sammaan, both directly and indirectly.

In addition, we are currently in the process of finalising a sewage strategy for Project Sammaan and wanted to share thoughts and garner feedback from some of the leading innovators in the sphere of urban sanitation in India.

The conference was held over two days and featured over 40 speakers, providing ample opportunities for us to address both of these goals.

On day 1, the sessions focusing on India’s water resources and the threats that are facing them (Session 1: Urban Water Scapes – Urban Water Catchments and Commands, Session 2: Sponging Off Urban Lakes, and Session 3: Groundwater – What Lies Beneath?) did a lot to improve our understanding of the complex challenges and issues that impact the water cycle.

Water and Sanitation are inextricably linked: improper disposal and treatment of sewage negatively impacts the water table and, in turn, this has implications on the sanitation systems we can deploy. While this as an idea does not seem drastically new, the deeper understanding of the issues at hand provided by the speakers and other conference attendees we spoke with enlightened us to some of the nuances of the water-sanitation relationship that for me, at least, proved revolutionary.

On day 2, the sessions focused more directly on the sanitation sector. The session on urban sewage management (titled Fouled! – Urban Sewage Mismanagement) featured eight speakers who provided depth to the idea of sewage management as a system. Their talks ranged from pragmatic (Economics of Sewage Management, Abhay Kantak from Crisil) to inspiring (Time to think out of the box: The need for wastewater reuse in India, Uday Kelkar, NJS Consultants).

Possibly the most valuable session from the standpoint of Project Sammaan, and our immediate goal of finalising our sewage management systems, was the session on decentralised sewage management (Session 8: Clean up – Decentralised sewage management as an alternative to pipes, pumps and plants).

The two primary technologies under consideration for the Project Sammaan toilets prior to the conference were SBT (Soil Bio Technology) and DEWATS. Both these technologies rely on little-to-no mechanised or chemical treatment and are inherently sustainable and eco-friendly systems. Both systems were showcased during this session:

• Dr. H.S.Shankar from IIT Bombay presented his work done over more than two decades in perfecting SBT treatment to increase efficiency and enable the treatment of vast quantities of sewage. While this is an extremely viable system it has the disadvantage of requiring large surface areas to function well, a luxury we do not have with Project Sammaan.

• DEWATS, was presented by Stanzin Tsephel, from the Consortium for DEWATS Dissemination (CDD). This system has modular elements that can be customised depending on the specific needs of the toilet site. As such, it holds most promise as a system for sewage management at the toilets we are constructing. In fact, we are currently working with CDD to design the sewage system for Project Samman. But that’s a longer story for another post!

All in all, the conference was a success in that it provided a great platform for both the audience and speakers to engage in much needed dialogues about the pressing need for change in the way we think about the sanitation and water systems in India.