N e w s l e t t e r

July-September 2014 ISSUE NO-02, VOL- 41

Fecal Sludge
management

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Patronised by Ministry of Environment, International Institute of

Ministry of Environment,
Forests & Climate Change Forests & Climate Change Health and Hygiene
Government of India
 ( ) introduction
Newsletter

Overview:
T
he challenge of sanitation in Indian cities is acute. With very poor sewerage networks, a
large number of the urban poor still depend on public toilets. Many public toilets have
no water supply while the outlets of many others with water supply are not connected
to the city’s sewerage system. The sanitation landscape in India is still littered with 13 million
unsanitary bucket latrines, which require scavengers to conduct house-to-house excreta
collection. Septic tanks are one of the common forms of urban sanitation facilities in India. 
Other commonly used on-site sanitation systems in India include pit or vault or tank latrines.
The prevalence of onsite sanitation varies dramatically from state to state, with as many as
80 percent of toilets connected to septic tanks in the states of Orissa and Rajasthan. Major
part of urban India has not been connected to municipal sewer system, which makes people
dependent on the conventional individual septic tanks.  
Sludge is produced from the treatment of wastewater in on-site (e.g. septic tank) and off-
site (e.g. activated sludge) systems. This is inherently so because a primary aim of wastewater
treatment is removing solids from the wastewater. In addition, soluble organic substances
are converted to bacterial cells, and the latter is removed from the wastewater. Sludge is also
produced from the treatment of storm water, although it is likely to be less organic in nature
compared to wastewater sludge.
Sludge of variable consistency collected from on-site sanitation systems, such as latrines,
non-sewered public toilets, septic tanks and aqua privies is denoted as fecal sludge. Fecal
sludge from septic tanks is specifically termed as septage. The fecal sludge comprises varying
concentrations of settle able or settled solids as well as of other, non-fecal matter. Although
there are some differences, sewage sludge is, to some extent comparable with fecal sludge and
night soil. This means that the technologies that are in use for treatment, resource recovery and
reuse of e.g. sewage sludge may be appropriate for fecal sludge treatment as well.
Source: http://www.unep.or.jp/ietc/publications/freshwater/sb_summary/10.asp\
Source: http://www.eai.in/ref/ae/wte/pro/tech/fs_energy.html

Fecal Sludge Generation and

Management in India

A
s it can be seen fecal sludge/septage is
generated either from open defecation
or on-site sanitation systems. According
to EAI estimates, about 0.12 million tons of
fecal sludge is generated in India per day. In
most of the cities, only crude and unhygienic
septage handling practices exist and there
is no proper municipality infrastructure that
performs the task of septage management.
In contrast with the large proportion of on-
site installations, limited attention has been
accorded to proper construction, maintenance
management and safe disposal of septage
from septic tanks and pit latrines.

According to a WHO-UNICEF report,
around 638 million people do not have access
to toilets in India, which accounts for about
58% of open defecation. Indians leave about
100,000 tons of fecal matter in the open every
day, in the fields, on the river banks and in the
middle of the biggest cities.
Open defecation typically happens in one
of the three locations:
• Open fields in villages, usually near farms
• Next to water bodies
• Open land areas near residences
The fecal sludge in open fields and in
proximity to water bodies usually is not
collected and they get naturally assimilated in
the surrounding environment. Where the fecal
sludge is on open lands near residences and
Fecal sludge and urine reuse in
agriculture: opportunities for
addressing phosphorus needs in India
I
ndia’s rapid urbanization and population
growth have made food security a high
policy priority and is putting significant
pressure on the agriculture sector, where poor
and marginal farmers especially suffer from
high fertilizer prices. It is therefore imperative
for India like other developing countries to
explore alternative nutrient sources. With
changing resource flows to cities, urban
waste offers a variety of options for resource
recovery. While closed-loop processes are
promoted across the globe, farmers in the
states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh,
as well as other parts of Southern India, are
already using fecal sludge from urban on-
site sanitation facilities (Verhagen et al., 2012;
Srikantaiah, 2012). The informal sector has
turned widespread lack of treatment facilities
for sludge derived from septic tanks (CSE,
2011, 2012) from a serious environmental
burden into an agricultural asset. The sludge
comes straight from the septic tanks, and
July-September 2014 | 3 |
roads, it is sometimes collected as part of the
MSW collection and handling program.
Septage management basically consists of
collection, treatment and proper disposal of
septage. Proper septage management entails
regular and safe disposal of liquid overflows
and safe removal of septage (semi-solid
wastes) from septic tanks and pits.
The biological origin of fecal sludge
enables it to undergo microbial decomposition
in biomethanation technology or an enhanced
drying, which permits the usage of thermolytic
technologies as gasification, pyrolysis,
incineration and super-critical fluid oxidation
etc. to produce energy from fecal sludge.
Source: http://www.eai.in/ref/ae/wte/pro/tech/
fs_energy.html
instead of being dumped into rivers, is dried
(“treated”) on farms before use, mostly on
plantation crops. Considering the declining
global phosphorus reserves (Cordell et al.,
2009), treated fecal sludge, and in particular
urine, can constitute a significant sources of
phosphorus for crops. However, the practice
is not without environmental risks. To advise
authorities on options for how to safeguard
human and environmental health (Drechsel
et al., 2010) while also looking at the potential
benefits, data are needed to understand the
current scale of reuse, its potential benefit,
environmental tradeoffs and limitations, and
a sensitive approach for moving an informal
sector activity into the formal sector.
The latter challenge is currently being
addressed by an already-funded IWMI project
in Karnataka, in close collaboration with
WHO, which will support the establishment
of business models for sludge reuse, safe
reuse guidelines, and Sanitation Safety Plans
 ( ) Newsletter

through stakeholder dialogues. This PEER including empirically based recommendations

Science project will feed data into the dialogue
and contribute at the international level to the
National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded
network on “Coordinating phosphorus research
to create a sustainable food system” (NSF
award CHE-1230603) under the leadership
of ASU, which will backstop the activities
and assist in knowledge dissemination. A
longer term impact is expected in view of
food security and environmental protection,
for addressing the looming crisis of dwindling
phosphorus reserves. Phosphorus recovery
from otherwise wasted resources is important
for sustainable land management and food
security. Introducing cost recovery options
into the sanitation service chain would have
positive spill-over for community, public
health and the environment, as uncontrolled
use of fecal sludge is a major source of water
pollution and a key public health threat.

Summary of Recent Activities

On January 14, 2014, co-PI Vijayaraghavan
Chariar delivered a lecture entitled
“Sustainable Design and Innovation in
Water, Sanitation and Habitat” at USAID
headquarters in Washington, D.C. During his
visit to the United States, he also participated
in the Phosphorous Research Coordination
Network partners’ meeting at Arizona State
University January 6 to 10, 2014. After returning
home, he visited Sri Lanka in March for
project consultations with PI Pay Drechsel
and other colleagues at the International
Water Management Institute (IWMI). While
in Colombo, he also delivered a lecture
entitled “Ecological Challenges in Addressing
Sanitation Coverage: The Case of India” at the
Centre for Poverty Analysis on March 24, 2014.
In the field, IWMI PhD candidate Sharada Over next three months, fecal sludge
Prasad visited eight municipalities during management in Bangalore, Mangalore,
the first quarter of 2014 to obtain a first-hand and Dharwad will be studied with the aim
understanding of fecal sludge management of drafting a paper on potential business
practices across India. Currently the project opportunities and barriers in fecal sludge
team is debating whether observations from management. Questionnaires for the main
this trip can be treated as a hypothesis. study will be developed and tested. In June,
If so, the problem remains how a survey Sharada Prasad will attend a quantitative
questionnaire may be designed to verify microbial risk assessment workshop at the
the hypothesis and help the researchers India Institute of Technology-Delhi to discuss
understand other major barriers and and refine his methods for assessing the health
opportunities for reuse of fecal sludge. Such risks related to handling of fecal sludge.
a survey would be carried out under the Source: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/dsc/
leadership of Dr. Dreschsel’s group at IWMI. peerscience/PGA_084076.htm
 July-September 2014 | 5 |

Fecal Sludge Management:

Global Relevance

T
he sanitation needs
of 2.7 billion people
worldwide are served by
onsite sanitation technologies,
and that number is expected
to grow to 5 billion by 2030.
It is a common perception
that onsite technologies fulfil
sanitation needs for rural
areas, but in reality, around
one billion onsite facilities
worldwide are in urban
areas. In many cities, onsite
technologies have much wider
Percent of population served by onsite sanitation technologies (Reproduced
coverage than sewer systems.
with permission from the Boston Consulting Group; 2013).
For example, in Sub-Saharan
Africa, 65-100% of sanitation
access in urban areas is provided through out-of-date engineering curricula, and the
onsite technologies (Strauss et aI. 2000). preference for large- scale infrastructure
However, despite the fact that sanitation needs investments by development bank and
are met through onsite technologies for a vast governments. However, the expansion and
number of people in urban areas of low- and development of functioning, conventional
middle-income countries, there is typically no sewer networks is not likely to keep pace with
management system in place for the resulting the rapid urban expansion typical of low- and
accumulation of FS. It is evident that the middle income countries. In addition, where
management of FS is a critical need that must sewers and wastewater treatment plants
be addressed, and that it will continue to play (WWTPs) have been constructed in low-
an essential role in the management of global income countries they have most frequently
sanitation into the future. resulted in failure. Over the last 15 years, the
In the past, sludge management from thinking of engineers worldwide has started
onsite facilities has not been a priority to shift, and people are starting to consider
of engineers or municipalities, and has onsite or decentralized technologies as not
traditionally received little to no attention. only long-term viable option, but possibly the
Several generations of engineers have more sustainable alternative in many ways
considered waterborne, sewer-based systems compared to sewer- based systems which are
as the most viable, long-term solution to fulfill prohibitively expensive and resource intensive.
sanitation needs. Onsite technologies have In urban areas, it has been demonstrated that,
traditionally been viewed as only temporary depending on local conditions, the cost of FSM
solutions until sewers could be built. This technologies are five times less expensive than
practice is a result of the effectiveness of conventional sewer- based solutions (Dodane
sewer-based approaches throughout Europe et al., 2012).
and North America in cities where water is Source: http://www.unesco-ihe.org/sites/default/
for the most part readily available, as well as files/fsm_book_lr.pdf
 ( ) Newsletter

Case Studies:
• The 12 Cities Case Study was undertaken as a first step towards analyzing fecal
sludge management in a variety of cities representing various regions, sizes, types
and levels of service delivery.

Overview of Fecal Sludge Management

Service Delivery in the 12 Cities

Source:
http://www.
susana.
org/_
resources/
documents/
default/2-
2037-wsp-
fecal-
sludge-12-
city-review-
research-
brief.pdf
 July-September 2014 | 7 |

Performance evaluation of sewage treatment

plants in india funded under nrcd

Figure: Percent-wise
distribution of installed
capacity of STP
Source: http://www.cpcb.
nic.in/upload/NewItems/
NewItem_195_STP_
REPORT.pdf

Urbanization trend and

urban sanitation coverage
 ( ) Newsletter

Sewered vs. non-sewered

Source: http://
www.sacosanv.gov.
np/userfiles/files/
Roshan%20Raj%20
Shrestha(1).pdf

Different types of sludges generated in urban waste water treatment plant processes.

Source: http://www.purebalticsea.eu/index.php/
gpsm:good_practices
 July-September 2014 | 9 |

Technological
routes for
generation of
energy from
fecal sludge

Source: http://www.
eai.in/ref/ae/wte/
pro/tech/fs_energy.
html

Routes of Fecal Sludge Generation

Source: http://www.
eai.in/ref/ae/wte/
typ/clas/fecal_
sludge.html
 ( ) Newsletter
Why Fecal Sludge Management
is Serious Business
A
t the Water Summit held in Budapest on
October 8 this year, UN Secretary-General
Ban Ki-Moon called for action on the urgent
issue of sanitation to underpin human dignity and
health, noting that “It is plain that investment in
sanitation is a down-payment on a sustainable
future.  Economists estimate that every dollar
spent can bring a five-fold return.”
Adequate sanitation is especially urgent in the
urban environment. Progressively more of us are
living in urban areas – currently 52% of the world
population, or 3.8 billion people. Most developing
countries are experiencing runaway urban growth,
with more than one person in three living in slums,
and the urban sanitation challenge is growing daily.  systems for all the developing world’s cities would
Figures from the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring
Program show that the number of urban residents
without access to improved sanitation has risen
by 700 million between 1990 and 2010. And the
negative impact of poor sanitation is much stronger
in urban areas; an analysis of DHS data from 130
countries shows that childhood stunting associated
with open defecation is three times greater in
urban than in rural areas.
The most commonly accepted solution
for urban sanitation is piped sewerage with
centralized wastewater treatment. And many
engineers, politicians and city managers regard
it as the only legitimate solution.  However, many
urban dwellers in developing countries (in Sub-
Saharan Africa, often more than 90%) have no
access to a sewer system, or the running water
needed to make it work.  And they won’t be able
to afford these services any time soon. Sewerage
is provided almost exclusively to the better-off
while poor people have mostly been left to fend for
themselves. They improvise “on-site” systems such
as septic tanks or pit latrines, which may be illegal
under local by-laws, and are often shared with
other families. Those who cannot even do this are
reduced to defecating in the open or into a plastic
bag (a “flying toilet”).
Latrine pits and septic tanks need to be
emptied periodically, as the densely built urban
environment won’t allow new pits to be dug every
time they fill up.  Residents may resolve this by
allowing their toilets to overflow, or resort to manual
pit emptying. And once collected, the sludge is
often dumped illegally into urban watercourses,
open drains and rivers. Thus the urban environment
ends up awash in untreated human waste,
with severe public health and environmental
consequences, not only for those with inadequate
sanitation, but for everyone else too.
What does this mean for the future?  The
costs and operational challenges of expanding,
operating and maintaining conventional sewage
by far outstrip the technical, financial and water
resources available.  So if we are to heed the UN
Secretary-General’s call to make a down payment
on our sustainable future, we need to develop
better sanitation solutions, especially for the poor
communities who most need them, to safeguard
the entire urban environment where most of us
now live, work and play.
An important part of that innovation will
be to develop better on-site, non-networked
sanitation solutions. The World Bank’s Water and
Sanitation Program and the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation are working to develop innovative
solutions that can be applied at scale in the world’s
rapidly growing cities.  We are developing tools
to assess the generation of fecal sludge, the
pathways it takes from containment to disposal,
and the constraints to establishing an effective
chain of services to manage it. In addition, we
are developing new pit emptying and waste
treatment technologies and sustainable business
models to apply them.  It’s not rocket science, but
it is a transformative innovation that will make a
tremendous contribution to improving the lives
of billions of people today and generations in the
future.
Source: http://blogs.worldbank.org/water/why-fecal-
sludge-management-serious-business
 July-September 2014 | 11 |

EVENTS:
FAECAL SLUDGE MANAGEMENT
CONFERENCE 2015

Source: http://www.fsm3.org/
 SulabhEN VIS Centre on:
Hygiene, Sanitation, Sewage Treatment
Systems and Technology

Advisory Board: Contact Address:

Dr. Namita Mathur: Envis Coordinator SulabhENVIS Centre, Patronised By Ministry of Environment & Forests,
Government of India.
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