Improving health in cities through systems approaches for urban water management

Rietveld, L.C.; Siri, José G.; Chakravarty, Indira; Arsénio, André Marques; Biswas, Ranjit; Chatterjee, Amit

doi:10.1186/s12940-016-0107-2

Cited by 46 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Also, the volumes of fecal sludge transported to the treatment plants would greatly increase. We expect that the increase in wastewater and fecal sludge, adequately treated, would translate into improved urban health and wellbeing for the city dwellers [46]. According to our calculations, OSS is the largest source of nitrogen reaching groundwater, a conclusion similar to that of other authors [35,36].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mitigation Potential of Sanitation Infrastructure on Groundwater Contamination by Nitrate in Maputo

Arsénio

Salim

et al. 2018

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:In Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, nitrate concentrations above 250 mg L −1 in groundwater have been reported. This happens due to the widespread use of latrines and septic tanks that allow for constant infiltration of its content into the soil and eventually to groundwater sources, a situation that is widespread in the Global South and represents a serious threat for human health and for the environment. This is a reflection of limited access to safe and adequate sanitation services, which the local authorities have set to improve in the forthcoming decades with a recently commissioned city-wide sanitation masterplan serving as a basis for the works. In this article, we aimed at understanding whether the infrastructure projected in the masterplan would lead to a reduction of nitrogen reaching groundwater. Currently, according to our calculations, almost 500 onnes of nitrogen reach the city's groundwater sources each year, with the masterplan potentially resulting in a 14% reduction, a small reduction due to its reliance on maintaining and expanding fecal sludge services, without considering investments to improve domestic systems (e.g., construction of contained systems). An alternative, not presented in the Masterplan and put forward by the authors, could be the construction of simplified sewers in two of the city's most densely populated neighborhoods, with a potential 29% reduction in nitrogen reaching groundwater.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Unpublished work made by the authors has shown that the treatment capacity of the plant, as BOD and COD removal rates, is limited. Thus, it is clear that the largest percentage of wastewater and fecal sludge produced in the city is not adequately treated, which leads to serious environmental and health issues [44,46].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mitigation Potential of Sanitation Infrastructure on Groundwater Contamination by Nitrate in Maputo

Arsénio

Salim

et al. 2018

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Integrated systems approaches involve interdisciplinarity, as complex city infrastructures comprise intersecting diverse natural, technical, and institutional dimensions [31]. Therefore, properly understanding these issues and the ways to solve them requires researchers and professionals from different academic and professional disciplines to provide input, exchange opinions, and learn from each other to discover new, creative solutions.…”

Section: Methods and Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Urban Water Management: Application for Integrated Assessment in Southeast Asia

Jalilov¹,

Kefi²,

Kumar³

et al. 2018

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The design, development, and operation of current and future urban water infrastructure in many parts of the world increasingly rely on and apply the principles of sustainable development. However, this approach suffers from a lack of the necessary knowledge, skills, and practice of how sustainable development can be attained and promoted in a given city. This paper presents the framework of an integrated systems approach analysis that deals with the abovementioned issues. The "Water and Urban Initiative" project, which was implemented by the United Nations University's Institute for the Advanced Study of Sustainability, focused on urban water and wastewater systems, floods, and their related health risk assessment, and the economics of water quality improvements. A team of researchers has investigated issues confronting cities in the developing countries of Southeast Asia, in relation to sustainable urban water management in the face of such ongoing changes as rapid population growth, economic development, and climate change; they have also run future scenarios and proposed policy recommendations for decision-makers in selected countries in Southeast Asia. The results, lessons, and practical recommendations of this project could contribute to the ongoing policy debates and decision-making processes in these countries.

show abstract

“…On the other hand, water-washed diseases (hygiene-related) occur due to insufficient water supply for the maintenance of adequate hygiene. The pathogens are transmitted person-to-person through body contact [15,[32][33][34]. Insects, such as mosquitoes, which breed and feed in or near water cause vector-borne diseases (e.g., malaria and dengue).…”

Section: Water-related Infectious Diseases (Wrid)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Urban surface water systems are increasingly facing stress from pollution in most developing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, as a result of land-use change, lack of wastewater treatment, and poor water quality monitoring [13][14][15]. Threats to human health, particularly the emergence and spread of water-related infectious diseases (WRID) and sanitation have been the focus of many research studies in South-East Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa; however, such studies focused less on the interactions between LULC and diseases [13,16,17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influences of Land-Use Dynamics and Surface Water Systems Interactions on Water-Related Infectious Diseases—A Systematic Review

Ntajal

Falkenberg

Kistemann

et al. 2020

Water

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Human interactions with surface water systems, through land-use dynamics, can influence the transmission of infectious water-related diseases. As a result, the aim of our study was to explore and examine the state of scientific evidence on the influences of these interactions on water-related infectious disease outcomes from a global perspective. A systematic review was conducted, using 54 peer-reviewed research articles published between 1995 and August 2019. The study revealed that there has been an increase in the number of publications since 2009; however, few of these publications (n = 6) made explicit linkages to the topic. It was found that urban and agricultural land-use changes had relatively high adverse impacts on water quality, due to high concentrations of fecal matter, heavy metals, and nutrients in surface water systems. Water systems were found as the common “vehicle” for infectious disease transmission, which in turn had linkages to sanitation and hygiene conditions. The study found explicit linkages between human–surface water interaction patterns and the transmission of water-based disease. However, weak and complex linkages were found between land-use change and the transmission of water-borne disease, due to multiple pathways and the dynamics of the other determinants of the disease. Therefore, further research studies, using interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to investigate and enhance a deeper understanding of these complexities and linkages among land use, surface water quality, and water-related infectious diseases, is crucial in developing integrated measures for sustainable water quality monitoring and diseases prevention.

show abstract

Improving health in cities through systems approaches for urban water management

Cited by 46 publications

References 44 publications

Mitigation Potential of Sanitation Infrastructure on Groundwater Contamination by Nitrate in Maputo

Mitigation Potential of Sanitation Infrastructure on Groundwater Contamination by Nitrate in Maputo

Sustainable Urban Water Management: Application for Integrated Assessment in Southeast Asia

Influences of Land-Use Dynamics and Surface Water Systems Interactions on Water-Related Infectious Diseases—A Systematic Review

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About