Why focus on sanitation systems and technology options?
Cold climates, including high-altitude and seasonal change regions, present unique challenges for sanitation systems, such as freezing temperatures, limited water access, supply chain difficulties, and infrastructure resilience issues. Traditional sanitation solutions often fail under these conditions, leading to health risks and environmental contamination.
This sub-theme within Working Group 4 focuses on developing tailored sanitation solutions that are resilient, cost-effective, and culturally appropriate for cold climates. It aims to bridge knowledge gaps and promote integrated technologies that address the entire sanitation chain, prioritizing resource-based sanitation whenever possible. These solutions must ensure health, hygiene, and environmental sustainability.
Objectives
This sub-theme aims to:
- Develop and share knowledge on sanitation solutions for cold climates.
- Facilitate informed decision-making with context-specific technology configurations.
- Support effective implementation and operation through best practices and case studies.
- Foster collaboration to develop sustainable sanitation solutions for cold climates.
Introducing the Leads of this Initiative
Judith Maréchal is a specialist in water and sanitation solutions for cold climates and is actively working on establishing a network to connect polar and mountainous regions for shared expertise. With a PhD from the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Sustain) on rural water supplies in Greenland, Judith has lived and worked in Norway, Nepal, and Greenland. She is also a member of the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic WASH, striving to create solutions for cold and high-altitude regions that are both sustainable and culturally appropriate.
Tobias Ulbrich serves as a WASH Consultant at UNICEF WASH Hub in Copenhagen, where he focuses on Cold Climate Sanitation. Currently, he is evaluating a Container-Based Wastewater Treatment System (CBWTS) in Mongolia, with a view toward scaling it to other cold climate regions. Tobias brings extensive experience from his years in the WASH sector, including his role as WASH and Regional coordinator at BORDA.
Ways to get involved
Whether you are actively working on sanitation challenges in cold climates or are interested in the topic, we welcome you to become part of this initiative! Sign-up for the WG mailing list to be updated on the most recent news and events.
Santiago SEPTIEN STRINGEL, Pareshin NAIDOO, Akhil RAMLUCKEN, Freddie INAMBAO, Craig MCGREGOR, Jon POCOCK, Anusha SINGH (2023)
Development of an In-Situ Faecal Sludge Solar Dryer at Pilot-Scale
WRC Final Report of the Project K5/2897
The present project (K5/2897) was about the development, testing and evaluation of two prototype solar thermal drying technologies for the treatment of faecal sludge, namely a greenhouse-type solar dryer and a screw conveyer, and it included a pre-feasibility study. The prototype testing showed that, temperatures between 35 and 45°C could […]
Santiago SEPTIEN, Arun Kumar RAYAVELLORE SURYAKUMAR, Larona MALOPE, Tanaka CHATEMA, Edwina MERCER, Jana DARMOVZALOVA, Jon POCOCK, Anusha SINGH (2023)
Understanding Bound Water Content and Water Binding Strength in Faecal Sludge from On-site Sanitation Technologies and Human Faeces
WRC Final Report of the Project C2020/2021-00262
The aim of this project is to characterize the moisture boundness in faecal sludge, i.e. how moisture can be found in the sludge structure matrix and its interactions with the solid material. The understanding of moisture boundness will be greatly beneficial to improve the dewatering and thermal drying processes. The […]
Septien, S., Mupinga, R.T., Chatema, T.M., Perumal, S.R., Mary, E. (2021)
Addendum of Data related to Drying of Faecal Sludge from On-Site Sanitation Facilities and Fresh Faeces
The present document consists of an addendum of data to the Handbook of Methods for Faecal Sludge Analysis. It is part of a project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates (BMGF) through the OPP1164143, untitled “Characterization of faecal material during drying”. This project was granted for funding after the […]
Tilley, Elizabeth et al. (2008)
Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies (1st Edition)
(in English, French, Korean, Nepali, Spanish and Vietnamese)
The objective the Compendium is threefold: 1. Expose the Compendium user to a broad range of sanitation systems and innovative technologies; 2. Help the Compendium user understand and work with the system concept, i.e. the process of building a complete system, by iteratively choosing and linking appropriate technologies; 3. Describe and fairly present […]
Tayler, K. (2018)
Faecal Sludge and Septage Treatment
A guide for Low and Middle Income Countries
This book deals with the treatment of faecal material and supernatant water removed from on-site and decentralized sanitation facilities and systems. Its main focus is on treatment facility design but this can never be viewed in isolation. Rather, it must reflect local conditions, start from a realistic assessment of the […]
Tobias Ulbrich
UNICEF WASH Hub/ BORDA • Denmark
Judith Maréchal
Technical University of Denmark (DTU Sustain) • Denmark
