MIT OpenCourseWare http ocw mit edu 11 479J 1 851J Water and Sanitation Infrastructure in Developing Countries Spring 2007 For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use visit http ocw mit edu terms Dept of Urban Studies and Planning Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Massachusetts Institute of Technology Spring Term 2007 11 479J 1 851J Water Sanitation Infrastructure in Developing Countries Policy Memo 1 Posted March 1 2007 Hard copy due in class March 6 2007 You have been contracted by the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board BWSSB as a Water Sanitation expert to provide advice as to the specific direction of a new program intended to reduce the incidence of diarrheal diseases in children under five years of age living in three slum neighborhoods Anandapuram Byapanhalli Momimpura where children s diarrheal rates are as high as 25 As you are aware BWSSB s role is to provide water supply sewerage networks and sewage disposal to the metropolitan area where an estimated 37 of the population is classified as urban poor BWSSB s income derives from water tariffs and sanitary charges as well as donations and loans but is not sufficient to cover all the necessary infrastructure and human resource needs so this new program will need to make tough decisions The current status of water supply is that public standpipes do exist in slum areas but do not supply water continuously and there is frequently low pressure and cross contamination Because of this women collecting standpipe water are forced to wait for long periods and frequently seek other options The percentage of household practicing hand washing with soap is low and slum areas have sanitation coverage rates of less than 25 with open defecation a common practice You have been asked to develop a policy memo detailing the strategy you recommend to reduce water related diseases in the three above mentioned slum neighborhoods Your major constraint is that this new program has limited funding so you must wrestle with trade offs and propose a clear policy direction You are familiar with major categories of water environmental interventions water quantity water quality sanitation and hygiene as visually highlighted in the photos provided by Genevieve Connors see slides 27 54 at the end of her lecture on the Stellar course site You are also aware of the relative efficacy of these environmental interventions detailed in the research of both Esrey and Fewtrell Colford as summarized in the following figure Dept of Urban Studies and Planning Civil and Environmental Engineering Department Massachusetts Institute of Technology Spring Term 2007 11 479J 1 851J Figure by MIT OpenCourseWare You are being asked to provide guidance on policy direction in terms of these possible interventions You anticipate that local officials have many other demands on their time and attention Therefore you want to effectively communicate your ideas to them as persuasively as possible From previous work you know that they expect a professional memo not an analytical essay It should express your own ideas based on your expertise and should avoid using quotations Citations are not strictly necessary in a professional memo although if you do choose to refer to statistics or other writers work you should cite them accordingly Your memo should be no longer than 750 words Use bullet points information rich headers figures diagrams and simple tables as appropriate and to emphasize key ideas Your memo should reflect what you have learned in the class thus far and may also draw on your knowledge from other coursework work and or life experience Hard copy due in class March 6th