Decentralized Waste Water Treatment Solutions in Developing Countries, Surabaya, Indonesia, 23-25 March 2010

Organised by: International Water Association (IWA) and Bremen Overseas Research and Development Association (BORDA)

The conference aims to bring together top wastewater and sanitation experts, governments, utilities and international agencies to share and discuss their expertise, knowledge and experiences on decentralized wastewater treatment solutions. The Conference will consist of a single track with presentations. There will be an exhibition taking place alongside the Conference.

Proposed themes:

• Technical decentralized sanitation options
  • treatment, sludge disposal, reuse, city-wide approaches
• Community-based sanitation options
  • community selection, health & hygiene education, gender, community action planning, community management, O&M services, multi-stakeholder approaches
• Management options
  • financing models, regulatory frameworks, marketing, contractual arrangements, controls, efficiency indicators, capacity development for mainstreaming
• Upscale and integration of decentralized systems

The call for abstracts closed on 01 Nov 2009.

Registration opens on 01 Jan 2010

Conference web site

IIIrd World Aqua Congress, New Delhi, India, 02-04 December 2009

Organised by: Aqua Foundation

Sponsors include: Indian Ministry of Earth Sciences, UNICEF, CSIR India

Theme: Enhancing Water Use Efficiency: physical, social and economical dimensions; technological aspects and environmental aspects

Topics:

• Enhancing Water Use Efficiency – Rural & Agriculture (including drinking water)
• Enhancing Water Use Efficiency – Urban Sector
• Enhancing Water Use Efficiency – Industrial Sector
• Water Resources: Availability, Management, Quality
• Institutional, Legal & Policy Issues, Water Auditing and Accounting

Conference web site

World Toilet Day, 19 November 2009

World Toilet Day was established on 19 November 2001 by the World Toilet Organization. Celebrated annually, it seeks to increase awareness of the importance of toilet sanitation and each individual’s right to a safe and hygienic sanitary environment.

This year, Unilever’s Domestos will be the inaugural sponsor of World Toilet Day.

To help raise awareness for the 2.5 billion people who don’t have access to sanitation, thousands of people are going to squat for one minute. All over the world, in malls, in offices, on city streets – everywhere you turn, people will be squatting. And we want you to take part! The Big Squat is just one of many World Toilet Day events.

PumpAid’s in the UK has launched GAS, the Give a Sh*t Campaign, which includes the S*it Song, sung by Lark.

On WaterAid’s World Toilet Day web site you can send a postcard to PM Gordon Brown demanding that he talks toilets with world leaders, or play online Turdlywinks.

Follow World Toilet Day on Twitter and Facebook.

World Toilet Summit & Expo, Singapore, 2-4 December 2009

Organised by: World Toilet Organization and MP Asia

World Toilet Summit & Expo (WTSE 2009) will focus on ‘Creating the Blueprint for a Sustainable Sanitation Marketplace’. The three-day Summit will uncover urban and rural perspectives on:

• Creating demand at the bottom-of-the-pyramid (BOP) market
• Designing, engineering and manufacturing of sanitation solutions
• Training and capacity development to ensure sustainability
• Scaling up of sustainable sanitation solutions through social financing mechanisms

The accompanying Expo will showcase sustainable sanitation solutions and urban toilet designs and technology.

Summit presentation topics include:

• World Sanitation Financing Facility (Jon Lane, WSSCC)
• Future of Sanitation (Dr Bindeshwar Pathak, Sulabh International)
• Strategic Partnerships in Upstreaming of Sanitation Programs (Sunoor Verma, Procube International)
• Communication for Sanitation Development (WSSCC)
• Sanitation Marketing
• Sustainable Sanitation Alliance
• Standards & Policies (International Code Council, ICC)
• School Sanitation
• Design Workshop – Design & Technology for Built Environment and Developing Cities
  Panel Discussion: A dialogue on the future of sanitation finance (World Toilet Organization)
• Financing Sanitation (led by Asian Development Bank)
• Social Entrepreneurship : A Sanitation Economy
• Real Corporate Citizenship

For more information and to register go to the WTSE 2009 web site

Urban Rainwater Harvesting, Anil Agarwal Green Centre, India, 03-07 November 2009

Advanced course for working professionals

This course is open to civil engineers, architects, urban planners, environment consultants, municipal water managers, policy makers, government officials and NGOs interested in learning more about the theory, practice and policies of urban water harvesting.

The programme allows you to gain knowledge, acquire holistic perspectives and get hands-on practice in planning and designing urban water harvesting systems . It will help you to solve real-life water problems of today and give you the unique chance to meet and interact with experts and professional in the field of rainwater harvesting.

Course fee: Rs.8,800

Registration deadline: 26 October 2009

Decentralised Water Supply and Sanitation, UNESCO-IHE, The Netherlands, 05-23 July 2010

This 3-week course provides theoretical background and practical expertise in the field of low-cost decentralised water supply and sanitation alternatives specifically suitable for the small towns, peri-urban areas and urban slums, small island communities, tourist resorts etc.

Organised by: UNESCO-IHE Instituite for Water Education with guest lecturers from IRC and SANDEC

Target group: Mid-career professionals dealing with planning and management aspects of water supply and sanitation infrastructures, working for municipalities, government ministries, water supply agencies or consulting firms.

Programme:

• Introduction: Module objectives and contents (General introduction to water supply and sanitation situations in small town, peri-urban areas and urban slums etc.)
• Water Supply Systems: Water sources, supply systems, source selection, water supply service levels, spring catchments and sand dams, wells and pumps, rainwater harvesting, small-scale water treatment methods.
• Sanitation Systems: Ecological sanitation (introduction to ecosan, basics of conventional wastewater treatment, relevant treatment technologies, ecosan and agriculture, greywater treatment and reuse, linkages between ecosan and Millennium Development Goals). Faecal Sludge Management, Low-cost Sewerage and Drainage
• Management aspects of DWSS: Participatory planning and evaluation of DWSS systems, financing and cost recovery, institutional arrangements and operation and maintenance aspects.

Course fee: €2250 [fellowships available]

Registration deadline: 05 June 2010

For more information, course brochure and application form, go to the UNESCO-IHE web site

Water – Harvesting, Storage and Conservation – WHSC-2009, Kanpur, India, 23-25 November 2009

Organised by: Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur with support from UNICEF

Themes:

Rainwater Harvesting

• Rainwater harvesting techniques for different geo-hydro-thermo regions
• Rainwater harvesting and artificial recharge
• Rainwater harvesting for climate change adaptation and energy saving
• Water quality aspects in rainwater harvesting system
• Ecological and economic impacts of rainwater harvesting

Storage

• Watershed management
• Natural water resources management
• Groundwater flow and contamination management
• Groundwater recharge
• Coastal aquifer management
• GIS for neighborhood-level analysis of rainwater catchment
• Innovative water storage techniques

Conservation

• Water quality and its impact on public health
• Water pollution
• Removal of emerging contaminants from water and wastewater
• Wastewater reclamation, recycle and reuse
• Conventional water-borne sanitation system
• Conventional water-borne sanitation system
• Issues and challenges in dry sanitation
• Challenges in implementing ecological sanitation in developing countries
• Minimizing the use of water in sanitation

Abstract deadline: 20 Oct 2009

Registration deadline: 10 Oct 2009

Conference web site

IWA Development Congress, Mexico City, Mexico, 15-19 November 2009

Organised by: International Water Association (IWA) and the Universidad Nacional Antonoma de Mexico (UNAM)

This first IWA Development Congress will focus on what works in water and sanitation service provision in developing countries. There will be technical presentations, coupled with peer-based workshops, an awards programme, book launches, exhibition space, poster presentations, social and networking receptions and technical tours.

The focus of congress is on smart solutions for financing and infrastructure, utility management, institutional development, regulations and policy.

It will bring together 1,000 international water and sanitation professionals including researchers, practitioners, policy makers, consultants, manufacturers, technology suppliers and members of the international development community.

Workshops of special interest include:

• Disaster Response & Recovery (IWA / Unicef / USAID)
• Household water treatment and safe storage (USAID)
• Assurance of supply and sustainability (IRC International Water and Sanitation Centre)
• Water Safety Plans (LAC-WSP-Net/IWA / USEPA / AIDIS / CDC / PAHO / US State Dept)
• Mechanisms of knowledge sharing: from networks to IT Tools (WRC)
• O&M for Sustainable Management of Water Supply and Sanitation Services (O&M Network, IWA, WHO and NIPH)
• Wastewater treatment in developing countries (IWA)
• Water Integrity, Accountability and Transparency (Water Integrity Network – WIN)
• SWASH+ (School Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Plus Community Impact) – (Water for People)
• Water testing in resource poor settings – Aquatest Research Programme
• Water Operators Partnerships (IWA / UN-HABITAT)

For more information and to register go to the web site.

2nd IFEH Africa Group All Africa Environmental Health Congress, Lilongwe, Malawi, 24-27 May 2010

Organised by: International Federation of Environmental Health (IFEH), Government of Malawi and University of Malawi

Objectives of the Congress

• Raise the profile of environmental health in Africa
• Sharing best practices of environmental health services delivery in Africa
• Enhance inter-country collaboration in environmental health practice
• Addressing the training needs of environmental health
• Promote the environmental health needs of children in Africa
• Promote environmental health research

The conference sub-themes include water and sanitation, community development, environmental pollution, waste management, environmental health training and development, and climate change.

Abstract deadline: 30 Oct 2009

For more information go to the conference web site

Global Handwashing Day, 15 October 2009

Initiated in 2008 by the Global Public-Private Partnership for Handwashing with Soap, Global Handwashing Day is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies and individuals around the globe.

The driving theme for Global Handwashing Day is children and schools, and the main objectives of this global celebration are:

• Foster and support a global and local culture of handwashing with soap.
• Shine a spotlight on the state of handwashing in each country.
• Raise awareness about the benefits of handwashing with soap

Get involved and download the Global Handwashing Day Planner’s Guide

Global Handwashing Day web site