Training on Tools and Approaches for Citywide Water and Sanitation Management

Date: April 16-19, 2019   

Venue: Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute (AAETI), Nimli, Rajasthan (301405)  

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), India as part of its School of Water and Waste initiative organised a 5 day training programme on "Tools and Approaches on City-wide Water and Sanitation Management". Part 1 of the training programme (16 to 20 April) focused on Water Prudent Cities, which was held at CSE’s state-of-art residential training campus, Anil Agrawal Environment Training Institute (AAETI) in Neemli, Alwar District, Rajasthan.

The aim of the training was to create change-agents in the water sector, who will have in-depth understanding of key tools and approaches for city wide water management.The programme involved diverse group of 19 participants representing different organisations including government, NGOs, private companies, universities, entrepreneurs and more. Some participants had significant experience in their respective fields, thus sessions were organized in a manner that encouraged peer-to-peer learning. The training programme included a mix of theory, practical exercises and it was conducted based on state of the art teaching – learning tools consisting of interactive sessions, experiential learning using detailed case studies, working in groups on planning and designing and class room sessions.

The day began with a round of introduction and mapping of expectations of the participants. Following this, a short campus tour was conducted to showcase the various natural and decentralised water features of the campus.

The next sessions commenced with a brief introduction about CSE by Dr Suresh Rohilla, Senior Director, CSE who also established the context of the training by providing a brief overview of the issues and challenges in urban water management. Following this, Dr.Mahreen Matto, Programme manager, CSE introduced the various concepts and principles regarding ‘Tools’ and ‘Approaches’. Further, she defined the scope of the training programme by providing an overview of the various tools and approaches related to integrated urban water management in terms of water-land, water-energy and water-community nexus. This was followed by a pre-assessment quiz of the participants using the Socrative platform.

The next session was conducted on the urban water sustainability template, and its role as a monitoring and evaluation tool targeting integrated water management for Indian cities. The focus of the session was on how various indicators and indices can be used for assessment, and how the template was established by CSE as an evaluation tool. The session was concluded by a group exercise on the water sustainability template and its application.

Post lunch, Hemant Arora, Programme Officer, CSE introduced the web-based ECAM tool developed by International Water Association (IWA) for studying the water-energy-carbon nexus in urban utilities, particularly water supply and wastewater treatment. The participants were given a demonstration regarding the user interface, following which participants used the tool for calculating the carbon footprint of utilities for their native cities. This was followed by a session on water resources assessment and budgeting conducted by Chhavi Sharda, Deputy Programme Manager, CSE. The session was focussed on resource assessment and water efficiency and conservation at city scale and neighbourhood scale. The participants conducted an exercise on water budgeting for an institution, by using AAETI as a study area.

The evening session on Groundwater Management was conducted by Dr.Mattoo, in which the participants were exposed to the existing issues of groundwater quality and quantity, and the tools at the disposal of Central Groundwater Board, like Water Resources Information System (WRIS). As a case study of sustainable groundwater management from Denmark was also presented as a global practice.

The day was concluded by a session on Inclusive Water Management by Dr. Saakshi Joshi. The session focussed on the importance of community participation and stakeholder review in the urban water set-up. Concepts like barriers to participation and importance for inclusivity were also delivered.

Day two commenced with a session on the significance of GIS for water management delivered by Shivali Jainer, Deputy Programme Manager, CSE. She provided with basic principles of GIS and how GIS as a tool aids decision-making related to urban water management. Participants were also exposed to various online GIS and Remote Sensing portals such as Bhuvan, NUIS, etc. This was followed by brief introduction to ArcGIS and its user-interface by DhruvPasricha, Research Associate, CSE. The remainder of the day was allocated to hands-on exercises on ArcGIS. The participants were divided in three groups, and each group was provided with datasets for Pune, Bodhgaya and Bhopal. The exercises including mapping water bodies, vegetation, topography analysis including slope analysis and contour generation and hydrology analysis including stream network and basin delineation.

Day three began with an introductory session by Ms. Jainer, CSE on the concepts of Green Infrastructure (GI), Water Sensitive Urban Design and Planning and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS), followed by spatial planning case studies on GI from Delhi and a short brainstorming exercise. Further, session on SUDS approach: planning and management was conducted, followed by a group exercise on the same. This was followed by an example of Dwarka, highlighting the potential of SUDS in an urban setting. The day was concluded with a group exercise on GI planning at city level, where participants were again divided into three groups, Pune, Bhopal and Bodhgaya.

List of participants

Day four of the programme was focussed on RWH as a tool for urban water management. Sessions on how to design RWH systems, data requirement and RWH case studies were conducted by Ms. Jainer, supplemented by a short group exercise on data requirement for designing RWH. Post lunch, the participants were involved in a ‘Do-it-Yourself’ exercise on designing RWH system for different land uses, followed by a group presentation.

The training was concluded with feedback session by Gita Kavarana, Director, AAETI to understand the areas of improvement and performance of the AAETI campus. Feedback was also sought to identify participants who would be willing to be a part of long-term network with CSE.The training concluded with a post-assessment quiz, to make participants  assess their progress, followed by certificate distribution.

The final day of part-1 of the training programme showcased BMPs on Water Prudent Cities through field visits. The first visit was scheduled atRajokrivillage in South Delhi, focussing on a pilot project by Delhi Jal Board on Rajokri Lake revival. The project was explained by Mr. Ankit Srivastav, consulatant, Delhi Jal Board (DJB) on how wastewater can be treated in-situ and used for reviving a lake.

The second visit was at NeelaHauz Biodiversity Park, with a focus on lake rejuvenation using wastewater treatment entirely through nature-based solutions, and catchment area management techniques. Mr.Yasir Arafat, Maintain ace Officer, DDA  briefed the participants regarding the use of constructed wetlands to treat wastewater and lake rejuvenation by mimicking the natural water cycle, and how this waterbody fits into the larger network of green infrastructure in the city of Delhi.

For more information on the training programme kindly contact:

Dr.Mahreen Matto
Programme Manager, Water Programme
+91-11-40616000 (Ext: 257),
Email: mahreen@cseindia.org

Shivali Jainer
Deputy Programme Manager, Water Programme
+91-11-40616000 (Ext: 244)
Email: Shivali@cseindia.org                                                                                       

Dr. Suresh Kumar Rohilla
Senior Director & Academic Director, (School of Water and Waste, Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute – AAETI). 
srohilla@cseindia.org