A Better World - Volume 3: Ensure Access to Water and Sanitation for All

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SFD reports contribute to better diagnostics and more

targeted intervention at city level. For the report to be of most

value, it must comprise the graphic together with a detailed

set of critical information on the sanitation service delivery

context of a city and a transparent reference to all data sources

used, otherwise sustainable solutions cannot be achieved. For

example, there are cities that have received funds for more

than one large wastewater treatment plant which became

dysfunctional after a few months. Investment in a large

plant is a bad idea if skilled personal are not in place to run

and maintain it, or if the appropriate policy environment to

finance the operational and maintenance costs is missing.

Presenting an SFD graphic to a key decision maker often

sets the appropriate tone for productive discourse, initiating

it by providing a clear and common ground. There are various

backgrounds against which such discussion can take place.

For instance, in Moshi, Tanzania, four key stakeholders of

urban sanitation used the city’s SFD

as a starting point to

help develop a joint understanding of the status quo and to

inform discussion on possible futures for the city. In India,

the SFD has been integrated in the ministry’s toolkit for

implementing the already effective National Urban Sanitation

Policy, strengthening communication among experts as well

as providing information for the public.

In summary, an SFD not only presents relevant informa-

tion visually to more than one sector but, by doing so, brings

together the various sectors and their respective agendas.

Thus, various stakeholders are linked in communication that

otherwise would have remained within their own field of

discourse. The SFD is therefore responsible for shaping a

new, more encompassing conversation on sanitation.

Two other strong visual concepts required for SFDs

While the idea of the graphic quickly emerged in discussions

between experts, the underlying thinking was predicated on

two main pillars

6,7

that also evolved around iconography.

One is the systems approach to sanitation that defines the

components forming a typical system and produces a set of

examples. The other is the idea of sanitation as part of a circu-

lar economy. It is possible close the loop on sanitation, linking

excreta management with broader resource efficiency and

sustainability discussions and hence with a range of SDGs.

Both approaches connect sanitation with matter flow analysis

and are discussed below.

Conveyance

Input/Output

Products

Faecal Sludge

C.7

S.2

ngle Pit

S.3

Single Pit VIP

C.8

Sewer

Emptying &

Transport

C.3

MotorizedEmpty-

Excreta

User Interface

Collection

and Storage/

Treatment

Conveyance

(Semi-)

Centralized

Treatment

Use and/or

Disposal

Input/Output

Products

Input

Products

Input/Output

Products

Input/Output

Products

Faeces

Anal Cleansing

Water

Stormwater

Effluent

Greywater Treatment

D.1

Fill and Cover

D.5

Irrigation

D.8

Aquaculture

D.9

Macrophyte

D.10

Disposal/

Recharge

D.5

Irrigation

D.6

Soak Pit

D.10

Disposal/

Recharge

D.10

Disposal/

Recharge

Faecal Sludge

Urine

D.11

Land Application

D.12

Surface Disposal

Stormwater Drains

Dry Cleansing

Material

U.1

Dry Toilet

C.7

Transfer Station

S.2

Single Pit

S.3

Single Pit VIP

T.3

WSP

T.4

Aerated Pond

T.5

FWS CW

T.6

HSF CW

T.7

VF CW

T.8

Trickling Filter

T.9

UASB

T.10

Activated Sludge

T.11

Sedimentation/

Thickening

T.12

Unplanted drying

beds

T.13

Planteddryingbeds

T.14

Co-Composting

T.15

Biogas Reactor

Treated Sludge

C.8

Sewer Discharge

Station

Effluent

Flushwater

Greywater

C.2

Human Powered

Emptying &

Transport

C.3

MotorizedEmpty-

ing & Transport

Excreta

Blackwater

U.4

Pour Flush Toilet

The systems approach to sustainable sanitation for a single pit system. This method has found widespread acceptance in the sector

See reference 12: Tilley, E., Lüthi, C., Morel, A., Zurbrügg, C., & Schertenleib, R., 2008. Compendium of Sanitation Systems and Technologies. Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), Dübendorf, Switzerland

Roland Schertenleib, former director of the Swiss Institute for Water Research,

was a key figure to argue for a global systems approach to sanitation

Fig 2: Combining sanitation system components to form sets of systems along a sanitation chain

Image: SuSanA/GIZ