Continuing the development of WASH use-case studies to simulate in resilience.io – GTG Webinar – November 17th 2015
Meeting Objectives
During this key meeting, the GTG members were updated on how the resilience.io prototype is structured around eight key WASH components. The technical team from Imperial College London (ICL) and the Institute for Integrated Economics Research (IIER) then presented possible use cases based around six WASH challenges discussed during previous GTG meetings. Details were given in a background paper distributed before the meeting to familiarise all participants, including those not able to attend.
The use cases will look into key challenges facing the WASH sector in GAMA today, evaluate potential solutions to address these using the resilience.io prototype, and yield decision information on key indicators and outcomes, so as to facilitate knowledge for change. The six options were ranked during the meeting to reach consensus on three to be taken forwards during the prototype phase (see below for details).
Model Components
Rembrandt Koppelaar from IIER began by summarising the eight different components included in the model for WASH. A component consists of input data, flow modelling, output data and can be influenced by constraints and scenarios set by users. A constraint is a limit imposed upon society (e.g. a policy to limit water exploitation for treatment). A scenario is a change over time or space (e.g. how will an increase/decrease in rainfall over time affect the raw water available for collection and treatment).
Key performance indicators provided by the model can help with decision support. The model can also be used to set, plan for and monitor targets e.g. a particular percentage of people with access to potable water in 2025 which is one of the Sustainable Development Goal indicators.
The eight components are to be modelled within the spatial context of the 15 districts of GAMA, augmented by neighbourhood level data where available. They are listed below, but explanations of the inputs, outputs, potential constraints, scenarios and indicators for each component can be found in the slides and podcast from the webinar on our website.
- Raw water collection and water availability
- Source water treatment
- Potable water distribution
- Water usage
- Wastewater and sewage collection
- Waste water treatment
- Sanitation treatment systems
- Long-term socio-economic scenarios
Use Cases
Xiaonan Wang (ICL) and Rembrandt Koppelaar (IIER) then outlined the six possible use cases, and during voting, use cases 1, 2 and 6 were selected to be taken forwards by the GTG. Explanations of each use case can be found in the podcast.
The prototype model will now be further developed based on use cases 1, 2 and 6 (see below). First results from initial model runs for each use case will be presented during the webinar on 14th January 2016 for review and further refinement towards an applied demonstration of the functionality of the model for the WASH sector. The prototype debut will be in April-May 2016 and, with guidance from technical experts, at that point a complete demonstration will take place of how it could be used by stakeholders for decision support.
Use case 1 – Model the ongoing WASH projects relative to the existing situation as a baseline, and examine the remaining gaps towards meeting macro-level WASH targets for planning, such as the National Water Sector Strategy Development plan targets to increase urban water coverage to 100% in 2025.
Use case 2 – Examine possibilities and costs to increase household access to improved potable water sources.
Use case 3 – Calculate capacity needs to end water rationing issues within the existing water pipe network area.
Use case 4 – Examine infrastructures that will meet the challenge of wastewater and fecal sludge collection and treatment.
Use case 5 – Improvement of health issues caused by unimproved water access and absence of sanitation infrastructure.
Use case 6 – Increase availability of clean, accessible, and affordable toilet infrastructure
Announcements
We would like to extend a warm welcome to Sampson Madana who has joined the Future Cities Africa project as The Ecological Sequestration Trust GTG Chair. Sampson is a Fellow of American Academy of Project Management, a member of the Ghana Institute of Planners and has a Masters in Business Administration. He will be coordinating technical development and engagement activities for the resilience.io project in Ghana until the debut in April 2016.
Further, we would like to invite a local presenter to introduce their work at the next webinar on 14th January – a great opportunity for knowledge exchange and exploring shared opportunities!
Contact us
We welcome your input, questions, comments or feedback on data, prototype development, or any aspect of the programme.
Slides
Webinar slide download – PDF
Audio
Webinar audio download – MP3
