Economic Commission For Asia And Far East (ECAFE) Regional Conference On Water Resources Development

Water Research Vol. 8. pp. 127 to 129. Pergamon Press 107-1 Printed in Great Britain.

REPORT ECONOMIC

COMMISSION

REGIONAL CONFERENCE

F O R ASIA A N D FAR EAST (ECAFE)

ON WATER RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT

10th S E S S I O N - - 1 8 S E P T E M B E R , 1972 PROF. DR. SHIGEHISAIWAI .Representing the International Association of Water Pollution Research

The 10th Session of the Water Resources Development affecting industrialized countries, was taken up at the fifth ECAFE took place in Manila, 18-25th September, 1972. session of the Conference in 1962. At the 10th session the The participants included representatives of the member problem was examined from the standpoint of present and countries of ECAFE (Australia, France, India, Indonesia, probable future conditions in developing countries. Seven Iran, Japan, Laps, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, country papers were also presented by respective represenPakistan, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Republic of Viet- tatives and well discussed. nam, Singapore, Thailand, USSR, United Kingdom, UnIt was shown in these papers that nine countries in ited States and Hong Kong), representatives of Israel, inter- ECAFE region were classified according to two categories national technical organizations (AIT, IAWPR and IAHR), according to the extent of pollution and the sources of polUN special agencies and inter-governmental organizations lution. The pollution varied from moderate to serious pro(ILO, FAO, WHO, UNDP, ADB, Secretariats of Typhoon portions. Even where pollution as a whole was insignificant, Committee and Mekong Committee) and the ECAFE Sec- there were areas where water pollution was a serious probretariat. lem owing to the concentration of industry and population. A document entitled "A re-appraisal of the water The demand for industrialization resulted in population resources requirements of the developing portion of the concentration, increasing the pollution potential which was ECAFE region" and a document entitled "Multiple-objec- a function of population density and per capita income. Poltive planning in the development of water resources and its lution from domestic wastes was the result of the absence ramifications with respect to implementation" were dis- or lack of sewerage systems. Pending the construction of cussed by the participants, with other documents from the water-carriage sewerage systems, it was suggested that conmember countries. The rising tide of concern for the en- sideration be given to night-soil collection by means of vironment and quality of life has led to the concept of multi- tanker trucks and to the construction of dual- or multiplepie-objective planning in which non-economic objectives quality water supply systems. Objection was raised to the are given considerably more weight, in relation to economic' use of such water supply systems because of the possibility objectives, than formerly. These other objectives include en -) of cross-pollution, besides which the cost of separate reticuhancement of the quality of environment, enhancement of lation systems was always substantial. On the other hand, regional development and enhancement of social well-being. advantages might outweigh disadvantages as the demand The conference took up the difficult question of evaluating for water supplies increased. It was agreed that water quabenefits and costs in this connection and examined the more lity considerations should be taken into account in water important ramifications of multiple-objective planning with resources development, particularly in the planning phase. respect to the implementation of development plans. Efforts must be exerted so as to set up preventative legislaAn agenda item on "Application of modern scientific tion in order to minimize the quality of pollutants and the management techniques to the operation and maintenance harmful effects of contamination materials. Such legislation of water resources projects", covered: (i) computerization of should be rational and based on equitable grounds. operations, including the use of telemetering and remote opTechnological alternative measures proposed for the eration; (ii) network analysis, incorporating the critical path abatement of water pollution could be grouped according method (CPM)and programme evaluation and review tech- to the following principles: (a) reduction in the generation nique (PERT); (iii) reservoir operation, including the use of of wastes: (b) reduction of wastes after generation; and (c) streamflow simulation; and (iv) management accounting. increased or better use of the assimilative capacity of receivOther techniques, based on simulation and mathematical ing waters. Several participants favoured high water quality modelling and the use of linear and dynamic programming standards, but it was suggested that there should be strict have not advanced far enough for general application. Brief legislation incorporating relatively high standards imposed reference was made to these techniques as well as to certain in combination with a system of temporary dispensation, other new techniques in a paper entitled "'The application permitting lower standards that could be adjusted upwards of modern management techniques to the operation and as the need arose. The prevailing view, however, was that maintenance of water resources projects". such standards should be chosen to suit the present A paper on "Technical aspects of water pollution abatedominant use of water and to reflect also the level of economent in the ECAFE region" was presented by Prof. M. B. tr~c development in the river basin or the region concerned. Peseod and another paper on "Socio-economic aspects of In industrialized countries, development had advanced to water pollution control" by Prof. R. J. Frankel. both from the point where authorities knew the complete range of AIT. The general question of water pollution, as it was then water uses both quantitatively and qualitatively, hence 127

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beneficial uses and quality management of water resources could be fulfilled. That was not the case in developing countries where portable water supply, irrigation and fishing appeared to be the predominant uses. In cases where there was conflict of interesL the community had to decide care.fully which interest should take precedence. The level of stream water standards chosen have a significant effect on' the degree of waste reduction, but milder effluent standards which just satisfy the receiving stream water standards after dilution, dispersion and self-purification are dangerous, because they do not leave a safety margin for the future. It was suggested that strict legislation incorporating relatively high standards be imposed in combination with a system of dispensation, permitting lower standards that could be adjusted upwards as the need arose. Oxygen balance studies often suffered from certain deficiencies owing to errors in sampling, flow variations, the effects of weather and the interpretation of observations. Biological indicators could be used. in lieu of physical observations. Bio-assay was very effective, using fish in order to determine the toxicity of effluent. Modelling of streams, estuaries and sea areas were effectively used in order to investigate mixing and dispersion processes of pollutants as well as to reveal phenomena on dissolved oxygen balance. Several mathematical models, both deterministic and stochastic, could be used to calculate the probability distribution of the dissolved oxygen deficit, but they required the availability of reliable hydrometric and water quality data. The waste assimilative capacity of a river or estuary could be improved, for first instance, by increasing streamflow through controlled releases from storage reservoirs and, secondly, by oxygen supply through reaeration techniques, including the use of aeration devices. It followed that individual abstractions from or discharge of water to a receiving water for any purpose ought not to be allowed without considering their effect on waste assimilative capacity. Storage, diversion and recharge of wastewater could be utilized for irrigation, cooling purposes in industrial plants, control of salt-water intrusion and prevention of ground subsidence, while minimizing wastewater generation, recycling of wasted material and water and removal of pollutants and especially toxicants in wastewater were also effective. The joint use of wastewater treatment plants by industry and municipalities was generally the most economic solution. In many large cities, effective wastewater treatment plants provided primary and/or secondary treatments to remove suspended solids, BOD and bacteria. Tertiary and advanced wastewater treatments were gradually being required in developed countries which suffered from decrease of assimilative capacity, deterioration of water usage and poorer environmental standards in streams and lakes. The main factor preventing the installation of more and better treatment plants was the limitation of available funds. Activated sludge plants, though widely used, had problems for developing countries because of the need for imported equipment, necessitating the use of foreign currency and the employment of trained personnel to operate them. For smaller cities and industries in developing countries, land intensive systems of stabilization pond and oxidation ditch utilizing limited equipment but ample land area might be considered to be reasonable in both construction and operation costs" instead of capital intensive systems as activated sludge process. New developments in waste treatment were confined mainly to research with the object of utilizing treatment by-products for agriculture, fish production and

industry. Plastic media filtration method was thought to have good possibilities for high intensity biological filtration for large populations. Care had therefore to be exercised in the disposal, to the air or to the land. of the waste produced. by wastewater treatment processes. To achieve the requisite co-ordination in environmental control, regional organizations having authority to enforce regulations was necessary. Several countries in ECAFE region had organized appropriate agencies and they had stipulated legislation which called for water pollution control. The main problems encountered in enforcing such legislation were the monitoring of water quality levels. Inter-agency co-operation was essential if laws were to be effectively enforced on the responsibility of more than one agency. It was recognized that water pollution abatement required specialized knowledge and increasing number of specialists, not only for routine activities but also for research. For that reason, training and the exchange of information were indispensable for the abatement. The main inter-related issues in determining the cost of water quality management were: (a) the relation of water use to water quality as well as the degree of certainty of a specified quality level; {b) determination of the best com. bination of management measures to achieve specified levels of quality with a given degree of certainty; and (c) determination of the best institutional arrangements for managing water quality. The total cost of water quality managemeat was the sum of public and private damage and the net cost of reducing damage. Waste discharged from a production process often caused consumers external to the waste discharge to incur additional costs. However, external costs associated with wastewater discharges were difficult to ascertain except where obvious physical damage could be measured. The economic methods by which waste discharges could be controlled were effluent charges, sewer charges, stream and effluent standards. Effluent standards based on waste load were the most popular means but they were restrictive, provided a minimum of flexibility and were inequitable because of difference in location and efficiencies of operation among waste dischargers, although they were easy to administer because of their uniformity. Stream standards" on the other hand, were equitable though difficult to monitor and administer. Effluent charges, which represented a tax on the waste discharger to counteract the external effects of his operations, were generally better because they forced the discharger to employ more efficient production methods, with the object of minimizing cost. There was general support for the concept that the polluter should pay for the pollution he caused, but the difficulty lay in determining how much he should be charged. For want of data or for other reasons, it might be exceedingly difficult if not impossible to determine the total cost brought about by pollution. The view was expressed that a combination of stream and effluent standards might be workable in some circumstances. An alternative suggestion was that the charge adopted should serve as an inducement to reduce or control pollution. A trial and error approach to the impact and validity of charges was suggested where basic data was limited. The sliding scale employed in France appeared to warrant consideration since the cost of water pollution control had a detrimental effect on the viability of some industrial firms, particularly those verging on obsolescence. On the other hand, the need for pollution control often constituted an additional motive for adopting more advanced technology not only to improve productivity which tended to put obsolete firms out of business but also

REPORT to suppress the pollution they caused for firms which were on the border of viability and therefore very sensitive to the cost of pollution control. Reasonable postponements were permitted in the introduction of control measures and government assistance was provicled in the form of special loans. Several examples including four standards for fresh water and six standards for saline water which were adopted in New Zealand and a quality standards programme which was promulgated in the Philippines several years ago were cited and discussed. The social policies used for controlling waste discharges were tax reduction incentive legal remedies and the organizational approach to regional quality management. Developed countries sometimes resorted to subsidies--rapid tax write-off, tax credits and accelerated depreciation--to induce the construction of industrial waste treatment facilities. Such practices had been found to be inefficient for water quality management, because these treatment facilities were costly to the taxpayer, especially to one whose profitability is marginal, to whom special consideration should be given. htlicient water quality management could seldom be achieved through legislation, because of delays caused by cumbersome legal procedures and the wide dispersion in time and space of damages associated with waste discharges. Judicial process, however, played an important supporting role as an instrument for recourse, relief and enforcement. Regional water quality management by river basin authorities had certain advantages including: (a) the benefits of large-scale water management alternatives; (b) better co-ordination of public policies dealing with water resources and land use management; and (c) better control of the undesirable external effects from individual waste dischargers. For that reason, there was strong support within the Conference for the organizational approach to regional water quality management. An overall central or federal agency was needed to establish policies, to press for uniformity in their applications and to monitor progress. In several countries in ECAFE region, the establishment of surveillance and control over quality management necessitated the setting up of new organization, but where changescame slowly and where major changes were involved, it was impracticable to attempt to do more than modify existing administrative bodies. In that connection, the attention of the Conference was drawn to the organizational structures and powers of river basin authorities in the Ruhr area of Germany, the river authorities of England and Wales, the French basin agencies, the Delaware River Basin Coml'nission in the United States of America, and basin agencies of the Soviet Union. There was a

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need for a uniform legal basis to administer the pollution control programmes of regional bodies. The application of effuent charges exerted pressure on the poUutor to reduce his cost and the revenue collected tended to ensure the validity of the administrating agency. But the system introduced possibilities for graft and misuse of revenues which had to be guarded against. Some dissatisfaction was expressed with the multi-disciplinary approach to pollution abatement. Even where action was clearly indicated, the various disciplines often became so involved in the investigation, research and other activities connected with their own special interests that it was difficult to arrive at solutions. Meanwhile. to circumvent the delays that would be inevitable if the perfect solution or final answer were awaited, trial-and-error and progressive-refinement approaches were called for. Prof. Iwai. the IAWPR delegate to the Conference. believed that it is preferable not to discriminate between one country and another, whether a developed country or not, if the environmental pollution is taken into account. For instance, a country may have grown enormously wealthy in industry in the past but now may be suffering due to a large increase of pollution. In other words, she is developed industrially but undeveloped in pollution control. Less developed countries so designated by conventional classification have more space to develop their industries by importing raw materials from abroad. The reason why environmental pollution has not been actively controlled in some countries is not due to the absence of pollution, but to the lack of awareness of pollution. This is the impression obtained on visiting several countries as WHO consultant on water pollution control in 1971. Several cases of significant contamination of public waters by toxic substances derived from mainly primary industries, using insecticides for rubber trees, were noticed. Rapid promotion of urban and industrial development occurred, exceeding the receiving capacity of the environment to absorb and purify the various pollutants produced. It is urgently needed to project, construct and adequately operate many sewage and industrial liquidwaste treatment plants in this region, in order not only to protect drinking water but also to secure good irrigation water. In order to prevent the past mistakes in the development of water resources made by developed countries, the so-called developing countries in the region of ECAFE must pay more attention to science and technology in the purification of water, the treatment and reuse of sewage and waste, the self-purification of water, reservoirs, streams and estuaries. in monitoring and management techniques, and in planning water resources development.