Assignment Name: Baseline Survey of Household, Commercial, Industrial, and Institutional Establishments for the Development of Wastewater Management Facilities for Gazipur City Corporation under the PPP Framework

Country: Bangladesh

Client Name: Mahindra Consulting Engineers Ltd (MACE) and Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC)

Although Government of Bangladesh (GoB) prepared Dhaka Sewerage Master Plan (DSMP) in 2013, it elaborates a detailed and comprehensive plan for the wastewater management and sanitation system of the metropolitan area of RAJUK (including Dhaka city), with the primary goal to reduce significantly, and, in the long-term, to eliminate the pollution arising from unhygienic disposal of all wastewaters up to the planning horizon (2035). However, water, wastewater, and sanitation standards in GCC has been suffering because of unregulated industrial expansion, unplanned urbanization, encroachment of the rivers, and overloading of infrastructure. Moreover, people in GCC undertake their sanitary management privately, which is neither efficient, nor environment friendly. GCC does not have any provisions for public infrastructure for management of wastewater or faecal sludge.

The baseline survey for the development of wastewater management facilities in Gazipur City Corporation (GCC) under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) framework, funded by International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank, aimed to address the critical challenges posed by unregulated industrial expansion, rapid urbanization, and inadequate infrastructure. The baseline survey covered 1,500 households and 100 non-residential establishments across GCC’s Zone 1 and Zone 4. The study focused on understanding current water supply levels, sanitation arrangements, faecal sludge management practices, and associated gaps. It also estimated faecal sludge volumes and proposed sustainable emptying frequencies for septic and holding tanks. This foundational data validated and refined prior assessments, ensuring the feasibility and effectiveness of proposed interventions. The outcome of the survey guided the development of efficient, community-driven wastewater management solutions under a PPP framework.

DM WATCH LIMITED team executed the following services:

Development of Robust Survey Methodology:

• Designed and pretested survey tools in both English and Bangla, incorporating feedback from pilot tests to refine the questionnaire for contextual relevance​​.
• Developed and deployed digital data collection tools using KoboToolbox, integrating GPS functionalities for geo-referenced data​.

Data Collector Training:

• Organized intensive training sessions for enumerators and supervisors, covering topics such as survey objectives, data collection protocols, digital tool usage, and ethical guidelines. Feedback from the training sessions enhanced the questionnaire​.
• Conducted a pretest in Tongi to identify and resolve field implementation challenges​.
• Developed customized training manuals tailored to local contexts, ensuring enumerators and field supervisors were well-equipped​.
• Designed a checklist for validation workshops and systematically recorded findings, providing granular insights into each ward’s characteristics​.

Comprehensive Planning and Stakeholder Engagement:

• Conducted validation workshops in each ward to identify sampling pockets using participatory mapping techniques, involving local representatives, including ward councilors and community members​​.
• Undertook transact walks to verify identified sampling pockets, ensuring accurate representation of various socioeconomic and geographic characteristics​.

Comprehensive Sampling and Field Execution:

• Collected data from 1,500 households and 100 non-household entities, including diverse industries (e.g., garments, pharmaceuticals, food processing) and institutions (e.g., schools, clinics) distributed across identified zones and wards​​.
• Ensured equitable sampling across slum and non-slum areas, considering factors like population density, economic status, and sanitation conditions​​.

Quality Assurance and Data Validation:

• Implemented rigorous quality control mechanisms, including spot checks, daily reviews, and back-checks, to ensure data integrity. Logical database checks and progress tracking systems were established for real-time monitoring​​.
• Used appropriate techniques to ensure unbiased data collection​​.

Data Management and Analysis:

• Cleaned and validated collected data, ensuring accuracy and consistency before analysis. Prepared a comprehensive database with geo-tagged entries for seamless integration with GIS tools​​.
• Delivered periodic progress reports and a final survey completion report, detailing methodologies, challenges, and recommendations.
• Delivered concise reports highlighting key findings, including current sanitation gaps, faecal sludge management practices, and willingness to pay for improved services​.

These activities demonstrated DM WATCH’s expertise in delivering high-quality, data-driven solutions for informed decision-making in wastewater management. The project outputs provided a strong foundation for a transformative public infrastructure initiative under the PPP framework, enhancing GCC’s environmental and public health landscape.