Improving urban waterways in emerging countries: An action plan for Madras

Typically, infrastructure agencies build massive water projects to serve ex panding populations in emerging country cities, but collect and treat only a fraction of the resulting wastewater. This effluent often overwhelms exis ting sewerage systems and fouls waterways. Cleaning urban waterways require s large investments over long terms and the political will to make and sust ain them. This challenge - difficult in advanced countries - becomes daunti ng with the scarce resources and weak institutions typical of emerging coun tries. This paper presents a framework to structure such a strategy, and ap plies it to Madras, India. It consists of three parts: (1) setting a vision through a participatory process; (2) macro investments mainly in wastewate r treatment that use least-cost methods; and (3) micro investments in small projects that involve local people and galvanize public support. The macro investment, $350 million for Madras, appears very large, but averages out to $66 per capita, far below the $1,000-$2,000 typical of advanced country cities. Micro projects to be undertaken by Non-Governmental Organizations ( NGOs) included an independent wastewater monitoring program, sanitary upgra ding of slums along waterways banks, a cattle waste demonstration project, and an industrial pollution survey. Together, a macro/micro strategy promis es the funding and political will to achieve a balanced vision of waterways quality.