Project Name Bangladesh-Arsenic Mitigation Water (@+)... Supply Project Region South Asia Sector Water Project ID BDPE50745 Implementing Agencies Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Dhaka, Bangladesh. PID Date July 23, 1998 Appraisal Date December 1997 Tentative Board date August 27, 1998 1. Background: Groundwater in Bangladesh is contaminated with Arsenic which occurs naturally in alluvial and deltaic sediments. The first detection in 1993 and subsequent confirmation after 1995 of high levels of Arsenic in numerous shallow and deep wells in various parts of the country has raised serious health concerns. Recent investigations, though incomplete, confirm that the occurrence of Arsenic in groundwater is more widespread than assumed at first and that it already affects a large number of people. Wells in more than half of Bangladesh's 64 districts are estimated to be contaminated with Arsenic mainly in the south western, middle and north-eastern parts of the country. Over 1,000 cases of chronic arsenicosis have been reported in Bangladesh, but it is estimated that at least 1.2 million people are exposed to Arsenic poisoning with tens of millions potentially exposed. The effects of Arsenic poisoning can vary from skin pigmentation and development of warts and ulcers during initial stages to skin, liver and renal deficiencies and eventually cancer in severe cases. Other disruptive effects include diarrhea and social rejection as the disease is often confounded with leprosy. There is an urgent need for a project to address Arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh since the situation can be described as a "crisis" due to devastating effects on human health and lives. Project Objectives: The project aims to alleviate Arsenic contamination as a factor in the reduction of arsenic-induced mortality and morbidity in Bangladesh; and within sustainable strategies of water supply, health, and overall water management. Description: The project has been developed on a "fast track" basis in response to the urgent need to address the Arsenic crisis. The project will have three components: (i) On-site mitigation: The Project will have interventions in the rural and urban areas. Peri-urban areas will be considered rural, where institutionally appropriate. The municipalities will be assisted in their surveys, feasibility studies and implementation by DPHE and LGED (LGED will be active in those towns where it is already active in water supply). Physical interventions in towns include installation of deep tubewells; provision of hardware for rainwater harvesting and/or treatment plants (for arsenic removal or to treat alternative surface water) and expansion of distribution systems. In the rural program, the Project Management Unit (PMU) will select Support Organizations (SOs) to carry out surveys, prefeasibility studies, community development (development of a water committee, Permanent Committee of Gram Parishad or equivalent) and appropriate mitigation measures in prioritized villages in a participatory fashion. Physical works will be low cost and include installation of shallow and deep tubewells, ponds with filters, handpumps, treatment and rainwater catchment systems. For the purpose of project preparation, rural and municipal schemes will be classified as a function of the vulnerability to contamination, social characteristics and demand of the community, as case A (only local capacity building required), B (capacity building and limited physical intervention), or C (capacity building and substantial physical intervention) and their numbers estimated. Selection and eligibility criteria iterated here will be further developed by the PMU to prioritize subprojects within these broad categories. During implementation, however, the actual situation in each community/village will determine the type of the local intervention, to the extent that the number of type A,B,C schemes used for the project's budget calculations cannot be considered as physical targets. A part of this program will be emergency relief, which involves (i) rapid well screening; (ii) information dissemination; and (iii) provision of arsenic-free water and medical help on a temporary basis to communities waiting setup of a sustainable water supply. The MoHFW will participate in the survey and health relief activities. (b) Improved understanding of the arsenic problem: The exhaustive field surveys will yield baseline data on arsenic contamination and set in place a mechanism for continued monitoring. A National Arsenic Mitigation Information Center (NAMIC) will be set up to collect, manage, interpret and disseminate all relevant hydrogeological, water quality, health, socioeconomic and technical information necessary for PMU to devise strategy, prioritize action and monitor progress. NAMIC will interact with a network of other established research and study agencies that can be providers and users of information. A Technology Assessment Group (TAG) will be set up to review technology options as well as social and economic project approaches in an objective and impartial way. The TAG consists of a fund that will finance study proposals submitted by local research establishments to competitive peer review. A DfID-funded hydrogeological study has commenced to elucidate the origin and extent of arsenic release into groundwater. A laboratory system will be set up to ensure analytical quality control. Funds will be provided to undertake studies and research on all aspects of the arsenic problem. Coordination will be ensured with the Bangladesh Water Development Board, the Geological Survey of Bangladesh, the Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission, and the Department of the Environment. (c) Strengthening of implementation capacity: As part of the on-site mitigation interventions, capacity building measures will include training and development of coordination and supervision arrangements. Capacity will be strengthened within communities (water committees or equivalent), and to the extent necessary, Paurashavas, to implement and maintain the field interventions and manage funds allocated or collected for that purpose. Planning, coordination, supervision and capacity building activities will be implemented within DPHE and at Gram Parishad and higher levels of local government. For the health sector, selective support for capacity building will be included. Assistance on arsenic diagnosis will be provided to medical universities and colleges. Training material will be provided to DGHS (Directorate General of Health Service) medical and field staff, and the Bangladesh Medical Association, as the apex organization of private and government medical doctors, to address arsenic-related diagnosis and patient referral. The Project will pilot new approaches in water service delivery as well as in strengthening of the village-level local government. These activities will support the proposed National Safe Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation (WSS) Policy (1998). Implementation: The project will be managed by a Project Management Unit (PMU) headed by a Project Director (PD) who is selected from Department of Public Health Engineering and appointed by LGD. The PMU will be autonomous with respect to financial, administrative and project management. The PMU will be answerable to a Project Steering Committee in LGD chaired by the Secretary LGD with membership from all relevant and associated Ministries and departments. In addition, the PMU will comprise about 15 higher level staff including deputed government staff who would be supported by international technical assistance (TA) consultants all hired on a competitive basis through normal GOB and IDA procedures. After initiation of project activities, the establishment of the Regional Project Management Units (RPMU) will be prepared to facilitate Project responsiveness to field needs. A total of three RPMUs are envisaged under the Project and overall Program which will be set up after a period of learning and consolidation at the PMU. At the field level, the project will start with extensive surveys of tubewell water quality and patient assessment in a number of villages and municipalities. Based on this comprehensive assessment, and the community's commitment, an action plan for each village/municipality will be developed. In urban areas, the PMU will establish direct contacts with municipalities so they may be assisted by DPHE and LGED in proposal preparation and detailed design and implementation of the selected proposals. This will include the participatory design of interventions, appraisal, construction, operation, capacity building, monitoring and evaluation. Criteria to divide the work between DPHE and LGED will be established. In rural and peri-urban areas, where there are no operational municipalities to interface with the PMU, community-based organizations (CBOs) will be developed through the assistance of Support Organizations (SOs) such as NGOs. These grass-root entities could eventually become a water sub-committee or equivalent of the new Gram Parishads. In anticipation of this, the PMU will establish operational linkages with DPHE and local government administration at the District, Thana and Union levels. After training, the SOs, in partnership with CBOs and the private sector, will survey wells, raise local people's awareness in water supply and sanitation and assist communities in planning, design and implementation of both the short term mitigation and long term sustainable access to arsenic-free water and environmental sanitation. Eligible communities will be identified through established eligibility criteria based on the extent of the problem, community readiness for improvement of service through willingness to contribute valuable resources, and community willingness to manage the improved system with its own resources. Criteria will be in line with the new National Policy. All things being equal, implementation of mitigation measures will be based on a prioritization criteria based on the level of community contribution for capital investment. This will ensure acceleration of the implementation of mitigation measures based on community demand and ownership of the system. Emergency relief activities will be carefully designed to ensure that they do not conflict with the long term activities outlined in this section. Cost and financing: Total project costs are estimated to be US $44.4 million. This includes an IDA credit of US$ 32.4 million and a US $ 3 million grant from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation. Project sustainability: Sustainability will be ensured through involving a wide range of stakeholders in project development and implementation. The project will ensure sustainability through increasing public awareness and community participation, emphasizing cost-recovery for water supply projects where possible, using appropriate technology solutions which are within the reach of local government to operate and maintain and improving technical capacity to implement effective solutions to the problem. Program and Poverty Category: The project focuses on water supply and poverty. Benefits: Immediate direct benefits would accrue to arsenic-affected communities who will be able to consume arsenic-free water. People who are currently affected by arsenic poisoning would receive advice and be directed to appropriate medical authorities for diagnosis and treatment. Many poor people currently do not have access to safe drinking water or are unable to seek remedial measures. Indirectly, rural and urban dwellers will benefit from the project's capacity building efforts directed at the formal and non-formal sectors and from increased participation of the private sector in water supply. Over the long run, studies of the causes and extent of the arsenic problem will allow better planning of groundwater use and prevent further damage to the appreciable majority of the people of Bangladesh. The project will have more direct interventions in rural areas, where most of Bangladesh's low-income people are, than in urban areas. In urban settings the municipality structure gives a relatively more manageable system for self- regulation and sustainability. The project will therefore target its direct interventions to ensuring that the peri-urban poor and rural people are covered by sustainable water supply and sanitation services Environmental Category: The project has been awarded category "B". Only minor environmental impacts can be foreseen in the disposal of potential Arsenic contaminated water and treatment plant sludge. The project will include research and field-level implementation of safe recycling and disposal of these arsenic contaminated waste materials. The institutional input required to assess and monitor social and environmental impacts of sub- projects will be included in the project. Contact Point: The InfoShop The World Bank 1818 H Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20433 Telephone No. (202)458 5454 Fax No. (202) 522 1500 Mr. Farid Uddin Ahmed Mia, Project Director Project Management Unit Arsenic Mitigation-Water Supply Project 14, Captain Monsur Ali Sarani Kakrail, Dhaka-1000 Phone/fax: 880-2-9338722 Note: This is information on an evolving project. Certain activities and/or components may not be included in the final project. Processed by the InfoShop week ending September 4, 1998. Annex This project has been awarded a category "B". The project concentrates on developing safe methods of alternative water supply to the villages facing Arsenic contamination. Methods for alternative water supply and treatment of effected water will be required to comply with the World Bank's environmental guidelines. Schemes for alternative water supply are likely to be small scale and where possible, the equipment used for this will be low cost and of an appropriate technological standard. The effects of developing alternative water supply will have beneficial effects on the quality of water distributed and the corresponding effects on human health will be highly favorable. Only minor environmental effects can be foreseen with the disposal of Arsenic contaminated water or treatment plant sludge. The project will include research and field-level implementation of safe recycling and disposal of these arsenic contaminated waste materials. The Bank will fully support any need for monitoring the environmental effects of water supply and treatment schemes. An environmental review has been completed and is being published (available September, 1998). There could be potential resettlement issues in the implementation of site- specific mitigation sub-projects, such as land acquisition for water treatment plants in urban areas or small scale ponds in rural areas. Guidelines in conformity with Bank directives have been agreed with the Government and will be enforced during the identification and implementation of sub-projects for arsenic mitigation. The project envisages strong participation from local communities, NGOs, government agencies and donors.