Strengthening WASH resilience in flood-affected urban poor communities: Insights from Patna

Abstract

Aim and approach

This study aims to analyze and develop effective strategies for climate resilience in the WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) sector with a focus on floods for the urban poor, taking the city of Patna as a case study. Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges we face today, and its effects are evident in events like global warming, variations in precipitation patterns and more. Consequently, climate change directly or indirectly exacerbates various disasters, such as floods, having equal risk for everyone but the marginalized community that already struggles with scarcity of resources and services are more exposed to the disaster. They are very less equipped to address the disasters and hence are more vulnerable. WASH services play an instrumental role in mitigating the effects of any disaster through ensuring continuous water supply at the time of scarcity and providing safe sanitation solutions during flood situations. However, floods also pose a threat to WASH because they can damage water pipelines or inundate toilets, both of which would result in the failure of WASH services. So, it is essential to create strategies that can withstand such hazards in order for WASH services to continue delivering essential functions to the vulnerable population.

Key contributions

The city of Patna was chosen as the study area, as it is located near river Ganga and many areas are frequently inundated due to increase in river water level and flash floods. According to the City Development Plan of Patna prepared by the Urban Development Authority of Bihar in 2006, 63.5 % of Patna's population lives in 110 informal settlements. Many of these settlements are located near the river bank and are frequently swamped. Seven slums were chosen for the study after being identified as the most vulnerable among all due to flooding and poor WASH facilities. Several filters including DEM, Slope, level of inundation, Availability of WASH services along with expert surveys were considered to shortlist them. The seven shortlisted slums were Bass Ghat, Naygaon Bari Path, Alamganj Machhua Toli, Gardanibagh Ambedkar Colony, Phelwan Ghat, Paswan Toli and Buddha Colony. The study focuses on the WASH sector of Patna as a city, and then on the WASH assessment for Patna's urban poor, using a range of analyses such as physical vulnerability, socio-economic vulnerability, assets, disruption in WASH, and resilience.

Preliminary results and conclusions

Following the identification of the slums, a reconnaissance study was carried out to ascertain their overall situation. Several indicators were identified to assess their physical and socioeconomic vulnerability. Focused Group Discussions and household interviews were carried out and the results, along with the computed weightages, were used to assess the performance of each slum in sectors like housing condition, access to WASH etc. Along with physical and socioeconomic vulnerability, the slums were assessed for the degree of disruption in WASH services they experienced during past floods, as well as the level of resilience they presently possess. The results obtained from the analysis provided insight into the sectors in which a particular slum lacked, and the physical, expert, and household surveys assisted in examining the causes behind each slum's poor performance in a specific sector. After identifying the problem areas and associated causes, appropriate solutions could be introduced to further strengthen WASH resilience of Slums to climate-induced risks such as floods.