Hidden Cost of Drinking Water Treatment and Its Relation with Socioeconomic Status in Nepalese Urban Context
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Area:
2.2. Methods
2.2.1. Estimation of Method-Specific Water Treatment Cost
2.2.2. Estimation of Average Monthly Treatment Cost
2.2.3. Socioeconomic Status Variables
2.3. Statistical Analysis
2.4. Ethical Considerations
3. Results
3.1. Estimation of Method-Specific Cost
3.1.1. Cost for Chlorine Use
3.1.2. Cost for Ceramic Filter
3.1.3. Cost for Boiling
3.1.4. Cost for Euro-Guard
3.1.5. Cost for Domestic Treatment Plant (RO-UV)
3.2. Estimation of Average Monthly Treatment Cost in Households
3.3. Socioeconomic Situation and Water Insecurity Perception in Surveyed Households
3.4. Association of Water Treatment Cost with Socioeconomic Variables
3.5. Situation of Water Treatment Cost in Alternative Sources Users
4. Discussion
5. Conclusion
Supplementary Materials
Author contributions
Funding
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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SN | Method | Initial Cost | Operating Cost | Maintenance Cost | Total Cost | Summary Base Data for Cost Calculation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Chemical | 0.0 | 22.5 | 0.0 | 22.5 | Operating cost: Cost for chlorine (Piyush) = NRs 25/60 mL bottle (used for 300 L of water) |
2 | Ceramic Filter | 13.3 | 0.0 | 43.4 | 56.7 | Initial cost: Filter = NRs 800; Average Life = 5 years (2–8). Maintenance cost: Candles (2) = NRs 260 × 2 times (change 3–12 months). |
3 | Boiling (Gas) | 7.5 | 283.04 | 50.0 | 340.5 | Initial cost: Gas stove = NRs 1500; Average Life = 5 years; 30% used for boiling. Operating cost: Thermal efficiency = 0.66; Unit Cost for gas = 0.008648 NRs/kcal Maintenance cost: Boiling pot = NRs 600; Average life = 1 year. |
Boiling (Electricity) | 16.7 | 354.4 | 140.0 | 511.1 | Initial cost: Electric heater = NRs 200; Average Life = 1 year. Operating cost: Thermal efficiency = 0.85 Unit Cost for electricity = 12 NRs/kWh Maintenance cost: Heater coil = NRs 90 (1 coil per month), Boiling pot = NRs 600 for 1 year. | |
4 | Euro-Guard | 333.3 | 250 | 2.7 | 586.0 | Initial cost: Euro-Guard = NRs 20,000; Average Life = 5 years; Operating cost: Wattage = 28 W, Average operation time = 16 min/day, Unit Cost for electricity = NRs 12/kWh Maintenance cost: Filter = NRs 1000 per year; Lamp + technician = NRs 4000 per 2 years. |
5 | Domestic Treatment Plant (RO-UV) | 357.1 | 25.6 | 416.6 | 799.3 | Initial cost: Treatment plant = NRs 30,000; Average Life = 7 years Operating cost: Wattage 60 W for RO and 11 W for UV, Average operation time = 60 min/day, Unit Cost for electricity = NRs 12/kWh Maintenance cost: Filter + technician = NRs 5000 per year. |
Water Treatment Method | Frequency | Percentage of HH | Method-Specific Cost (NRs) | Total Monthly Cost (NRs) # |
---|---|---|---|---|
Chemicals (Chlorine) | 59 | 3.9 | 22.5 | 1327.5 |
Ceramic filter | 956 | 63.9 | 56.7 | 54,173.3 |
Boiling | 893 | 59.7 | 391.7 | 349,788.1 |
Euro-Guard | 197 | 13.2 | 586.0 | 115,442.0 |
Domestic RO-UV treatment | 49 | 3.3 | 799.4 | 39,170.6 |
No treatment | 366 | 24.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
Per household cost (All HH) | 379.7 (393.1) | |||
Per household cost (Treatment method applied HH only) | 502.8 (377.8) | |||
Average water expenditure | (Piped water, Bottle/Jar, Tanker/Vendor water) | 496.0 (909.4) |
Variables | Categories | Frequency | Percentage |
---|---|---|---|
District (n = 1495) | Kathmandu | 1228 | 82.1 |
Lalitpur | 178 | 11.9 | |
Bhaktapur | 89 | 6.0 | |
Ethnicity (n = 1495) | Brahmin/Chhetri | 640 | 42.8 |
Newar | 551 | 36.9 | |
Janajati | 200 | 13.4 | |
Teraibasi | 63 | 4.2 | |
Dalit | 41 | 2.7 | |
Higher Education (n = 1483) | Illiterate | 45 | 3.0 |
Literate only | 104 | 7.0 | |
Primary and Secondary School | 600 | 40.5 | |
High school (+2 level) | 348 | 23.5 | |
University Level | 386 | 26.0 | |
Occupation of HH head (n = 1475) | Unemployed | 248 | 16.8 |
Daily employed | 105 | 7.1 | |
Students | 102 | 6.9 | |
Business | 623 | 42.2 | |
Service | 397 | 26.9 | |
Wealth Quintile (n = 1495) | Poorest | 299 | 20.0 |
Poor | 308 | 20.6 | |
Middle | 295 | 19.7 | |
Rich | 289 | 19.3 | |
Richest | 304 | 20.3 | |
Water Insecurity Index (n = 1493) | High (>45) | 389 | 26.1 |
Medium (30–45) | 477 | 31.9 | |
Low (<30) | 627 | 42.0 |
Parameter | Numerator Df | Denominator Df | F (Statistics) | p Value |
---|---|---|---|---|
Intercept | 1 | 1366 | 57.58 | 0.00 |
DISTRICT | 2 | 1366 | 6.04 | 0.00 |
Ethnicity | 4 | 1366 | 1.68 | 0.15 |
EduHigher | 4 | 1366 | 2.93 | 0.02 |
WQuin | 4 | 1366 | 0.56 | 0.69 |
WIIndex | 2 | 1366 | 3.67 | 0.03 |
DISTRICT × Ethnicity | 7 | 1366 | 2.28 | 0.03 |
DISTRICT × EduHigher | 8 | 1366 | 1.10 | 0.36 |
DISTRICT × WQuin | 8 | 1366 | 1.53 | 0.14 |
DISTRICT × WIIndex | 4 | 1366 | 16.38 | 0.00 |
Ethnicity × EduHigher | 16 | 1366 | 0.87 | 0.61 |
Ethnicity × WQuin | 16 | 1366 | 0.88 | 0.59 |
Ethnicity × WIIndex | 8 | 1366 | 1.18 | 0.31 |
EduHigher × WQuin | 16 | 1366 | 1.09 | 0.36 |
EduHigher × WIIndex | 8 | 1366 | 1.50 | 0.15 |
WQuin × WIIndex | 8 | 1366 | 1.51 | 0.15 |
Water Sources | Kathmandu (n = 1228) | Lalitpur (n = 178) | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
User | Non-User | User | Non-User | |||||
HH (%) | ATC (sd) | HH (%) | ATC (sd) | HH (%) | ATC (sd) | HH (%) | ATC (sd) | |
Ground water | 20 (1.6) | 489.4 (286.9) | 1208 (98.4) | 364.1 (373.2) | 13 (7.3) | 1340.3 (670.2) | 165 (92.7) | 368.8 (511.2) |
Tanker/ Vendor | 60 (4.9) | 488.3 (378.6) | 1168 (95.1) | 359.9 (370.9) | 34 (19.1) | 1288.7 (669.5) | 144 (80.9) | 239.3 (319.0) |
Ground or Tanker water | 80 (6.5) | 488.6 (356.2) | 1148 (93.5) | 357.6 (371.9) | 37 (20.8) | 1224.9 (687.9) | 141 (79.2) | 233.8 (314.0) |
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Shrestha, K.B.; Thapa, B.R.; Aihara, Y.; Shrestha, S.; Bhattarai, A.P.; Bista, N.; Kazama, F.; Shindo, J. Hidden Cost of Drinking Water Treatment and Its Relation with Socioeconomic Status in Nepalese Urban Context. Water 2018, 10, 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10050607
Shrestha KB, Thapa BR, Aihara Y, Shrestha S, Bhattarai AP, Bista N, Kazama F, Shindo J. Hidden Cost of Drinking Water Treatment and Its Relation with Socioeconomic Status in Nepalese Urban Context. Water. 2018; 10(5):607. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10050607
Chicago/Turabian StyleShrestha, Khadga Bahadur, Bhesh Raj Thapa, Yoko Aihara, Sadhana Shrestha, Arun P. Bhattarai, Niranjan Bista, Futaba Kazama, and Junko Shindo. 2018. "Hidden Cost of Drinking Water Treatment and Its Relation with Socioeconomic Status in Nepalese Urban Context" Water 10, no. 5: 607. https://doi.org/10.3390/w10050607