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Toilet Block Design: Mumbai, India

The Problem

Currently, very few residences in the slums of Mumbai have private toilets. Existing toilet blocks are shared with more than 1000 residents. This situation not only presents maintenance and sanitation issues, but results in a higher likelihood of open defecation. Open defecation is a serious sanitation problem that causes viral outbreaks within communities. It is estimated that over 1.5 million children die each year of diarrhea directly related to open defecation. This problem is faced by many individuals that are living in high-density, and low-income communities. India lacks an affordable solution that can address the issues of basic sanitation needs, access to water, and the absence of operations and maintenance of these facilities.

Project Description

Biopolus’ project, WaterHubs, is developing a community structure that can provide basic needs to individuals living in urban slums. This project aims to provide a solution for water-based services that incorporates specific design features tailored to meet the personal needs and preferences of users. The final design includes a 3D model of a sanitation facility that provides toilet, shower, and laundry services to users. Selected design features address a range of issues including privacy, smell, and lighting, improving the overall conditions of this community block.

Working with Biopolus, the University of Toronto (U of T) Capstone design team helped design WaterHubs modules that meet the growing needs of India’s communities. The design team developed appropriate design features and implementation techniques for these modules in order to further improve the lives of thousands.

Goals

Design toilet blocks that will provide improved sanitation, that are easy to maintain, and that will appeal to residents as a preferred alternative to open defecation
Increase community involvement and ensuring a system is in place for users to have a sense of responsibility for the structure that they are using

Design of the Sanitization Block

The University of Toronto design team created a 3D design using Google Sketchup to incorporate all the design features for a recommended solution tailored to the Mumbai region. There is one design for a male sanitation block and one design for a female sanitation block. As the ratio of people to one toilet is approximately 1 to 300, it is estimated that the proposed sanitation block will be able to serve a community of 8700 people.

The overall sketch (Figure 1) models the toilets and showers within the facility.

Figure 1: Aerial View (Roofs Hidden)

Project Team

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Recent Publications

Howe, L., Persuad, A., Ratwani, E., (2016), "Design Specification for Toilet Blocks", Technical Paper, Centre for Social Services Engineering, University of Toronto, 20 June 2016.

Figure 2: Aerial View With Containers Accommodating for Bioplus Technology and Office Space

The female sanitation block entrance is located on the opposite side of the male sanitation block as seen in Figure 1. Inside the Female Block (Figure 3) both women’s handicap and regular stalls are provided. The male sanitation block (Figure 4) is similar to the female sanitation block.

Figure 3: Inside Female Block

Figure 4: Inside Male Sanitation Block

Each of the sanitation blocks also contain a shower block (Figure 5) and caretaker area (Figure 6).

Figure 5: Shower Stalls

Figure 6: Caretaker Sitting and Storage Area

Design of Community Acceptance

In India, the design team discovered that while the physical design of structure is important, the community design should be considered as the most important aspect as it will never be successful unless the community has a sense of ownership. To facilitate this community participation, a community support involvement plan was created. The necessary roles for the various functions of the facility are filled with people from the community. Aside from the community members who work at the facility, many of the users who live in the area also have an interest in keeping the facility clean as they are the ones who use it most often. The facility has had a positive impact on the lives of the locals and for this reason they respect the facility more.