Thank you all for your thoughts and responses to my previous question on what are the most serious problems in refugee camp. The question and the responces can be found in the following link.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/What_are_the_most_serious_issues_problems_in_a_large_refugee_camp
Following on from this question, however, I wondered, how we can reduce/manage surface water runoff (e.g., storm and flood water, sewage water) in refugee camps that seem to affect the occupants a lot? Needless to say they must be low cost, low energy, low tech methods..
If you have any thoughts please let me and this forum know. Thanks.
My guess is those who locate a refuge camp look for large flat areas, and that may unfortunately consider river terraces, floodplains or riparian areas. By locating in bottomlands, removal of water and management of wastes becomes much more difficult. Well drained soils with some gradient allows room for managing water with natural processes (gravity). Standing water, stormwater, sewage or wastewater not addressed have so many potential issues. Civil engineers, soil scientists, hydrologists have the collective training to address these type issues, but if the site location was poor to start with, their ability to find low cost treatments may be hampered. Locating and digging ditches that capture flow and drain to other areas is perhaps one possibility. Ditches need uniform gradient and become difficult in flat areas. Septic systems could easily be overloaded, so regular pumping out and off site disposal or locating facilities at some distance away and at lower elevation should help prevent flowing back into camp. Whether tents or building roofs, there is alot more imperveous surfaces to shed water, overloading many soils at least temporarily, compaction from foot traffic, etc., suggests a soil drainage issue if the site did not have well drained soils. But if you remember historic pictures using people power to capture river water and elevate it to their irrigation ditch, you may be able to design a water collection system that is manually using human power if there are no generaters or electricity. I read a book on drainage, and early settlers used all sorts of methods besides open ditches, such as location and placement of drainage tiles to drain wetlands and fields too wet to cultivate. If surface waters enter the camp, they may need to be diverted around the camp or constrained in ditch or constructed channel. If the location in an active floodplain, frequently flooded may be convenient, but for many of the issues you suggest is the wrong location.
You can utilize rainwater harvesting which can solve two problems at a same time, reduce runoff and additional water supply source.
For sewerage, we need investments
Hope this helps.
Runoff assessment need to consider the upland watershed that contributes to flooding in the camps. Careful selection of sites is of prime importance. Depending on the camp site, low cost installation could use some temporary contour bunds with vegetation upstream to the site to retain water and allow infiltration. A diversion ditch could also be considered depending on the volume of flows. On site, elevating the ground level and ditches to carry runoff could be considered. Temporary detention pond could be installed in a strategic location to store upland runoff and onsite runoff water. Most of these will depend on characteristics of the camp site and watershed conditions.
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