Dealing with full Pit latrines and Toilets in Villages

 

By Kalata News,

 

LUSAKA: AS more and more villages and rural areas abandon open defaecation in favour of use of modern toilets, latrines and sanitation, safe faecal sludge management (FSM) has become necessary, says USAID research in Ghana.

As toilets become full, rural households risk adopting unsafe FSM practices or reverting to open defecation.

USAID WASHPaLS #2 conducted a desk review to understand the market, suitable methods along the sanitation value chain, and viable business models involving the private sector for safe FSM in rural areas. The desk review contributes to the knowledge base on area-wide FSM solutions, which would include household-managed and government-operated services.

With increasing encouragement and use of on-site sanitation facilities to end open defecation, there is an increasing need to manage waste in these facilities. Few safe FSM options currently exist in rural areas, and without increasing effective interventions, recent gains in environmental and community health in low- and middle-income countries will suffer as toilets get full.

“As governments and development partners embark on increasing safe FSM in rural areas, there is a need to build knowledge on appropriate solutions and management models. WASHPaLS #2’s research found that public-private partnership (PPP) business models are necessary for safe FSM through the private sector in rural areas. PPP FSM business models aim to be more affordable, have faster response time, and be safer and cleaner than the informal FSM providers common in rural areas,” says the research.

WASHPaLS #2’s desk review aimed to improve understanding of rural FSM, including the demand for FSM services, the potential suitability of various methods for treatment and emptying based on conditions in rural areas, and effective business models for rural FSM.

Operating faecal sludge treatment plants effectively and sustainably in urban has been challenging because of issues such as inconsistent sludge quantity and quality, inadequate local skills, insufficient finances for operations and management, and their need for sizeable capital investments. These issues would likely be exacerbated in rural areas. Instead, basic treatment methods, such as on-site burial and off-site land application and trenching, would be better suited to rural areas. Properly designed land application and modified trench methods can overcome hydrogeological constraints (e.g., shallow water tables) to mitigate contamination risks. Basic treatment methods are also a cost[1]effective way to realize the environmental benefits of reusing faecal sludge.

The research paper concludes, “public bodies can take several measures to broaden the applicability of PPP FSM models in rural areas. The lack of local private sector organizations and CBOs with sufficient operations management capacity can hinder the implementation of the two PPP FSM models. Public bodies can take several steps to address these constraints and shape effective PPPs for rural FSM. These include: engaging local non-sanitation or FSM private sector organizations or CBOs from close by areas as enterprises; collaborating with higher government authorities to formalize rural clusters; monitoring safety compliance and service quality; and implementing sample or model PPP templates by provincial or national governments.”

In Zambia, the research studied Chazanga and Kanyama, peri-urban settlements in Lusaka with large populations (86,000 and 170,000, respectively) and high population density. Both settlements consist of primarily low-income households and experience frequent disease outbreaks (e.g., cholera). Heavy rains and shallow water tables compound the risks associated with unimproved, unlined pit toilets and the on-site sludge burial practice that dominate these settlements. As per the Water Supply and Sanitation Act of 1997, the national regulator for water and sanitation licensed the Lusaka Water Supply & Sanitation Company (LWSC), a commercial utility formed by the local authority, to provide water and sewerage services in Lusaka city and surrounding peri-urban areas. LWSC licensed community-based Water Trusts to provide FSM services in Kanyama and Chazanga in 2012 and 2014, respectively.

The licensees’ mandate included manual pit emptying, transporting sludge, and operating a treatment plant built with donor funding. The construction of two philanthropy-funded FSTPs using biogas digesters and unplanted drying beds formalized pit[1]emptying services in Chazanga and Kanyama. Pit[1]emptying teams employing existing informal manual emptiers were formed, professionalizing their services and improving safety. Emptying teams were equipped with modified garden tools, cleaning agents and disinfectants, barrels, and a cart (subsequently replaced by a truck) to transport sludge to the FSTP.

Staff at the FSTP managed day-to-day treatment operations, including generating biosolids (Chazanga) and biogas (Kanyama). A tiered pricing structure that was substantially below prevailing market rates was designed for households to select an option depending on their pit size and budget. However, partial emptying and the unavailability of a full[1]emptying service (offered by informal manual emptiers) led to customer dissatisfaction, low service uptake, and losses. The Water Trusts cross-subsidized the sanitation service with revenue from their core water services business line.