Adopt new water, sewer systems: Experts

LOCAL authorities should adopt new water and sewer reticulation technologies that are cost effective and suit modern ways of living to avert possible disease outbreaks, experts have said.

This comes against a background where most urban councils are still using outdated systems that were designed a long time ago and are exposing residents to deadly diseases, including cholera and typhoid.

Among the new technologies there is Flush

Tech Sanitation (FTS) and Biosol that have been adopted in some countries in the region such as South Africa.

These can help to treat discharged slug and process it into fertiliser.

The slug can also be processed upstream, resulting in the reduction of the number of water chemicals needed to treat the water.

This will help struggling councils like Harare that use at least 11 chemicals to treat water so that they cut down on its water chemical bill.

A water and sewer reticulation expert, Biopower Co-operation director Mr Albert

Taruvingira, said adapting use of the new technologies including FTS and Biosol was the way to go in a modern society.

“The FTS is an organic microbial blend that has multi functions in environmental health, including eliminating odours in septic tanks, pit latrines and blair toilets,” he said.

“It also digests solids in the same (human waste) that is in septic tanks, pit latrines. It kills bacteria in these human waste receptacles and in the process it de-contaminates the water table.”

Mr Taruvingira said most boreholes, particularly in urban areas, were contaminated by human waste seeping through from septic tanks and use of the FTS will be a lasting solution to that.

He said perception issues and resistance to change was the major stumbling block for the implementation of the new systems in Zimbabwe. An environment and water chemicals expert, Mr Patrice Chakanyuka, said there was need for councils to be innovative and move with time.

“There is no need for us to overhaul our infrastructure that was designed for a few,” he said. “New settlements must have their own reticulation systems and recycling of their grey water for toilets.

“We need to save water properly as it is fast becoming a fast commodity. Biosol will help to treat our slug that we can process to make fertilisers as well as process our slug upstream resulting in the number of water chemicals being reduced and a lot of money will be saved by the introduction of this product.”

Mr Chakanyuka said the FTS sanitation was the way to go as it will be independent from the old infrastructure which had run its course.