LWSC TACKLES CITY’S ‘FEACAL’ MATTER
Written by Millennium on May 31, 2019
LINDA SOKO TEMBO Writes
THE Lusaka Water Sewerage Company (LWSC) says it will embark on a project to empty about 20,000 septic tanks and pit latrines aimed at improving sanitation in the city.
The utility company observed that people were used to burying and abandoning feacal matter thereby posing a serious health hazard to the ground water.
Speaking at a workshop for journalists held in Chisamba, LWSC Engineer, Mwansa Mukuka, said it was illegal for people to bury sludge and that was why as a utility company they wanted to provide a new service of empting septic tanks and pit latrines.
Ms Mukuka said noted with sadness that only 3% of sludge was safely removed from the pit latrines and only 51% from septic tanks for processing at the treatment plant.
“LWSC is now adding to their line of business and they will be integrating onsite sanitation as well as feacal matter handling.
“In terms of feacal sludge management, Lusaka water will collaborate with the existing private operators that are involved in empting septic tanks and we want service providers to work in line with the service level agreement that we have as a Lusaka water.
“People are advised to empty the pit latrines when it reached 30cm and septic tanks after 4 years and this project will start in July,” she said.
Ms Mukuka also warned residents to avoid buying chemicals on open market to disinfect pit latrines and septic tanks because LWSC had not yet endorsed them.
She said that as a utility company they needed to carry out their own investigation to ensure that the underground water was not contaminated because of the chemicals used to disinfect them.
