Tanzanian city gets new sewage scheme to curb disease, ocean pollution.
DAR ES SALAAM, Sept 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – For Andrew Kilula, the wastewater perpetually seeping from his toilet presents a daunting and costly challenge.
“When my children step in it, they get sick.
The father of six, who lives in the Kigogo area of Dar es Salaam, about 20 minutes by car from the centre of Tanzania’s biggest city, has no choice other than to discharge the sludge from his toilet in the nearby Msimbazi River.
Most residents in this crowded neighbourhood lack access to sanitation services, such as cesspits emptied by private firms.
”I honestly don’t like to pollute the river’s water, while I know people use it for growing vegetables,” said the carpenter.
A network of sewage pipelines linking different city suburbs will also be installed, the government said.
As one of Africa’s fastest-growing cities, with 70 percent of its 4.4 million residents living in informal settlements, Dar es Salaam is highly vulnerable to water-borne diseases.
In the centre of Dar es Salaam, the existing sewage network often becomes overwhelmed during the rainy season, forcing effluent to overflow and exposing residents to health risks.
DAWASA’s Mwang’ingo said the rest of the solid waste will be turned into manure to fertilise city farms and gardens, while treated water from the sewage plants will be used for irrigation and cooling industrial machinery, among other purposes.