Analysis of sustainable sanitation options for peri- urban areas

About 70% of settlements in Temeke Municipality constitute of unplanned squatters with poor water supply and sanitation services. Frequent outbreaks of cholera and diarrhoea are reported in the area. The area also faces a challenge of suitable pit latrine emptying technologies. Centralized sanitation schemes are very expensive to construct and need highly skilled labour to operate and maintain. Therefore appropriate alternative options for sustainable sanitation provision are needed. This study identifies suitable excreta disposal facilities for low income settlements and proposes financing mechanisms. Four wards of Temeke Municipality were studied. Tools used include structured and semi-structured questionnaires, interviews, field observations and review of existing institutional set up. The criteria used for selecting suitable sanitation options included protection of ground water, soil conditions, level of water supply, affordability, acceptability and protection of public health. The study showed that 90% of the households use pit latrine and 10% use flush toilets. Sludge empting methods were manual-hand empting (60%), vacuum truck (25%), Simple mechanical means (10%) while 5% release to natural water way during rains. Using the selection criteria, VIP latrine and Urine diversion dry toilet were identified as the best and appropriate sanitation options while the Mechanical pit empting technology (MAPET), Gulper technology and min vacuum tank were recommended as pit emptying methods. Financing mechanisms proposed include micro credit savings, government subsidy, public financing as well as soft loans provided to landlords to improve sanitation.