GIS Analysis and Optimisation of Faecal Sludge Logistics at City-Wide Scale in Kampala, Uganda

Abstract

Abstract:The majority of residents in low-and middle-income countries are served by onsite sanitation. Equitable access to sanitation, including emptying, collection, and transport services for the accumulation of faecal sludge remains a major challenge. Comprehensive information on service coverage by mechanical faecal sludge emptying service providers is lacking. The purpose of this study is to analyse the spatial distribution of service coverage and identify areas without faecal sludge emptying services in Kampala, Uganda. The study uses GIS (geographic information systems) as a tool to analyse real-time data of service providers based on GPS (global positioning system) units that were installed in a representative number of trucks. Of the total recorded 5653 emptying events, 27% were located outside Kampala city boundaries. Of those within Kampala city boundaries, 37% were classified as non-household customers. Areas without service provision accounted for 13% of the total area. Service provision normalised by population density revealed much greater service provision in medium-and high-income areas than low-and very low-income areas. The employed method provides a powerful tool to optimise faecal sludge management on a city-wide scale by increasing sustainability of the planning and decision-making process, increasing access to service provision and reducing faecal sludge transport times and costs.

Assessment of Cadmium and Lead in Dried Sewage Sludge from Lubigi Feacal Sludge and Wastewater Treatment Plant in Uganda

“…The Lubigi Feacal Sludge and Wastewater Treatment Plant in Kampala, Uganda was commissioned in May 2014 and has a capacity to treat 400 m 3 of feacal sludge and 5000 m 3 of wastewater per day [1] [2]. Faecal sludge (FS) comes from onsite sanitation technologies (pit latrines, unsewered public ablution blocks, septic tanks, aqua privies, and dry toilets) and has not been transported through a sewer.…”

GIS-aided optimisation of faecal sludge management in developing countries: the case of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana

“…The research focussed on FS emptying events at the Lavender Hill FTP, since it is a sink for about 60% of the FS collected in the study area (see Table 2 in Section 3.3). Since the FS discharge frequency at some dumping sites and treatment plants has been associated with rainfall pattern [18, 20, 40], we first analysed available precipitation data [41] to identify the rainfall patterns, and subsequently used that to select a suitable period for our study. As shown in Fig.…”

“…Geographic information system (GIS) offers useful tools to spatially analyse faecal sludge facilities and logistics for FS management optimisation. It increases how sustainable the planning and decision-making processes are, the accessibility of services, and also reduces the cost and transportation times of FS [20]. In Switzerland, GIS tools were used to identify the suitability of siting decentralised and centralised systems in regions of different population density, among others [21].…”

“…As part of the EPA Research Program in Ireland, GIS analysis helped to reveal the gaps in infrastructural and FS transport and processing requirements for the whole country [22]. In Uganda, similar approaches were adopted to analyse the service coverage of cesspit emptying service providers, the proximity of FS sources to the locations of existing and proposed treatment plants and the influence of population density on FS discharge frequency in the city of Kampala [20]. Such approaches, however, remain untapped for FSM in Ghana.…”

“…By the use of GIS, such data (travel distance and time) can be obtained to help in optimising FS management in Ghana, especially in the determination of reasonable service charges by the vacuum tanker operators. Since equitable access to sanitation transcends the provision of toilet facilities [20], ensuring fair C&H service charges is one of the ways towards achieving Goal 6 of the SDGs [23]. Apart from FS C&H cost rationalisation, proper siting of FTPs can help reduce fuel consumption, thereby decreasing the GHG emissions by a country, contributing to the global sustainability agenda.…”