Third World Sanitation Options

the Zambian Case

DAVID M. TODD* School of Environmental Studies,
University of Zambia at Ndola,
P.O. Box 21692, Kitwe, Zambia.

SUMMARY high to satisfy rigorous public health requirements.

This successful performance of water-borne sanitation
Water-borne sanitation it too expensive to install in low systems in the richer countries has been taken by
cost urban housing areas in the Third World, and interest colonial and post-colonial Governments as sufficient
has turned to various inexpensive 'alternative" systems. recommendation to install them in the cities of
In the Zambian context, such systems must be cheap to developing countries.
install, and require a minimum of maintenance, which However, in recent years, the suitability of water-
must be of low complexity. borne sanitation for developing countries has come
After examining a wide range of systems, the author under increasing scrutiny. The scarcity of water in
concludes that three unlined and three lined toilet types many such countries means that its use as a means of
are suitablefor trial installation inperipheral and central transporting effluent is extremely wasteful, and could
low cost housing areas respectively. A strategy for eventually lead to major water shortages in large urban
conducting tests is outlined and the importance of areas. Furthermore, it is an extremely expensive
organisational and community development emphasized. resource, and since "cities develop their least expensive
sources first, it generally becomes more and more
INTRODUCTION costly.., to produce and deliver an additional litre of
water as the city's demand grows" (Kalbermatten,
In this paper I attempt to suggest appropriate et al., 1982, p. 52).
strategies for the provision of sanitation in Zambla's The costs, both onsite and off-site, of installing a
low income housing areas. After briefly outlining water-borne system are also enormous, and generally
changing attitudes towards water-borne sanitation in include a substantial foreign-exchange component
the Third World and the historical background to the which may not be readily available. These costs are
distribution of toilet facilities in Zambia, I examine the usually heavily subsidized by central and local
performance of systems currently in use. I then review Government, and are not passed on fully to the
the range of available alternatives, and devise a 'short- consumers, who are rarely from the poorest strata of
list' for field-testing. I finally suggest a suitable society. Sewerage systems therefore contribute to the
implementation procedure for a National Sanitation inequities present in most developing countries, by
Policy. diverting scarce financial resources away from the
'basic needs' of the poor majority, to subsidize the
(a) Urban Sanitation in Developing Countries aesthetic considerations of a minority.
A major reason for the persistence of water-borne
In the 'developed world' water-borne sanitation systems as the automatic sanitation choice in Third
technology "was designed to maximize user World urban areas is a widespread ignorance of
convenience rather than health benefits" (Kalber- alternatives, which itself stems from the training
matten, et al., 1982, p. 3). Cost is not a critical received by indigenous manpower. Most Third World
consideration, and a capital-intensive disposal system engineers study abroad in institutions where only
does not imply that its availability will be limited to a 'conventional' technology is examined and they are,
proportion of the population. The efficiency of the therefore, unable to advise planners and administra-
water-closet system derives not only from its own tors concerning more appropriate techniques. "This
intrinsic features, but also from the prevailing high lack of knowledge has often meant that requests for
level of health education, and technical knowledge to sanitation studies have called only for the examination
keep the system operational (Feachem, et aL, 1977, p. of different configurations of sewerage systems"
237). The standard of sewage treatment is sufficiently (Kalbermatten, et al., 1982, p. 85). Since sewerage is so
*Dr. DaveTodd is a SeniorLecturerin Sociology,in the Schoolof costly, such studies generally advocate early action
EnvironmentalStudies at the Universityof [Link] behalfof only for the business districts and high-cost residential
Zambia's NationalHousingAuthority,in 1979,he was Consultant areas, leaving the rest of the city's population to fend
Sociologistto that country's UrbanSanitationSurvey. for themselves, until an improbable and unspecified

The Environmentalist, Volume 5, Number 2, 111-121 (1985) 111

economic upturn provides the substantial funds situation was rationalized by the British Government
required for general improvement. as a policy of 'balanced stabilization', by which
Even those sewerage systems which are installed do Africans would only be required to return to their
not necessarily provide the intended environmental homelands on retirement.
protection. "A survey in Kenya showed that outside In the late 1940s, high copper prices led to increased
Nairobi, not one sewage treatment works functioned demand for labor, and for the first time a large urban
as designed and that this was primarily due to poor housing programme for Africans and Europeans was
maintenance" (Feachem, et al., 1977, p. 266). This proposed, leading to the construction between 1948
situation is by no means exceptional and the and 1964 of about I00,000 urban houses. Despite this,
"combination of a superficial treatment of sewage and the numbers of houses available fell far short of the
irregular pressure level in the water supply system as demand, and the quality of those built for the workers
exists in most cities in the less developed countries was generally extremely poor. One aspect of this was
lead inevitably to a regular and dangerous inadequate sanitation which generally consisted of
combination" (Nimpuno, 1976). This suggests that the communal blocks, which rapidly reached such a filthy
promotion of water-borne systms as essential to the condition as to be unusable. At Independence, in 1964,
improvement of public health is misguided. In fact the Zambian Government, therefore, faced a major
(Kalbermatten, et al., 1977, p. 4), "the reduction and crisis in housing the existing urban population. This
eventual elimination of the transmission of excreta problem was greatly exacerbated by the extremely
related diseases.., can be fully achieved by non- rapid rural-urban migration which followed the lifting
conventional sanitation technologies that are much of colonial restrictions on movement into towns.
cheaper than sewerage". In summary, 'conventional' Between 1963 and 1969, the average annual urban
sanitation is costly to install, uses scarce and expensive population growth rate was 8.9 percent, while that for
water resources inefficiently, widens social Lusaka was 13.9 percent. The rate fell between 1969
inequalities, and yet fails to deliver the health and 1974, to an annual average for all urban areas of
protection its advocates believe it to provide. 6.9 percent (Lusaka 8.9 percent). By 1974 the
Third World urbanization proceeds rapidly, while population of Lusaka was 401,000, while that of Kitwe
available internal resources have come under was 251,000 and Ndola 229,000. The urban total was
increasing pressure, and external donor countries and 1.5 million, representing 32.5 percent of the national
Agencies are undergoing a period of economic population of 4.7 million. An I.L.O. projection, made
stringency. These global economic factors, combined in 1981 suggests that if"the trends of the last ten years
with a re-assessment of existing sanitation strategies, continue, Zambia in the year 2000 will be a country of
have led to an increasing interest in "alternative' around 12 million people, about double the present
systems which can meet basic health criteria within population. Some 60 percent of this population, over 7
more acceptable financial limits. Such systems, which million persons, could be living in the urban areas'"
have been examined by numerous individuals and (International Labour Office, 1981, p. 39).
Agencies, have not easily found acceptance with Third These urban growth rates have far outstripped
World Governments, which have tended to regard economic growth, and the capacity of the Government
them as "second best' and socially and politically and public and private institutions to supply housing
unacceptable. Nevertheless economic reality has and other services. Housing provision has been
recently moved many such Governments to accept that characterized by the linkage of most official housing to
efficient solutions in the near future may be more jobs, and by inadequate numbers of low cost council
beneficial than ideal solutions beyond the horizon. houses, caused by unrealistically high standards for the
available finance, and by an inequitable system of
(b) Urbanization, Sanitation and the Zambian Economy housing subsidies in which the level of subsidy rises
together with income. It would be an exaggeration to
Zambia's urban development did not begin until the talk of a consistent 'housing policy' since
colonial era, when the discovery of copper led to the Independence, but rather (Bamberger, et aL, 1982) the
rapid growth of mining towns. These consisted of "nation was constantly involved in reacting to crisis
small colonies of white technicians and administrators situations with disjointed programs whose methods
segregated from larger numbers of African workers, and results are forgotten until the next crisis develops".
who were housed in barracks-style accommodation for The results of the rapid flow of migrants into the
single men. These workers were regarded as temporary urban areas, coupled with the absence of a coherent
urban residents, who would rapidly return to their housing policy and inequitable Government
rural homes, to be replaced by others in a process of expenditure, was the proliferation of squatter housing
'circulatory migration' (See, Heisler, 1974). areas in and around the major towns and cities, most
During the 1930s, the mine companies began to feel notably Lusaka. By 1974, squatter houses comprised
the need to stabilize their work force, in order to reduce 94 percent of the Lusaka housing stock, 27 percent in
costs by increasing skill levels. At the same time, Ndola, 23 percent in Kitwe, and 33 percent of the
workers themselves began to illegally prolong their national urban total.
stay in towns, and a few women came to settle. The The Government's aim with regard to sanitation has

112 The Environmentalist

 been to provide a water-borne system to all houses. The research programme was entrusted to the
This ambition has inevitably not been fulfilled, National Homing Authority (1979) which has so far
although considerable efforts have been made. In published the results of an Urban Sanitation Survey
1969, 58 percent of urban houses had water-borne (conducted by the author as Consultant Sociologist),
sanitation, while the majority of the remainder had without proceeding further. In order to facilitate
access to a pit latrine. However, with the increase in progress, it is appropriate to update the analysis of
squatter housing, this proportion has declined existing conditions produced by the Survey, review the
steadily, and will continue to do so for the foreseeable available sanitation alternatives, and suggest systems
future. which are suitable for trial in Zambia.
Sanitation was not seen as an important issue in the
First National Development Plan (1966-70) (Office of
SANITATION IN ZAMBIA'S LOW INCOME
National Development and Planning, 1966) and was
AREAS PERFORMANCE DATA
not specifically discussed. By the time of the Second
-

National Development Plan (1972-76) (Ministry of A detailed survey of existing sanitation systems in low
Development Planning and National Guidance, 1971) income housing areas of Lusaka and Ndola (one of the
the policy of 'squatter upgrading' had been espoused two Copperbelt cities) was conducted in 1979.
by the Government and it was intended that sewerage Performance of the systems will be examined in an
should be provided in any such scheme (ibid., p. 148). approximate order of decreasing technological
Neither the cost, nor the practicality, of laying sewers sophistication, which relates fairly closely to
in densely-populated areas were discussed and in any installation costs (See also, Fig. 1).
case, no budget was submitted for such sewerage
projects. The Third National Development Plan
Water closets
(1979-83) (National Commission for Development
Planning, 1979) reviewed the appalling housing 1. Water Closets to Main Sewers This system is used
performance of its predecessor, which resulted in only in a continuous belt of low cost homing in the south of
3,000 completed official low cost dwelling units out of Lusaka (including New Kamwala, New Kabwata,
a planned 67,000 (ibid., p. 315). During the Second Libala, and Chilenje South), which was built along a
National Development Plan period, expenditure on trunk sewer constructed in 1962, (Department of
medium and high cost institutional and civil service Town and Country Planning, 1972, p. 19) as well as in
homing exceeded its allocation by 50 per percent parts of Matero to the north west (Lmaka total
(totalling K84 million spent), while the general homing 23,000 units). Many of Ndola's low cost areas also use
programme spent only K56.9 million (out of the K I00 this system.
million allocated) (ibid., pp. 317-8).
The World Bank/Government of the Republic of 2. Water Closets to Septic Tanks These are mainly
Zambia Lusaka Housing Project, which was the first installed in high and medium cost houses, partly
major squatter upgrading project to stem from the because the space requirement could not be met in low-
Second National Development Plan's policy initiative, cost areas, and partly became soil characteristics are
did not attempt to install any sewerage systems in not suitable in many areas of the city.
existing squatter areas. These settlements experienced
no change in their sanitation situation, while the new 3. Performance of Water Closets Water closets were
'overspill' areas, which were generally laid out in examined, and their users surveyed in two Council
approximately straight lines, featured one self-dug pit housing areas; Matero, Lusaka (100 units) and
latrine per house. Kabushi, Ndola (50 units). About one-third of the
The wisdom of not proceeding with conventional users had experienced a problem with their toilet
sewerage provision in squatter upgrading was realized during the past year, including leaking cisterns, non-
by the Third National Development Plan, which states flushing units, and broken handles. 33 out of 43 people
(p. 324) that it "will be necessary to aim at housing and who had contacted the appropriate City Council
servicing standards that meet the basic requirements reported that no action followed. In the period from
and provide a minimum standard for everyone... one to five years prior to the survey, only one
Water-borne sanitation will be appropriate only where respondent could recall a problem with the unit. The
individual water connections are provided. Where data suggest that many of the water closets are
shared taps are provided, alternative sanitation reaching an age when their performance is declining,
methods will be used. Government will, therefore, that they are probably used over-robustly, and that the
pursue actively a sanitation research programme, Councils concerned do not have adequate
designed to introduce an economic solution to maintenance procedures.
sanitation in low-cost housing areas". Despite this It can be concluded that both types of water closet
stated intention, no funds were allocated for such a are too expensive to install in Zambia's low-cost areas,
project, while 29 sanitation and water projects of a that both use excessive amounts of water, which is a
'conventional' nature were listed for funding (ibid., scarce and expensive resource, and that both are liable
Annexure 1, pp. 333-6). to be inadequately maintained, and therefore,

Volume 5, Number 2 (1985) 113

 BASIC PIT LATRINE VENTILATED IMPROVED PITLATRINE CONTINUOUS COMPOSTING VENTILATED IMPROVED PIT LATRINE
UNLINED MULTRUM LINED

II Vent pipe: Vent pipe

I|
VeRt pipe
il \
pit Sod from pit R, ill
Solid wall ~ ~."
so,,dw.,,H!
C . . . . te 1~.-. ,.+m¢-~:..;-~-:~
b
POUR FLUSH TO SOAK/~NAY AQUA PRIVY TO SOAKAWAY UNSEALED DOUBLE VAULT REEDS ODO URLESS
(WITHOUT WATER SEAL } EARTH CLOSET--UNLINED

li I' It ~11
• Vent pipe

V nt pipes +. t p

~a

...: ~°°+o+~:~;., :,
+ ° 4 :.: ~ .~~ o ~~,~........ o~i % ~
KEY
I~, MOVEMENT OF LIQUIDS; I~, MOVEMENT OF SOLIDS. '~

Fig. 1. Alternative Sanitation Systems (Sources: National Housing Authority, 1979; World Bank, 1982). Figure drawn by W. M. Kalangu.
unusable after some years in operation. Septic tanks,
are, in addition, prone to blockages (often caused by
inappropriate cleansing matter), which are costly to
clear.

Aqua Privies
1. Sewered Aqua Privies The principles of the aqua
privy have been fully described by Vincent et aL, 1961;
de Kruijff, 1978; McGarry, 1978, p. 255, p. 257; and
Kalbermatten et al., 1982, pp. 15-16. The critical
feature is the water-seal which must be retained around
the drop-chute. In early types of aqua privy, this
needed to be regularly 'topped-up' by the users, a
procedure which was often ignored. In Matero,
Lusaka, the (1000 plus) units are of the 'self-topping' Fig. 2. Aqua Privies leading to soakaways are susceptible to
variety in which sullage from a sink outside of the blockages,as in Balovale,Lusaka.
cubicle runs directly into the storage tank, thus
automatically retaining the seal. Below the water seal, soakaways, are extremely susceptible to blockages,
liquid effluent with suspended solids is fed into the and rapidly become severe health hazards. 20 users
sewerage system. However, sludge builds up, and were interviewed in Balovale (Lusaka), where the
should be periodically pumped out by vacuum tanker system is in use, and all had experienced blockages
before it forms a solid layer, which will eventually during the last year. 19 reported that the problem had
reach the chute and thus break through the seal. since recurred, and 16 that the problem had existed as
long ago as five years previously.
2. Aqua Privies with Soakaways By disposing of the Overall, aqua privies are expensive to install and
partly-treated effluent into a soakaway, rather than a maintain, and are subject to frequent blockages which
sewer, cost savings can be achieved. This system can can only be released by relatively complicated
only be installed where soil characteristics are maintenance procedures. Since these procedures are
appropriate, an example being Balovale settlement in not generally followed, the result is a health hazard
Lnsaka. It is less effective than a sewered system. which can become quite severe. In Balovale, Lusaka,
within 10 metres of house windows there stood blocks
3. Aqua Privies with Septic Tank and Soakaway A of completely full aqua privies, leading to 'soakaways'
system intermediate to the previous two is found in which had become pools of offensive effluent, over
Kabushi, Ndola. Here blocks of up to four toilets stand which flies hovered, and around which children played
on a common 50 gallon setting tank, from which (Fig. 2).
effluent is sewered to a communal septic tank with
soakaway. Communal Water Closets
4. Performance of Aqua Privies The fully and partially In both cities, blocks of water closets serve hostels
sewered types are reasonably effective, but sensitive to initially established as 'single persons' quarters' during
misuse. The relatively sophisticated maintenance the colonial era. Although these blocks have water-
procedures which they require are not generally borne sanitation to septic tanks or soakaways, they are
understood by the Council teams. 73 percent of users mostly in an abominable state because of two major
in Matero and Kabushi combined had experienced a factors: firstly, the Councils do not maintain them, and
problem with their toilet in the previous year. secondly, since they are communal, no-one assumes
Maintenance was less successful in Lusaka, where 69 responsibility for their cleanliness (Fig. 3). They are
percent of units which had a fault repaired by the therefore unsuitable for future sanitation projects.
Council later experienced a recurrence, than in Ndola
where this was the case for only 53 percent. Pail Latrines
It appears that maintenance teams are unaware of
the manner in which the system works. Instead of Two small residential areas in Lusaka are still served
pumping out the entire tank, including the solid build by communal pail latrines. It was found that many of
up which causes blockages, and then refilling with the pails were broken and could not be removed, with
water to re-establish the seal, they simply pump offthe obvious consequences. Fly breeding and smells were
liquid above the pile and regard the problem as solved. prevalent, and the overall appearance of the blocks
This has two obvious consequences: firstly, flies are was abominable. So much so, that people preferred to
allowed to breed and odours to escape, and secondly, use the surrounding area, which was heavily polluted.
the tank rapidly fills up again and overflows. The system is thus completely inappropriate for
The unsewered aqua privies, leading directly to Zambia's urban areas.

Volume 5, Number 2 (1985) 115

Fig. 3. Communal water closets rapidly become extremely squalid, Fig. 4. In crowded squatter areas self dug pit latrines (hut on left) are
and residents prefer to use the surrounding area, as in Matero, often too close to wells (foreground). They also need frequent
Lusaka. relocation. Chipulukusu, Ndola.

Pit Latrines Housing Project. In the 'Basic' Site and Service

Scheme (Site 5) householders were required to build a
Pit latrines in Zambia are generally self-dug and pit latrine for each home, and 97 percent of them
unlined (Fig. 4), but there are also some (for example, expressed satisfaction with this sanitary system
in parts of Matero, in the Survey) which have been dug (although 75 percent also hoped to have a flush toilet in
by a Council and lined with concrete. The latter can be
the future) (Bamberger et aL, 1982, p. 66). In one of the
pumped out by vacuum-tanker, and are thus semi-
'Normal' Sites (Site 1) surveyed, householders had
permanent (Fig. 5). They, therefore, avoid the need to
built temporary pit latrines, while waiting for water-
relocate every few years, which is becoming a major
borne sanitation to be installed by the Project. "73.7
problem in the more densely-populated urban areas,
percent of families found the present facilities
such as Chaisa (Lusaka) which has an average of 61
adequate. Thirty-one percent of the households also
dwellings per hectare.
indicated that they will still use the existing pit latrines
50 pit latrine users were surveyed in each city, and it
even after the completion of the water-borne system.
was found that 62 percent of the total sample had
This finding may suggest the need to review the
experienced a problem with their toilet during the last
desirability of water-borne sewerage systems in future
year, mainly a full pit (77 percent of complaints).
projects, as they are expensive to install and the
Councils were slow to deal with such problems,
demand for them is not dearly established. When
whether they were required to pump out the unit
asked about the major reasons for their decision to
(Matero), or to build a new one (Ndola).
move to Site 1,81 percent of the families there said that
Comparative data collected in a large squatter the provision of water-borne sewerage was not a high
housing area in Lusaka's George Compound (Lusaka
priority with them (Bamberger et al., 1982, p. 67).
Housing Project Evaluation Team, 1977) showed that These findings by World Bank staff (although
a substantially smaller proportion of pit latrine users
expressing their own opinion), when compared with
there had experienced any problem with the unit,
despite the fact that toilets here were much more
heavily used than those in the Council areas (6.7 users Fig. 5. Lined and re-usable pit latrines are semi permanent, as in
per unit in Matero/Kabushi, compared with I 1.5 in Matero, Lusaka.
George). The most likely reason for this difference is
that owners of self-dug pit latrines cannot call on
anyone's assistance, and therefore take action as
quickly as possible to solve their own problems;
whereas Council tenants leave everything to the
Authorities, which themselves tend to delay any action
to the last possible moment became of perennial
problems in satisfying the maintenance demands made
on them. A situation which might become a major
problem in a Council housing area is, therefore,
rectified rapidly in a squatter area, before reaching
problem proportions.
Additional valuable findings concerning pit latrines
• ~..~., . . "577-~ ",;. .;~ :.~
were reported in the final evaluation of the Lusaka

116 The Environmentalist

 the absurdly grandiose schemes outlined in the earlier costly attention. In other words, although the re-
World Bank Water Supply and Sewerage Sector Study usable pit requires Council maintenance, it is a
for Zambia (World Bank/WHO, 1975) provide relatively unskilled and infrequent maintenance.
evidence of the same contact with reality which The ordinary, non-re-usable, pit requires only
changed Zambian national policy between the First relocation, by the Council or the user. Unfortunately,
and Third National Development Plans. The laudable, this eventually runs into space limitations, particularly
but unrealistic, ambition of providing water-borne in crowded squatter settlements near to the main
sanitation for all in Zambia is gradually giving way to industrial areas. It may, therefore, be appropriate to
the intention of providing a cheaper alternative, which gradually phase out unlined pit and replace them with
can still satisfy basic health criteria. lined ones, which could almost certainly be user-built
in most cases. Before elaborating on this proposal,
Conclusions on Existing Systems however, I shall now briefly examine other low-cost
sanitation technologies which have been proposed in
Water closets are too expensive to install in future low the growing literature on this subject.
cost housing areas, and are even less appropriate as
'remedial' action in existing squatter settlements,
ALTERNATIVE SANITATION SYSTEMS:
where the complex housing layout would render the REVIEWING THE OPTIONS
system yet more costly. The perennial water shortages
of the urban areas, together with the cost of Nimpuno (1976, p. 8) has classified waste disposal
constructing new supply systems and importing systems under the following headings: 'infiltration',
purification chemicals, also make water an 'sludge separation', 'direct removal', 'mechanical
inappropriate means of transporting sewage. removal', 'destruction', and 'decomposition'. His
Aqua privies are again relatively costly to install, examination of a number of sub-systems under each
and have proved excessively complicated to maintain. heading is useful in that it enables us to eliminate a
The water-seal system is not understood by large number of them with little discussion.
maintenance teams or users, and therefore, fails to Of the 'infiltration' systems, the pit latrine is the only
provide the intended protection from flies and odours. type (preferably modified) suitable for widespread use,
In many instances the moist but exposed pile, which while the bore hole's utility is limited by its small
mounts into the drop chute, poses a considerable capacity (Nimpuno, 1976, p. 3 I). The overhang latrine
health hazard. None of the aqua privy systems can, is rejected on the grounds that it has "greater potential
therefore, be recommended as part of any future for spreading disease than combating it" (McGarry,
sanitation programme. 1978, p. 247) and it is in any case hardly suitable for a
Communal toilets of any kind are not properly landlocked country with a small surface area of water
maintained and rapidly deteriorate to such squalor near its towns. Cesspools require considerable space,
that the intended users resort to the surrounding area easily become offensive and virulent, and would be
instead. The survey, revealed that water closets are just inappropriate for high density housing areas.
as unsatisfactory as pail latrines in such circumstances. 'Sludge separation' systems provide no appropriate
All sanitation should, therefore, be provided for toilet types. Septic tanks and aqua privies have already
individual houses, or at worst, shared between a been rejected on the basis of the Zambian experience;
maximum of four houses. while methane gas toilets, as well as being expensive to
The pit latrine appears to be the only one of the install, would require far more supervision than they
existing systems which is appropriate for low cost would ever receive, in order to operate effectively
housing areas. It is of two basic types, re-usable (lined) (Nimpuno, 1976, p. 29).
and non-re-usable (unlined). The former must be Moving on to 'direct removal' systems, we find that
emptied by vacuum tanker, and therefore, depends on bucket toilets have been excluded because of their
Council maintenance services, which have been shown unsatisfactory performance in existing areas. The
to be deficient. However, the survey showed clearly remaining types in this category, namely 'chemical',
that neither of the Councils studied offered adequate 'freeze', 'packing' and 'recirculating chemical' are all
maintenance for any type of toilet system, so that pit too sophisticated for Zambian use.
latrines are not unique in this respect. In fact, pit The 'mechanical removal' category includes water-
latrines have a considerable advantage over water borne sanitation, which has already been classified as
closets and aqua-privies, since the maintenance too expensive, and an 'electrolux vacuum system'
required is simple, and, once performed, keeps the which is both costly and sophisticated, as well as a
system operating for some years. It is immediately 'chemical privy' which is not analysed in Nimpuno's
obvious whether a pit has been emptied or re-dug paper. However, since it evidently requires chemicals,
adequately, and everyone understands how the toilet it can be excluded on the grounds that these would
works. With the two water-borne systems, on the other need to be imported on a regular basis. The only
hand, the operational details of the system are survivor of this category is, therefore, the vacuum
unknown to many of the users and repairers alike, so truck system, which can be applied to a number of
that faults are very likely to recur, requiring yet more 'alternative' toilet types, as will be seen shortly.

Volume 5, Number 2 (1985) 117

 The only toilet type in the 'destruction' category is
the 'incinerating toilet', which is "expensive to buy and
to operate and difficult to maintain" (Nimpuno, 1976,
p. 13), and therefore, inappropriate.
The final category of 'decomposition' systems
includes 'composting' and 'mouldering' toilets.
Composting toilets originate from Asia, and usually
take the form of a 'double vault latrine'. This toilet
type is particularly useful where the ground water table
is high, or when the soil is liable to collapse, since the
vaults need only be about one meter deep. Against
these advantages, we must set a number of difficulties
discovered by the Tanzanian National Scientific
Research Council's 'Alternative Waste Disposal
Methods Project' (1978). A double vault toilet (Fig. 6)
can only cope with at most eight regular users, who Fig. 6. Double vaults require exact adherence to composting
must daily add such dry matter as ash and organic procedures. Lugoba Village.
refuse in order to attain suitable composing
conditions. Furthermore, since the vaults are small, particularly if the decomposition had not been carried
they regularly need to be dug out and the humus placed out in a satisfactory manner. The final problem with
in an appropriate trench. It is unlikely that this would the biopot is the need to construct a three-layer filter of
be carried out systematically, particularly if, as seems leaves and coarse sand, coarse sand and charcoal, and
likely, the correct composting procedures have not calcium carbonate, such as "a combination of crushed
been followed and the matter is still offensive. These limestone and ashes". This system would be extremely
drawbacks, coupled with the absence of any tradition difficult to supervize or construct on any large scale,
in Zambia of using human wastes as fertilizer - except and it, therefore, also seems inappropriate for
to plant trees over disused pits - appear to render the Zambian conditions.
system unsuitable. Having critically reviewed the disposal systems
The 'mouldering' toilet, which is best known discussed by Nimpnno, we find that only pit latrines
through Swedish 'Multrum' system was also tested in and vacuum tankers (which can be used with a variety
the Tanzanian project (Fig. 7). Its characteristic of toilet types) remain. Fortunately, there are a
sloping floor required careful construction in order to number of other alternatives which Nimpuno does not
ensure the correct flow of waste matter, and it is mention, and we must now investigate these in order to
doubtful whether this could be adequately supervized expand the possibilities for Zambia's high density
on a large scale in Zambia's urban areas. In Botswana, housing areas.
in a sister project to those in Tanzania and Zambia (all Kalbermatten et al. (1982, p. x), divide sanitation
of which were sponsored by the IDRC), composting systems into two basic types; namely 'household" (on-
and mouldering units again performed badly site) and 'community' systems. Household systems
(Botswana Ministry of Local Government and Lands include pit latrines, pour-flush (PF) toilets,
1976). The multrum units tested did not function composting toilets, aqua privies, and septic tanks;
adequately, and did not even pass into the second while the community systems are bucket latrines, vault
experimental phase of the project. With the double- toilets, communal toilets and sewerage systems. These
vault toilet, the shallowness of the pit was unpopular, categories are not mutually exclusive, since for
as was the need for frequent emptying, while the poor example, both pits and pour-flush toilets can be lined
availability of suitable organic matter was an for vacuum truck emptying, thus moving into the vault
operational difficulty. category.
The final toilet type examined by Nimpuno, as a A number of these systems have already been
possible solution for developing countries is the excluded, leaving us with pit latrines, pour-flush toilets
'biopot'. Although this has a number of valuable and vault toilets as potentially useful for Zambia's
features, they are outweighed by its shortcomings. future alternative sanitation policy. The relative merits
Firstly, each of the two vaults will be filled by six of each system will now be examined in more detail.
people in between 9 months and a year. Secondly, ash
needs to be added daily and 'fresh green leaves' must be
ALTERNATIVE SANITATION SYSTEMS: THE
used to top up a vault before closing it for composting MAIN CONTENDERS
(Nimpuno, 1976, p. 45). The latter would be difficult to
locate in many large squatter areas in the dry season, (a) Pit Latrines
and would probably be ignored. After six months, the
vault can be emptied, and the dry manure carried The basic pit latrine may give rise to a number of
away. As with the composting and mouldering toilets, problems (National Housing Authority, 1979, p. 19)
this would almost certainly not be done by residents, such as: fly breeding; inadequate distance between the
118 The Environmentalist
 Fig. 8. Reed's Odourless Earth Closet has long life and good
acceptability, but its chute brings problems, Lugoba Village.

experienced with the simpler design of a VIP.

Against this, the ROEC has several advantages,
namely "its pit can be large and thus have a longer
life (because the superstructure is displaced), the
users (especially children) have no fear of falling
into its pit, and it may be more acceptable because
Fig. 7. "Multrum" units require precise construction in order to the excreta cannot be seen (Kalbermatten, et al.,
function correctly. Lugoha Village, Bagamoyo District, Tanzania. 1982, p. 12).

house and the pit leading to nuisance from flies and

(b) Pour-Hush Toilets
odours; collapsing pits in certain soil conditions;
inadequate space for new pits in crowded areas; The pour-flush (PF) toilet comes in three variants, one
excavation difficulties in rocky terrain; possible misuse of which is a vault, and will be discussed below.
by disposing of water or household garbage; probable
I. In the fhst type, a basic pit latrine is modified by
water pollution in surrounding areas, and even of
the introduction of a squatting plate with a drop
underground supplies where the rock is fissured.
chute, around which a water seal is formed. This
However, since the pit is cheap, well=understood, and
system is most advantageous where water is used
relatively effective, attempts have been made to
for anal cleansing purposes. Since this is not the
improve its basic design, in order to reduce the
case in Zambia, it is less appropriate. When we
difficulties associated with its use.
add to this the unhappy experience with water-
1. In the first variant, the Ventilated Improved Pit seals in Zambia's aqua privies, we can reject this
(VIP) (Kalbermatten, et al., 1982, p. 14), the pit is system without trial.
simply partially offset from the superstructure, so Z The second type 'has a completely displaced
that a vent-pipe can run directly from the pit along soakaway p i t . . , that is connected to a PF bowl by
the hut wall. The pipe not only diverts odours a short length of 100-millimeter pipe. This type of
from the hut, but also tempts unwary flies to PF toilet can be installed inside the house because
mount it and get trapped by a gauze cover at its it is free of odour and insect problems and its toilet
summit. The VIP therefore makes useful advances fixture is displaced from the pit. When the pit is
on the basic design, but leaves a number of full, a new one is dug and the latrine is connected
problems unsolved. to it" (Kalbermatten, et al., 1982, p. 15). The toilet
Z A similar improvement on the pit latrine is Reed's requires about 3 to 6 liters ofwaterper capita daily
Odourless Earth Closet, which has been in use in for the 'pour=flush' operation, and it is quite likely
South Africa for more than 30 years. The ROEC is that this will not be provided by careless users.
a vented pit latrine (Fig. 8), completely displaced This is reminiscent of early types of aqua privy,
from the superstructure, and connected b y a chute which were not successful for precisely this reason.
to the squatting plate. The ROEC was tested in As with the ROEC, it seems likely that the
both the Tanzanian and Botswanan projects connecting pipe will be easily blocked thus
previously mentioned, and both found the chute creating a health hazard (particularly ff the unit is
to bring cleansing problems which would not be inside the house) and a maintenance problem.

Volume 5, Number 2 (1985) 119

 (c) Vault Toilets (because of the absence of pipes or chutes), which
is a major benefit, and it has no water requirement
None of the systems so far examined are suitable for (advantageous where standpipes are scarce).
general installation in the existing very high density
areas, since they all required relocation once the
receptacle is full. In such central areas, a sanitation
breakdown is imminent, since there will soon be SANITATION SEQUENCES
insufficient room for new pits, leading to overuse of Kalbermatten et al. (1982, p. 46), lay considerable
existing ones, which will themselves fill very rapidly, stress on installing sanitation facilities which can be
until all available facilities are exhausted. progressively upgraded, as water provision and
In the author's opinion, the only possibility of incomes improve. They outline a number of example
averting a major sanitation (and hence health) crisis in sequences, with approximate costings over a 30 year
Zambia's most densely populated squatter areas is the period. Each of the six systems deemed suitable for
development of an efficiently managed vault toilet and trial in Zambia could eventually be upgraded to a
vacuum emptying service. small-bore sewer system.
Vault toilets are already in use in some of Zambia's The author does not, however, propose to elaborate
official low cost housing areas, in the form of lined (but further on sanitation sequences, since it is regarded as
unimproved) pit latrines. They generally work highly unlikely that the Zambian economy will
reasonably well, except that Council maintenance significantly improve for a considerable time. The
teams are slow to pump them out when the need arises. mainstay of the economy, the copper industry, is in
However, once they have been emptied they are usable continuing decline, and the loss of revenue,
for at least another 2 to 3 years without attention. This particularly foreign exchange, from this source cannot
gives them a major advantage over the type of vault be offset by proposed gains in agricultural
wideiy used in East Asia, which is very shallow and productivity. The primary criterion for evaluating the
needs emptying every 2 to 6 weeks. Such a frequency of performance of alternative sanitation systems must
emptying would dearly be unmanageable in Zambia. therefore be the maximum sustainable benefit for the
least cost.

SYSTEMS RECOMMENDED FOR TRIAL EVALUATING THE ALTERNATIVES

PROJECTS
The Fast step in tackling Zambia's urban sanitation
1. Both the VIP and the ROEC could be tested in crisis is to establish a National Policy, covering the
urban housing areas with relatively large plot related fields of sanitation and water provision. Such a
sizes. Neither is suitable for the more central policy would include implementation and mainten-
squatter areas, where overcrowding is already ance strategies, as well as criteria for requesting
creating difficulties for pit re-location. It seems international technical and financial assistance.
likely that the VIP will perform more effectively Before deciding on which toilet types are
than the ROEC in Zambia, where simplicity of appropriate for widespread installation, it will be
maintenance is a critical factor. necessary to conduct trial projects, which should be
The pour-fiush toilet with the completely dis- conducted by a special National Sanitation Unit, on
placed soakaway pit could also be tried in the the model of the successful Lusaka Housing Project
same areas. However, it is strongly recommended Unit. This will enable sufficient high level manpower
that units are not built within, or even in close to be assembled to manage the field projects, and
proximity to, houses until the performance of the advise District Councils on future implementation of
system over several years is ascertained. If the sanitation policies once the experimental units have
system proves unsuitable, and causes problems in been evaluated. Large scale field tests should be
or around the houses, people's attitude to conducted in each of the three cities, Lusaka, Ndola
sanitation could be irreparably damaged. and Kitwe, with central and peripheral squatter areas
2. For the existing densely-packed squatter areas being selected for the lined and unlined variants of the
three alternative types of vault are proposed, three systems respectively. Where piped water to
which are simply the lined variants of the toilets standpipes is not available, it should be provided as
recommended above. In other words, lined VIP's, part of the overall package.
lined ROEC's and lined PF toilets without water- As well as testing toilet types, it will be necessary to
seal. experiment with alternative emptying systems for
Of the three, the author would again anticipate vaults. Vacuum pumping is already extensively used in
the greatest success for the VIP, since it is the Zambia, but the service provided is erratic because of
easiest system to keep clean, and virtually identical frequence breakdowns of the tanker trucks; (in 1977,
to the standard pit, with which most urban for example, the monthly average of tankers working
dwellers are already familiar. Furthermore, it has in Lusaka was only two) (National Housing Authority,
the greatest potential for self-help construction 1979, p. 16). The trucks are used mainly for septic

120 The Environmentalist

 tanks in low density housing areas, but also for aqua- more importantly, promote relevant action in the near
privies and lined pits in official low cost areas under the future.
Councils' administration. They have not yet been used
in any squatter areas, and because of their large size, it
is doubtful if they could reach more than a small REFERENCES
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Volume 5, N u m b e r 2 (1985) 121