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Community Training and Capacity Building

Developing A Health And Safety Programme For Pit Emptying

4 January 2024 No Comments

The primary purpose of sanitation is to protect people and the environment from the pathogens in faeces which can cause disease. In the case of on-site sanitation, faecal sludge must be handled periodically when the vault containing faeces is emptied. Pit emptying is often logistically difficult and there is significant risk of workers being exposed to diseases or householders’ environment becoming contaminated, putting them at risk. We developed a detailed health and safety programme to address the health and safety risks involved in pit emptying. The programme includes management tools and a training video for workers with safety protocols for minimizing the risk of exposure and contamination during pit emptying. The programme was utilised in a project funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which involves eThekwini Municipality emptying the vaults of its Urine Diversion toilets. The tools developed in this project were offered to the contractor as a model for the health and safety programme which he is required to implement. The materials developed in this programme have wide-reaching application elsewhere as well, and the manual has already been adapted to the Rwandan context by Pit Vidura.

Developing A Health And Safety Programme For Pit Emptying  
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Community Training and Capacity Building

Piloting And Refining A School Sanitation Management Model

4 January 2024 No Comments

Based on research on school sanitation, PID and the WRC developed Guidelines for School Sanitation and a School Sanitation Management Handbook, which we piloted in 2016/2017 in 7 schools in Vulindlela, just outside of Pietermaritzburg. This pilot demonstrated key factors that promote or hinder the effective management of school toilets, and it has now grown into a much larger pilot being funded by Domestos (see above).

Piloting And Refining A School Sanitation Management Model  
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Environmental Services

Royal Agricultural Showgrounds River Bank Protection

4 January 2024 No Comments

Project: Gabion structure designed and installed to protect the bank of the Dorpspruit from further erosion and to thus protect the buildings built on the bank

PID was commissioned by RAS to improve a portion of the Dorpspruit River bank, which has eroded over time due to natural causes and also the presence of buildings on the edge of the bank.

This project included a 30-metre long, 2-metre high gabion basket structure as well as structural improvements to one of the buildings. PID partnered with DUCT, a local NGO with teams working on river health, and this was the team’s first experience with gabion installation.

After this phase is completed, a similar portion downstream will also be enhanced using a similar methodology.

Project Details

Location:
Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Client:
Royal Agricultural Society
Project Manager:D. Still, J. Neethling
Project Value:R 200 000
Date Completed:September 2016
Research and Development

Development of the PITVAQ for Pit Emptying

4 January 2024 No Comments

PID has been involved in the research and development of pit emptying devices for upwards of 10 years. Through tests of a number of manual devices, such as chain and scoop and auger devices, PID quickly learned that it is not practical to combine faecal sludge with moving parts. This led PID to focus on small vacuum pumping machines, which led to the development of PID’s own eVac in 2011/2012. The machine has gone through several iterations since then, and in 2019 the eVac Mk5 (now known as the PITVAQ) was manufactured. The PITVAQ is a fully portable vacuum pumping machine which is electrically powered and uses a portable vacuum tank. It performs the exact same function as any larger vacuum pumping machine, the only difference being the relatively small size of the vacuum tank. This tank will be filled in seconds or minutes, depending on the thickness of the sludge, and is decanted into a disposal pit or into drums supplied for the carting away of the sludge. PID is constantly updating the PITVAQ based on feedback from pit emptying companies using it on a regular basis. We are able to design and manufacture PITVAQs which can be sent all over the world. Once the South African PITVAQ has been introduced to a local context, there is potential for it to be manufactured locally. For more information and to partner with us in this work, visit our website at www.pitvaq.com.

Project Details

Where has the Pitvaq been sent?
Rwanda, India, Uganda, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, Zambia
Location:
Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Partners: Engineers Without Borders, WRC, Water for People, GIZ, Pit Vidura
Water Supply Design and Implementation

Nokweja Community Water Supply Scheme

4 January 2024 No Comments
Partners in Development were contracted to design and supervise the construction of a rural water supply scheme for a community of 20,000 people. A ground water investigation concluded the potential was low and so the Mzimkhulu River was selected as the source. The project infrastructure included: • Abstraction works on the Umzimkhulu River • A 2.0 Mℓ raw water dam • A water treatment works with capacity of 1.8 Mℓ/day • A high lift (280m) pump station and 3 km rising main in 150 mm steel and 160 mm uPVC • Two booster pump stations and 12 km rising mains in 110 to 160 mm uPVC • 25 km of gravity bulk pipelines • 3.6 Mℓ of reinforced concrete reservoirs ranging from 5kℓ to 900 kℓ • 400 public tap stands • 140 km of reticulation pipe lines • Four water offices

Project Details

Location:
20 km south of Ixopo, KZN, South Africa
Client:
Harry Gwala District Municipality
Project Manager:David Still with Siphamandla Majozi
Project Value:R 50 million
Date Completed (Phase 1):2007
Date Completed (Phase 2):2010
Date Completed (Phase 3):2012
Date Completed (Phase 4):2018
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