Prime
Installation of sewer pipes commendable
The proposed excavations on Entebbe Road which have closed off traffic to lay large sewerage pipes is a very welcome move which must be supported to improve sanitation in and around the city.
This is part of the new 51km sewer line which National Water and Sewerage Corporation is installing around the Kampala metropolitan area to collect the increased sewage generated in city because of the expanded population.
Most of the old sewer lines the city is depending on were laid in the 1960s when the city population was still very low and, therefore, generated low volumes of sludge.
The old pipes, for instance, measured 200mm in diameter as opposed to the 1,500mm pipes which are being laid to collect sewage from downtown Kampala, Nakivubo, Namirembe Road, Kisekka Market, Old Kampala and Aga Khan Schools, which comprise the central business district and have also experienced an exponential growth in properties.
Whenever there is heavy rain, there have been complaints from the public about sewage flooding places such as Clock Tower, Kitgum House roundabout and Kyambogo, where it is suspected that unscrupulous landlords take advantage of the rain storm to release raw sewage into water drainage canals.
As a result, NWSC has been incurring increased costs for treating water pumped at the Ggaba Water Treatment Plant which pumps water from Lake Victoria which has of late experienced a deteriorating quality of fresh water because of pollution.
Solid waste management is among the growing challenges city authorities are grappling with world over, which necessitated the construction of the Bugolobi sewerage treatment plant to treat water before it goes back into Lake Victoria.
However, as the construction works take place, the implementing authorities should sensitise the beneficiary communities about the advantages of this project and the importance of solid waste management.
It will be useless to have such a beautiful project in the city and yet the beneficiaries do not appreciate the importance of this service because we come from a background where people like shortcuts to connect themselves illegally to such networks, causing interruptions of service and poor quality in terms of causing contamination.
We have cases in the city where landlords have converted toilets in shopping arcades into shops forgetting the importance of these facilities.
It is imperative, therefore, that sensitisation is carried out during this period so as to bring about behaviour change to ensure hygiene and sanitation.
