Customized Capsule I – AMRUT Training Programme on Septage Management

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) organised a three-day Capsule 1 Training Programme on Septage Management for 23 Municipal Functionaries, belonging to 5 cities of Odisha– Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Anugulat the Anil Agarwal Environment Training Institute (AAETI),Nimli, Rajasthan from May 29-31, 2018.

The aim of the training was to strengthenthe capacities of municipal functionaries on effective faecal sludge and septage management to mainstream it in citywide sanitation.The training programmefocussed on the current state of knowledge of this rapidly evolving field and present an integrated approach that includes planning, designing & implementing effective septage management interventions. The training was supported with best management practices in septage management.

During the training, participants were briefed about the importance of the entire sanitation value chain and its management for effective citywide sanitation. This was accompanied by introducing various planning tools like Excreta Flow Diagram (or Shit Flow Diagram-SFD), Sanitation Safety Plan (SSP), etc. to the participants. SFDs is a tool to map excreta in cities, which will be integrated in respective City Sanitation Plan (CSP). This session was followed with a lecture on the existing policy framework of FSSM at national and state level scales. Importance and emphasis of septage management in AMRUT was also discussed and status of regulatory act in Odisha on the same was also discussed. The training also managed to capture technical aspects, where participants learnt about septage characterization and quantification accompanied by the tour to the referral laboratory on septage management. This was followed by sessions on designing of septic tank, cotreatment of faecal sludge in STPs and introduction to various technological options for FSS treatment.

The training curriculum encompassed technical, financial, policy, and regulatory interventions to strengthen each step of entire sanitation value chain (from containment to reuse/disposal). Group exercises on designing a standard septic tank or quantifying the septage for an example city and designing of unplanted drying sludge were well received among the participants.

In the end, all city officials had a holistic understanding of planning and designing faecal sludge and septage treatment systems. Also discussedin details was how to plan for FSSM in which gaps and challenges (legislative/institutional/financial) that stand in the way of effectively implementing CSPs, however were also open to solutions. The training ended with the participants committing to improve the sanitation of urban cities in India.

Further, ‘in class’ dissemination of knowledge was well augmented by the demonstration of various wastewater treatment technologies installed at AAETI i.e. SBT, DWWTS, and improved septic tank.
At the end all participants committed to deploy the learnings of the training in to their day to day work and prepare SFD of their towns and accordingly calculate septage generation.

For further details contact: 

Dr MahreenMatto
Programme Manager
Centre for Science and Environment
mahreen@cseindia.org