Customers are the most important visitors on our premises. They are not dependant on us, we are dependant on them. They are not an interruption of our work, they are the purpose of it. They are not outsiders to our business, they are part of it. We are not doing them a favour by serving them, they are doing us a favour by giving us an opportunity to do so.
Revamping Sewerage Services Needs Sh54b
Arusha needs some Sh54.5 billion (about $41 million) to revamp its overstretched sewerage disposal services, senior officials of the city have said.
According to the managing director of the Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Authority (AUWSA), Mr Asilia Munissi, the government of South Korea has shown interest in providing technical and financial support for the project.
He said Arusha’s sewerage disposal services were overstretched and cannot meet the increasing demand. They are presently accessed by less than 20 per cent of the more than 400,000 residents of the recently elevated city.
With the total length of only 44 kilometres for sewer lines, 4,001 sewerage connections and coverage of only 17 per cent of the population, the service is considered very inadequate and can hardly meet the demand of residents in the next 15 years.
"The service coverage is about 17 per cent, which is very low compared to the clean water service level. Hence there is need to expand the sewerage infrastructure in general", he said.
The system is often blocked, recording 250 blockage removals and 270 sewer cleanings per month. "This phenomenon is an indicator of some sewer lines being overloaded, hence needing rehabilitation," Mr Munissi said.
According to him, the average daily flow into ponds is 6,350 cubic metres a day. Ideally, the five ponds employ the waste water treatment and effluent discharge techniques recommended by experts.
However, Mr Munissi said the effluent from the city's sewerage ponds does not meet even Tanzania standards. This is despite their undergoing various stages, including anaerobic (bacteria-free) treatment, he said.
There are plans to construct an additional anaerobic pond and two to three additional maturation ponds to further 'polish' the effluent, Mr Munissi added.
Meanwhile, the authority is in the process of acquiring adequate land to construct new ponds for the treatment of waste water from the whole Arusha city to meet the projected demand up to 2025.
The AUWSA was established in 1998 and over the years the sewerage network has increased from 26.7 km that year to 44 km today.
Sewerage connections went up to 4,100 by June this year from 1,359 some 12 years ago, an increase of 194 per cent. On the other hand, the sewerage network recorded an increase of 65 per cent.
"AUWSA needs financial support, including expertise for capacity development, to facilitate economic development through provision of excellent water supply and sewerage services to meet the current and future demand," he said.
By Zephania Ubwani, Arusha
Our Contacts
Arusha Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Authority – AUWSA
Tel.: +255 (0)27-2504163
Fax: +255 (0)27-2504163
e-mail: auwsa@auwsa.or.tz
