Polish PRT, GIRoA find sewage solution

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Like all major cities, Ghazni City has to contend with waste removal from the city center, and dispose of it in a responsible, clean and ecologically safe manner. However, until recently, there was no safe and effective manner to dispose of sewage, as there was no sewage treatment plant in the area.

Sewage was collected in overused facilities and then moved out of the city, where its destination was holes in the ground. Frequently sewage was also spilled directly to channels or streets. Inhabitants, especially in summer months, had to cope with a horrible smell floating over the city; and though the smell of sewage is difficult to contend with, the biggest concern was that the overflow often ended up in the water and therefore the food supply system.

“When sewage isn’t disposed of properly, it raises serious health concerns,” said U.S. Navy Lt. Reynaldo Reyes, Task Force White Eagle Provincial Reconstruction Team medical officer in charge. “When contaminated water is ingested, it can lead to very serious illness, even death.”

Because of this, Afghan leadership approached the Polish PRT for assistance in building a sewage treatment plant, according to Przemyslaw Kapuscinski, Polish engineer on irrigation and water management, employed by the PRT. “Initiative of building the sewage treatment plant came from Afghans.”

Though the Afghans wanted a plant, the matter was complicated, because such a large operation would strain the cities’ limited electrical supply, so the Polish team thought outside the box, and helped devise a solution that fit the city better.  Using centuries old technology, they built a sewage treatment plant that was self contained.

“There is no need for energy coming from outside, it works using gravitation,” explained Kapuscinski. “So the problem regarding connection to electricity source is solved. There is also no need for fuel, which cannot be bought by administration very often.”

Instead, sewage and waste water is transported via trucks to the sewage plant and emptied into the first basin.  Heavier solids settle to the bottom of the basic, eventually forming a layer of organic sludge. Partially filtered water overflows from the top of the first basin into the second.  In basin two, additional solids settle to the bottom of the basin; as in first basin, aerobic bacteria feed on the organic contents in the liquid.  The aerobic digestion will add to the filtration of the water.  Water from the second basin will overflow through pipes into the final filter, a constructed wetland.   The wetland is a treatment system that uses a natural process involving vegetation and soils to improve the water’s quality.

“The water, after the purification process, is not ready for drinking, but very similar to water from rivers,” said Konrad Smigielski, Polish PRT engineer, who headed up the sewage treatment plant project. “However, it is ideal for irrigation of the fields surrounding the treatment plant.”

To get this additional irrigation water, all the local community has to do is fill the first tank with sewage and waste water, and the process begins on its own, according to Smigielski.  This makes the project extraordinarily sustainable.

To enable the local government to fully take advantage of the newly constructed sewage treatment plant, the Polish PRT purchased two sewage suction trucks for Ghazni City. Additionally they organized training for sanitation workers, added Polish Army Maj. Pawel Chabielski, Task Force White Eagle Polish PRT commander.