Adventures in search of the ideal portable pit-emptying machine
David Still | Mark O'Riordan | Angus McBride | Barbara Louton
In South Africa, as in a number of other countries, on-site sanitation has a dominant place in the landscape of basic sanitation infrastructure. If the question ‘What happens when the pit is full?’ has been thought of at all, it is generally assumed that the pits will be emptied by vacuum tanker. However, owing to site access constraints and the nature of the sludge itself (it can be dense and have a high trash content) vacuum tankers are not always practical. The alternative - manual pit emptying - is hazardous and unpleasant. The Water Research Commission of South Africa funded experimental development of a number of technologies designed to fill the gap between large vacuum tankers and manual emptying. This paper describes these attempts, which include the Gobbler, which uses chains and scoops to lift sludge from the pit, the motorized pit screw auger, which uses a soil auger to lift sludge from a pit, and the NanoVac and eVac, which are small vacuum pumps designed to suck relatively wet sludge from pits. The eVac shows the most promise, but it seems unlikely that any one machine will be able to successfully deal with the greatly varying conditions found in pit latrines.Coffey, M. (2011) ‘What you need to know about emptying pits and tanks with vacuum tankers, large and small’, presentation to the First Faecal Sludge Management Seminar FSM1, Durban, 2011.
Department of Water Affairs of South Africa (2013) ‘National Information System’ [online], <www.dwaf.gov.za/NIS/MyDefault.aspx?tab=2281d3f0-0c41-406a-9d58-d54e7186b79e≯ [accessed 17 May 2013]. www.dwaf.gov.za/NIS/MyDefault.aspx?tab=2281d3f0-0c41-406a-9d58-d54e7186b79e
Muller, M.S. and Rijnsburger, J. (1992) MAPET: A Neighbourhood Based Pit Emptying Service with Locally Manufactured Hand Pump Equipment in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Gouda, Netherlands: WASTE advisers on urban environment and development.
Still, D.A. and Foxon, K. (2012a) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 1: Understanding Sludge Accumulation in VIPs and Strategies for Emptying Full Pits, WRC Report No. 1745/1/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and Foxon, K. (2012b) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 2: How Fast Do Pit Toilets Fill Up? A Scientific Understanding of Sludge Build Up and Accumulation in Pit Latrines, WRC Report No. 1745/2/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and Louton, B. (2012) Piloting and Testing the Pour Flush Latrine Technology for Its Applicability in South Africa, WRC Report No. 1887/1/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and O'Riordan, M. (2012) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 3: The Development of Pit Emptying Technologies, WRC Report No. 1745/3/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Sugden, S. (2012) ‘Reflections on business models and technology designs for pit emptying services’, presentation to the Second Faecal Sludge Management Conference (FSM2), Durban, 2012.
Coffey, M. (2011) ‘What you need to know about emptying pits and tanks with vacuum tankers, large and small’, presentation to the First Faecal Sludge Management Seminar FSM1, Durban, 2011.
Department of Water Affairs of South Africa (2013) ‘National Information System’ [online], <www.dwaf.gov.za/NIS/MyDefault.aspx?tab=2281d3f0-0c41-406a-9d58-d54e7186b79e≯ [accessed 17 May 2013]. www.dwaf.gov.za/NIS/MyDefault.aspx?tab=2281d3f0-0c41-406a-9d58-d54e7186b79e
Muller, M.S. and Rijnsburger, J. (1992) MAPET: A Neighbourhood Based Pit Emptying Service with Locally Manufactured Hand Pump Equipment in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Gouda, Netherlands: WASTE advisers on urban environment and development.
Still, D.A. and Foxon, K. (2012a) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 1: Understanding Sludge Accumulation in VIPs and Strategies for Emptying Full Pits, WRC Report No. 1745/1/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and Foxon, K. (2012b) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 2: How Fast Do Pit Toilets Fill Up? A Scientific Understanding of Sludge Build Up and Accumulation in Pit Latrines, WRC Report No. 1745/2/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and Louton, B. (2012) Piloting and Testing the Pour Flush Latrine Technology for Its Applicability in South Africa, WRC Report No. 1887/1/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and O'Riordan, M. (2012) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 3: The Development of Pit Emptying Technologies, WRC Report No. 1745/3/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Sugden, S. (2012) ‘Reflections on business models and technology designs for pit emptying services’, presentation to the Second Faecal Sludge Management Conference (FSM2), Durban, 2012.
Coffey, M. (2011) ‘What you need to know about emptying pits and tanks with vacuum tankers, large and small’, presentation to the First Faecal Sludge Management Seminar FSM1, Durban, 2011.
Department of Water Affairs of South Africa (2013) ‘National Information System’ [online], <www.dwaf.gov.za/NIS/MyDefault.aspx?tab=2281d3f0-0c41-406a-9d58-d54e7186b79e≯ [accessed 17 May 2013]. www.dwaf.gov.za/NIS/MyDefault.aspx?tab=2281d3f0-0c41-406a-9d58-d54e7186b79e
Muller, M.S. and Rijnsburger, J. (1992) MAPET: A Neighbourhood Based Pit Emptying Service with Locally Manufactured Hand Pump Equipment in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Gouda, Netherlands: WASTE advisers on urban environment and development.
Still, D.A. and Foxon, K. (2012a) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 1: Understanding Sludge Accumulation in VIPs and Strategies for Emptying Full Pits, WRC Report No. 1745/1/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and Foxon, K. (2012b) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 2: How Fast Do Pit Toilets Fill Up? A Scientific Understanding of Sludge Build Up and Accumulation in Pit Latrines, WRC Report No. 1745/2/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and Louton, B. (2012) Piloting and Testing the Pour Flush Latrine Technology for Its Applicability in South Africa, WRC Report No. 1887/1/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and O'Riordan, M. (2012) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 3: The Development of Pit Emptying Technologies, WRC Report No. 1745/3/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Sugden, S. (2012) ‘Reflections on business models and technology designs for pit emptying services’, presentation to the Second Faecal Sludge Management Conference (FSM2), Durban, 2012.
Coffey, M. (2011) ‘What you need to know about emptying pits and tanks with vacuum tankers, large and small’, presentation to the First Faecal Sludge Management Seminar FSM1, Durban, 2011.
Department of Water Affairs of South Africa (2013) ‘National Information System’ [online], <www.dwaf.gov.za/NIS/MyDefault.aspx?tab=2281d3f0-0c41-406a-9d58-d54e7186b79e≯ [accessed 17 May 2013]. www.dwaf.gov.za/NIS/MyDefault.aspx?tab=2281d3f0-0c41-406a-9d58-d54e7186b79e
Muller, M.S. and Rijnsburger, J. (1992) MAPET: A Neighbourhood Based Pit Emptying Service with Locally Manufactured Hand Pump Equipment in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, Gouda, Netherlands: WASTE advisers on urban environment and development.
Still, D.A. and Foxon, K. (2012a) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 1: Understanding Sludge Accumulation in VIPs and Strategies for Emptying Full Pits, WRC Report No. 1745/1/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and Foxon, K. (2012b) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 2: How Fast Do Pit Toilets Fill Up? A Scientific Understanding of Sludge Build Up and Accumulation in Pit Latrines, WRC Report No. 1745/2/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and Louton, B. (2012) Piloting and Testing the Pour Flush Latrine Technology for Its Applicability in South Africa, WRC Report No. 1887/1/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Still, D.A. and O'Riordan, M. (2012) Tackling the Challenges of Full Pit Latrines - Volume 3: The Development of Pit Emptying Technologies, WRC Report No. 1745/3/12, Pretoria, South Africa: Water Research Commission.
Sugden, S. (2012) ‘Reflections on business models and technology designs for pit emptying services’, presentation to the Second Faecal Sludge Management Conference (FSM2), Durban, 2012.
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