Sewage is wealth which should not be discarded, Water and Sanitation Chief Administrative Secretary Winnie Guchu told Kenyans on Friday.
“We are seeing it as waste but actually we are throwing away a lot of resources,” Guchu and urged county governments to invest in waste treatment to save billions of shillings for use in key sectors.
The CAS, who spoke in Mombasa during the induction of newly appointed members of different water boards, said wastewater and excrement were a crucial resource that can be recycled and used and in the process save billions of shillings to be spent on the treatment of diseases.
“Sewage services are devolved. If county governments invested more in sewage and the national government comes up with policies to regulate the industrial and human waste, we will go far,” Guchu said.
She said the national government is ready to increase the budget for sewage infrastructure.
“Because sewage if very expensive, a lot of people tend to run away from it. We can do decentralised plans that are cheaper, more sustainable and more accessible.”
Guchu said the ministry is developing policies and putting up infrastructure to have the sewage produced in households and industries treated and recycled.
“We want to move from just cleaning sewage and depositing it in the rivers. There is value addition in sewage. Sewage is not necessarily waste.”
The CAS said rains had become unreliable, making recycling sewage more important. “With the little water that we have, can we build a culture of re-using it until such a time that we know it is no longer safe and then we can dispose of it?” she asked.
Sewage can be used to produce electricity, make briquettes to replace charcoal and irrigation after treatment.
The sewage slug can be used to grow worms for proteins needed in animal feeds.
Omena has been the main source of protein in animal feeds, but the decline in omena production has forced farmers to look for alternative sources.
“The slug, if properly treated, can also be used to produce electricity. It can also be used as fertiliser,” the CAS said adding, “We have to do this together. From the national government to the county governments to mwananchi.”
