MUNICIPAL FOCUS: ETHEKWINI
Building knowledge,
DELIVERING INSIGHT
A
memorandum of agreement has been signed between the two entities to formalise the collaboration where the Wash Centre assists EWS with maintaining cost-competitive waste treatment services to industry, and improving the health and environmental status of rivers and beaches. Most projects conducted by the WASH R&D Centre have an impact on water and sanitation service delivery in eThekwini, and EWS is a key partner in the centre’s research. “We believe in conducting research that can be applied in our own ‘backyard’. This collaboration ensures the success of new sanitation technologies because they are thoroughly tested by us both in the field and in our laborator y. EWS is dedicated to improving sanitation,” states Dr Colleen Archer, parasitologist and head of laborator y, WASH R&D Centre. The WASH R&D Centre’s key activities include: • research support to eThekwini Municipality on aspects of water and sanitation service delivery and management • provision of technical, engineering and laborator y support to developers of new sanitation technologies being tested in the field • research into the circular economy and the link between sanitation and agriculture • engaging with communities and households
participating in water and sanitation research projects • super vision of postgraduate students in projects related to water, sanitation, agriculture and health • strengthening existing collaborations with funders, government bodies, research organisations and industry, and forging new relationships.
Since 2003, the UKZN WASH R&D Centre has provided eThekwini Municipality’s Water and Sanitation Unit (EWS) with scientific support to develop and implement innovative water and sanitation services to the underserved.
Bioprocessing laboratory The WASH R&D Centre maintains a modernised bioprocess engineering laborator y with specialised equipment for analysing wastewater, compost and faecal sludge samples, and conducting research on innovative wastewater and sanitation technologies. “We work with human excreta and sewage samples from non-sewered sanitation systems, decentralised wastewater treatment plants (including Dewats), and centralised wastewater treatment plants to obtain design and process data,” says Thabiso Zikalala, acting lab manager, WASH R&D Centre. He emphasises that the core function of the laboratory is to assist in finding solutions for people without access to safe sanitation, and for solutions regarding the treatment and disposal of faecal sludge. “We provide a quick turnaround time when delivering results of analyses and are
Thabiso Zikalala, acting lab manager, UKZN WASH R&D Centre
Dr Colleen Archer, parasitologist and head of laboratory, UKZN WASH R&D Centre
therefore often used by clients in the water and wastewater industr y. We also have a small pilot laborator y in Newlands Mashu,” adds Zikalala.
Helminth testing
Pigs maintain the life cycle of Ascaris parasites
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IMIESA February 2022
Ascaris adult worms. Front dish males at back, females with coiled tails in the front
The WASH R&D Centre has one of the few laboratories in the world that conducts environmental helminth testing. Helminth eggs (and lar vae) are the infective stages of parasitic worms and pose a risk to human health. They are excreted in the faeces of infected individuals and are thus concentrated in sewage sludge. They provide health and environmental risks
