Council warns against careless sewage disposal

MALAWI: Lilongwe City Council (LCC) has warned Lilongwe city residents on disposing of sewage in unauthorized places in Lilongwe city, as one way of promoting hygiene in the city.

This comes after the recent incident whereby on December 20, 2021, LCC got an anonymous tip around noon that a vacuum tanker was discharging sewage behind the newly built hotel beside the interchange.

After receiving the tip, the LCC sewage standby team rushed to the scene and found a vacuum tanker registration number 034 MG 074 belonging to Malawi Prisons Services discharging sewage in a man-hole close to Lilongwe River; LCC team then impounded the vehicle and took it at their works yard in Area 4.

In an interview on Tuesday, LCC Chief Public Relations Officer, Tamara Chafunya, said that LCC is strongly condemning the act of disposing of sewage in unauthorized places and she said that anyone who will be caught doing the malpractice shall face the law.

“Untreated sewage contains bacteria and pathogens that are harmful to human health and the environment.

“If they come in contact with river water which is the source of numerous activities such as laundry, irrigation, and other domestic use in communities, there is a high chance this may lead to an outbreak of diseases.

“As the city council, we strongly discourage the malpractice of discharging sewage in unauthorized places and we would like to warn the general public that should anyone be caught doing such malpractice he or she will face the law which includes paying a hefty fine,” Chafunya said.

She advised the public that, they should dump their sewer at LCC’s wastewater treatment plant and they should also report to the council if they found anyone discharging the sewage at the unauthorized place.

“All pit emptiers and vacuum tankers are supposed to dump their waste at Kauma Wastewater Treatment Plant where the waste is treated and safely handled before being released into the environment.

“We are also appealing to the general public that should they notice someone doing the malpractice which we are condemning, they should not hesitate to contact the Lilongwe City Council,” she said.

In his comment, one of the country’s environmental activists, Mathews Malata also appealed to the public to avoid dumping sewage in unauthorized sites.

“Dumping the sewage in unauthorized places aids to the pollution of the environment which includes pollution of rivers and it is also against the law particularly the Environmental Management Act and Public Health Act.

“Therefore, my plea to the public in the city of Lilongwe is that they should avoid dumping the sewage anywhere if we are to conserve the environment while promoting hygiene in the city,” Malata said.

He also advised LCC to sensitize the general public including companies on the dangers of dumping sewage in unauthorized places.