On 11th October 2022 President Ruto inspected the Kings Serenity Affordable Housing Programme project in Ongata Rongai. The Kings Serenity housing project is part of the Boma Yangu initiative whose main agenda is to provide affordable housing to Kenyans. The project aims to provide 15,000 affordable housing units.
The Kings Serenity project is part of former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s affordable housing programme under the Big Four agenda.
As well as the project in Ongata Rongai the programme also aims to build housing units in Mukuru kwa Reuben as well as other areas in the country.
Sustainability
With so many housing units being constructed there will be a huge strain on the existing infrastructure, including wastewater sewage management and water provision. CESP Africa has provided a wastewater management system to aid that strain.
We are in the process of installing a complete wastewater treatment plant that will be complete and operational before 2023, before residents move into the housing units. The treatment plant will not only treat the wastewater produced in the project but will also recycle water that can be used for watering plants and cleaning the environs.
The system is an important part of keeping the overall housing project affordable as it reduces the need for provision of water by other water providers.
The future.
As the Kings Serenity project comes to a close, we hope to be future partners in the provision of affordable housing in Kenya. Not only recycling wastewater but also providing treated water for future housing projects.
Food security has been a longstanding issue in many African countries, but with climate change making the situation worse, the future is uncertain. Eastern Africa carries the staggering burden of 70 percent of the world’s food insecure people and 17 percent of global humanitarian need. With the approaching COP27 to be held in Egypt, dubbed Africa’s COP, African nations need to unite to make their needs known.
COP27 to be held in Egypt
There is an even greater emphasis on the need to change, from a reliance on fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy. The war in Ukraine and subsequent interruptions in the supply chain of oil have made it obvious that relying on oil and coal is a bad idea.
The situation in Taita Taveta, Kenya.
Kenya has experienced 4 consecutive failed rainy seasons. Areas such as Taita Taveta county are really seeing the effects of the drought. Many dams, rivers and lakes in the area, especially in the lowland areas of Voi, Mwatate and Taveta sub counties, have almost completely dried up.
They include the historic Kishenyi dam, Kighombo dam, Mwatate earth dam and Voi river among others. Kishenyi dam which supplied water to over 15,000 farmers has almost completely dried up, leaving many with empty farms.
“These areas are deemed to be hotspots in that cattle deaths were reported from the beginning of September. Little or lack of off-season rains also worsened the pasture and water stress,”
NDMA drought early warning bulletin for September.
The rainy season is expected to be between November and December 2022, but until that time there will be continual loss of livestock.
“Farmers should opt for drought-tolerant crops since there is the likelihood of inadequate rainfall. Overstocking should be discouraged to reduce the loss of livestock,”
Kibera level 3 hospital has received a complete and running water desalination plant to provide the facility clean drinkable water for use. The plant was commissioned by Water CAS Andrew Tuimur and Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman on October 14, 2022.
This water desalination plant is among 28 other plants installed in other health facilities across the country. The plant is solar powered to keep cost of operation low.
Water CAS Andrew Tuimur, WaterKiosk Managing Director Samuel Kinyanjui, Boreal Light CEO Dr Mahed Beheshti explains and Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman during the commissioning of the water desalination plant installed at the Kibera Level 3 hospital, on October 14, 2022
The project is expected to benefit six million people annually and create at least 52 direct jobs and 130 indirect jobs.
The project was initiated in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic to support hospitals with clean drinking water after it was realised that potable water was a problem. The plant was installed at the facility by WaterKiosk, a new Nairobi-based company in partnership with DEG (a German company), Boreal Light and the German government.
“Apart from the health facilities facing a challenge accessing clean water for their renal unit, patients had challenges too,” WaterKiosk managing director Samuel Kinyanjui said.
“We have looked at all the gaps we have to fill to improve our health systems. a project like this contributes to that effort because we can provide clean water,” Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman said.
“We have looked at all the gaps we have to fill to improve our health systems. a project like this contributes to that effort because we can provide clean water,”
“The facility has a borehole that produces saline water containing chemicals. Kenyan water tends to be saline.
Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman
The solar desalinisation unit cleans it up to a high degree so water can be used in equipment for renal dialysis,” Aman said.
Nairobi has a water shortage and many estates have borehole water that also comes with high levels of fluoride
The water desalination system is a reverse osmosis filtration system similar to other systems that CESP Africa has installed. The plant operates by removing all dissolved and suspended elements and compounds from the water. The final product of the water desalination process is clean water without any impurities from bacteria, viruses and dissolved salts.
Water desalination /treatment plant installed in 2 rivers mall by CESP Africa.
Globally the effects of global warming are evident, the drought in East Africa being an obvious sign. The average sea level has risen by 10cm in the last 30 years. In 2021 there was depletion of the ozone over Antarctica between August and December, creating what is known as the “ozone hole”.
“The 2021 hole was larger and deeper than 70% of ozone holes since 1979, reaching a maximum area of 24.8 million km 2,”
We don’t have to look far to see the real-world effects of climate change. Compounded by other factors, like COVID 19 and the war in Ukraine, the ongoing drought has manifested in increased price of products. Local production has also been hit hard, with maize outputs estimated to be 42-70 per cent below average. Though the areas most affected by the drought are the arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya.
Northern and north-eastern Kenya have been hit the worst by the drought. Again, the drought is compounded with other events to produce the situation we have found ourselves in today. COVID 19, locusts in 2021 and four failed rainy seasons.
Communities in the region that rely on pastoralism and the rains have been hit, potentially irreversibly. Experts say that to recover from one failed rainy season takes 5 years, the amount of time it takes for a calf to reach maturity. And though the people are resilient, 4 failed rainy seasons may be one too many.
With many herds shrinking in size, many are not able to sustain their culture of keeping cattle as a livelihood and sign of wealth, most people in the region are only surviving. Some pushed to the point of relying on bitter wild berries for survival, not for nutritional reasons, but because it is the only thing that is available.
Though elections have recently been held the drought was not a major talking point for the main candidates. The main issue highlighted, especially by those living in urban areas was the high cost of living.
Aspirants and the president-elect all vowed to ease the issues of inflated cost of living. But unless we deal with the issue of the ongoing drought we will only be treating a symptom and not the real problem.
Water dispensers are a silent but integral part of any home or office. Not glamorous by any stretch but when you’re feeling thirsty, it’s just what you need.
Our water dispensers are slightly different because they connect directly to your water system, filter your council or borehole water to give you clean drinking water.
For those seeking a slightly more inconspicuous solution, we have an under-sink system. Same connection to your water system but the system fits right under your sink, with a tap to get your clean filtered water.
Comparison
Both our under-sink and stand-alone dispensers use the same technology to treat your water. They use reverse osmosis as well as other filters to clean the water. To read more about how exactly the system works, read here.
Under-sink / Stand-alone dispenser.
Our systems use reverse osmosis, as well as other filters to remove any bacteria, viruses, dissolved salts, suspended solids and any other impurities from your tap water. To find out more about how reverse osmosis works read here.
Drinking water is always available provided there is electricity and council/borehole water. The system is self-regulating, meaning you set it and leave it and it will purify water to keep its tank full.
Our water filtration system comes with an initial purchase cost and cost of filters, but in the long run is very economical.
The systems are easy to maintain, requiring very little maintenance and replacing filters every 6-8 months.
The under-sink system is also very discrete, with only a tap to dispense your drinking water visible.
Water bottle dispensers.
Majority of drinking water providers also use reverse osmosis to remove impurities from their water.
The water bottles require constant refilling.
There is the initial purchase cost of the dispenser as well as the cost of constantly refilling, which can accumulate quickly to be expensive.
The dispensers require the water bottles to be constantly monitored and replaced.
Building your own home is a dream for many people. Moving away from paying rent and stresses of having a landlord can be liberating. As you build your own home there are many considerations you have to make.
From the location you intend to build on to your budget (We’ll talk about this a bit more later in this blog) to the size of your home etc. There are so many things to keep in mind it can get overwhelming. For people planning on building in areas that don’t have a sewer system how you plan on dealing with your wastewater is a consideration to add to that long list.
Often people throw it at the bottom of the list of priorities. Saying things like “We’ll install a septic tank later”
The thing about wastewater treatment is that it can be deceptively expensive and cumbersome to deal with if you don’t plan well. As you are building your home when it comes to wastewater treatment you have a few options; physical water treatment, biological water treatment, chemical treatment, and sludge treatment.
A septic tank uses physical means to clean the wastewater. Septic tanks have their own considerations that we cover here.
Construction site view of a new septic tank.
Today we will look at why one of our domestic wastewater treatment systems could be the answer to your wastewater problems. To read about how exactly the system works you can read here.
Larger domestic wastewater treatment systemSmaller wastewater treatment system
Advantages of our wastewater treatment system
Efficiency.
Overall, the system is effective in its treatment of wastewater and also produces high quality effluent. The effluent is basically clean water that can be used to water plants or clean driveways.
Because of the reflux step in the treatment process, the system produces a small amount of sludge. Reducing associated maintenance cost and labor.
It’s a simple system to install and maintain.
The system comes as a complete and compact package that is ready to install. The only preparations required are digging a hole to fit the system and installing plumbing to get to the system. Maintenance is also simple as it only requires Biotreat, which is a wastewater treatment system additive, and OSS, which is the activated microbial culture.
Installation of our domestic wastewater treatment system.
It is a cost-effective system.
Installation is cheaper as it does not require any specialized equipment. Some other systems require structures that have to be specially made.
Maintenance is also cost effective.
Additional considerations
The system produces clean effluent, but it is not fit for human consumption unless additional treatment is done to it. Reverse osmosis filtration is suitable to completely clean the effluent, to read about it click here.
Drinking water is an increasingly scarce asset, and it should be made every effort to preserve water reserves still available. More than preserve an indispensable resource for future generations, saving water means economic savings for current generations (reducing potable water consumption and costs of waste water rejection). For washing vehicles it is still used a great quantity of drinking water, and usually the quality of this water is much higher than the necessary for this purpose. The big problem is that in most cases we use drinking water for these purposes only for the reason that it is the only source available.
A green building is a building which is energy efficient, resource efficient and environmentally responsible – it incorporates design, construction and operational practices that significantly reduce or eliminate its negative impact on the environment and its occupants.
The construction industry and climate change.
Buildings are one of the main contributors to climate change. International reports state that buildings represent the single largest opportunity for greenhouse gas abatement, outstripping the energy, transport and industry sectors combined.
The overall concept of green buildings is a response to the environmental impact of the construction industry and buildings in general.
Buildings consume the most energy during occupancy, in form of heating and air conditioning, electricity and water consumption.
Green buildings include strategies for addressing:
Water conservation
Waste avoidance, re-use and recycling
Pollution prevention – noise, water, air, soil and light
Energy Efficiency
Greenhouse gas emission abatement
Enhanced biodiversity
Reduced natural resource consumption
Productive and healthier environments.
A new way to think of water
With the effects of climate change becoming ever more evident, water is becoming an even more valuable resource. To keep up with targets on carbon emissions and environmental conservation the construction industry will have to change the way they think of water.
Water is not a limitless resource. The world’s surface might be covered by over 70% water but only 2% of that is fresh potable water. And even worse is that of that 2%, 1.6% is frozen in glaciers and icecaps.
Major changes have been made to existing infrastructure to make them more water and energy efficient, as well as introducing new technologies to achieve the same. But a lot more needs to be done to meet the growing demand for fresh water.
We will be going through actionable ways to get your building green and save on your water usage.
The client has an apartment complex located in Westlands area. They receive water from Nairobi water, but most of their water is from a borehole.
Their water contained raised amounts of fluoride and suspended solids, as well as discoloration.
System details
The system has a production capacity of 4000Liters per hour.
The system includes: a sand, carbon filter and cartridge filters.
The raw water is pumped through the filters using a feed pump.
The system has an antiscalant dosing tank to protect the reverse osmosis membrane from scaling.
The system has 2 high pressure vessels containing the reverse osmosis membranes.
The system is controlled using a control panel, which also displays details on the system’s production.
Timeline of installation
Installation of the reverse osmosis system took 4 days.
Before actual installation period, water from the apartment is taken for analysis. Results from the analysis informed the treatment of the raw water.
Some pipes were laid and the raw water tank was delivered before the other components were delivered. Power cables were also laid to provide the system with electricity.
Plumbing work.
During the four-day period the sand and carbon filters were filled and backwashed to remove any impurities that may have been present in the media.
Plumbing was fitted to connect the components of the whole system.
Filtration process.
Raw water passes through the following stages before the final product is produced:
a) Pre-filtration.
b) Antiscalant dosing.
c) Secondary filtration.
d) Reverse osmosis.
e) Chlorination.
The water being treated by this reverse osmosis plant is mainly borehole water. The raw water comes directly from the borehole into a 5000L portable tank that is within the RO room. There is a high-level float switch within the raw water tank that serves to facilitate automatic operation of the borehole pump such that the water does not overflow from the tank upon filling up.
Pre-filtration
Before raw water passes through the reverse osmosis machine, it passes through an assembly of filters comprising a sand filter, carbon filter and cartridge filters. The work of the sand filter is to remove suspended solid particles from the raw water. The carbon filter on the other hand removes smell and taste. Both vessels (sand filter vessel and carbon filter vessel) have got automatic control valves. The cartridge filters assembly is meant to remove any finer suspended solid particles present in the raw water which were not removed by the sand filter.
Sand and carbon filter
Antiscaling dosing
There is an antiscalant dosing point after the sand filter and carbon filter and before the raw water gets to the cartridge filter and the RO membranes. Antiscalant dosing is very important as it delays the reaction between Mg, Ca and bicarbonate hence reducing scaling and clogging of the membranes. The antiscalant dosing tank has got a float switch (liquid level control switch) whose function is to ensure that the reverse osmosis machine operates only when there is antiscalant present in the antiscalant tank, otherwise the feed pump and the high-pressure pump will be disengaged. Hence, the RO machine cannot run on inadequate antiscalant as that would be catastrophic to the membranes. The float switch also ensures that the antiscalant dosing pump does not run dry.
Reverse osmosis.
The RO skid has got two pressure vessels and each pressure vessel carries two membranes. Therefore, in total we have four membranes. Purification of water happens by reverse osmosis whereby the permeate is pushed through the semi-permeable membranes and separated from the concentrate after the water has been subjected to a hydrostatic pressure that is greater than the osmotic pressure. The hydrostatic pressure is provided by the high-pressure pump.
The most important parameters on the reverse osmosis skids are the RO inlet pressure, RO outlet pressure and the permeate flowrate. These are indicated on gauges and flowmeters provided on the skid. Permeate flowrate (in cubic meters per hour or simply CMH) dictates the yield or production of the plant.
The concentrate is the unwanted residue and it passes through a separate pipeline to the drainage system of the facility. The permeate on the other hand goes into an underground reservoir via a one-inch pipe. The permeate is the purified water or the wanted product. Within the underground storage tank, there is a high-level float switch whose function is to automatically switch off the RO machine upon filling up of the tank.
Chlorination.
It is on the permeate line that we have a chlorination point. This is where chlorine is dosed by a chlorine dosing pump into the permeate/pure water before it pours into the underground storage tank. The chlorine dosing tank has got a low-level float-switch which is meant to cut off power supply to the chlorine dosing pump to prevent it from running dry.
Training
After we installed the system we trained the care taker on how to monitor and take care of the system. We also provided a one year warranty on the system.
Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) are voluntary, non-binding policy instruments that provide a framework for pursuing a country’s socioeconomic and development goals, while contributing towards global greenhouse gas mitigation efforts.
Following the success of the 2015 Paris agreement on climate change, many countries including Kenya introduced their own NAMA focused on waste management. NAMAs were first introduced in 2007 at the 13th Conference of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (COP13) in Bali.
Nairobi.
Nairobi produces around 2,400 tons of waste every day, of which only 38 per cent is collected and less than 10 per cent recycled (JICA, 2010). The remaining 62 per cent is left on illegal dumpsites and next to houses or burned.
Instead of waste being collected for disposal only, the NAMA facilitates the diversion of at least 90 per cent of collected waste away from disposal sites and towards various recycling practices.
The NAMA is fully aligned with the policy goals of the Kenyan government (Kenya Vision 2030, National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP), Environmental Management and Coordination Act (EMCA)), which promote the provision of sanitation services and recycling.
Under the NAMA, up to 600 tons of waste will be recycled every day, (which accounts for 25 per cent of Nairobi’s total waste). This will save more than 800,000 tons in CO2e emissions (over the 15 years’ lifetime of the NAMA).
The NAMA is divided into two distinct phases:
■ Infrastructure development phase (Phase 1 – years 1 to 5): Phase 1 will develop the infrastructure required to collect and recycle 600 tons of waste per day.
■ Full-scale operations phase (Phase 2 – years 6 to 15): This phase builds on the experience gained during Phase 1 and will scale the operations of the NAMA to 600 tons of waste per day.
The NAMA therefore aims to achieve 10 key success factors
■ Sector Transformation: Spur development of an environment which facilitates transformation of the waste sector in urban areas of Kenya.
■ Alignment with national priorities: Be fully embedded in Kenya’s national and sectoral development policies, strategies and targets.
■ Define Interventions: Detail concrete technological actions that will lead to real, transparent and measurable emission reductions and help the country to achieve its national goals and targets while contributing to collective efforts on international climate actions.
■ Define Eligibility Criteria: Clearly define the eligibility criteria for private sector participation and funding.
■ Value for Money: Be cost effective and provide value for money.
■ Approval Structure: Define a structure for approval of funding to beneficiaries of grant and concessional loans to ensure transparent disbursement of funds.
■ Management Entity: Detail an institutional and management system for smooth implementation.
■ Capacity Development: Define capacity development measures to drive the technical interventions and sector transformation
■ Finance: Include a financial plan and management in sufficient detail.
■ Measurement Reporting and Verification (MRV): Apply transparent and robust MRV for GHG Emission Reductions and Sustainable Development Impacts.
The increase in Kenya’s urban population has reduced the capability of the county governments to manage the solid waste generated, with less than 40 per cent being collected and disposed of at designated open dumpsites. Much of the waste is poorly managed: waste is not collected, disposal sites are inadequate, or waste is contaminated with hazardous materials.
Such impacts range from clogged drainage and sewers, waterborne diseases like typhoid, cholera and diarrhea, increased upper respiratory diseases from open burning of the garbage, to malaria. This is especially concerning in slums and other lower income areas, where high population density, paired with lack of infrastructure and service provision, only aggravates these problems. More than half of Nairobi’s 3.5 million inhabitants live in low-income areas or slums.
Dandora dumpsite
Around one third of Nairobi’s waste is transported to the only dumpsite, Dandora.
“Dandora is a health and environmental disaster. At 43 hectares, equivalent to 60 football pitches, it has grown much too vast to be managed and the waste has been contaminating the groundwater for years. This affects half a million residents living around the dumpsite. A 2007 study by UNEP that examined 328 children living close to the dumpsite uncovered that half-had blood lead levels equal to or exceeding the poisoning threshold of 10 micrograms per deciliter of blood. Exposure to such high levels of lead is linked with damage to the nervous system and the brain. “
Grand Health Challenges Blog.
Current private sector waste management models do not offer a solution to this problem either. This is because (1) waste collection companies only collect waste for the purposes of disposal; and (2) their services are too expensive for the majority of Nairobi’s population.
It is estimated that the current demand for compost is in excess of 100,000 tons/year and growing (Lachlan Kenya Ltd., December 2011. Production of compost in Kenya currently stands at less than 10,000 tons/year. Meanwhile, Kenya imports around 1,500,000 tons/year of chemical fertilizer.
The introduction of the circular economy approach will:
■ make waste management affordable to almost all income earners, as the overwhelming majority (at
least 90 per cent) of the collected waste will be recycled;
■ significantly reduce disposal costs (less than 10 per cent of waste will be residual waste);
■ generate additional revenues from the sale of recyclable materials;
■ generate additional revenues from the sale of compost; and
■ generate additional revenues from the payment of tipping fees (for NEEs owning and managing
