Oxfam Manual Desludging Hand Pump How To Use Manual

Manual Desludging Hand Pump (MDHP)
MDHP is one of the means to desludge (empty) a septic tank or cincins. A septic tank is a
sealed watertight tank where the wastewater (black water) is retained to permit
separation between solid and liquid particles. A cincin is a ring-shaped precast concrete
that commonly use constructing wells or containing faecal waste, particularly in
Indonesia. Many of septic tanks and or cincin's were built in remote areas where
mechanical desludging services are not available or accessible.
Equally in urban contexts the mechanical desludging services incur access problems in
highly density areas, therefore necessitating the need for a small and mobile unit. A
MDHP is one of the ways, which could respond to faecal sludge collection problems
effectively in congested urban and remote rural settings.
There are four main initiatives that need equal attention when considering the manual
desludging pump. First is with regards to the environmental feasibility, secondly health &
safety, thirdly the social acceptance and lastly the technical feasibility.
Figure 2. Valve
Figure 3. Valve with screen
Figure 1. Manual Desluding Hand
Pump (MDHP)
OXFAM - Panduan penggunaan dan perawatan MDHP
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Figure 4. Foot step
Environmental Feasibility
The MDHP is suitable for septic tank / cincin located in remote rural and urban congested
areas*), and where there is no access to desludging services. The MDHP fits well in rural
settings where the dwellings are scattered therefore permitting easier siting of sludge
containment than the urban setting, where it will be more difficult, or near impossible. MDHP in
urban settings needs to be closely managed to prevent illegal dumping, by establishing a
designated communal sludge containment site.
The MDHP ideally should be used in areas where the groundwater level is low (min. 2 m).
The sludge containment should be placed at minimum distance of 30 m from the nearest water
source to prevent groundwater contamination either through infiltration or surface run off. It is
best to carry out the desludging activities during the dry season to minimise the risks of
contamination to the water source.
Note:
*)
MDHP can also be used in urban congested areas where it supposed to be supported by desludging
services to convey the sludge to the sludge-dumping site, since it is usually difficult to find available on site
dumping site in urban areas.
Health and Safety Precautions
Sludge from the septic tank contains harmful organisms such as helminths, protozoan, virus,
bacteria, etc that may give serious health impact. Thus, health and safety are highly considered
in conducting desludging activities. Operating MDHP at least it takes 2(two) operators and
1(one) assistance.
Mainly, there are only 3 (three) things that need to be considered in carrying out desludging
activities using MDHP:
1. Protect yourself
Protect body parts that might be intact with the sludge during desludging activities. Wear
protection tools: overall outfit, rubber gloves, rubber boot, and masker.
2. Clean the MDHP after use
Wash the MDHP with soap/disinfectant and rinse all the parts that have been in contact with the
sludge during the desludging activity.
3. Personal hygiene
Ensure that all personals carry out the necessary precautions after handling sludge – hand
washing, showering using soap and or disinfectant.
How to use MDHP:
1. Inspection
•
Ensure that the latrine has no problems with piping blockages that leads the user to believe
the septic tank is full, as the WC pan is not flushing.
•
Observe condition septic tank and area around it, make sure there is space area for
dumping the sludge
•
Open the manhole access cover and examine the depth of the sludge in the septic tank.
•
If it is ascertained that the septic tank is full of sludge then prepare all the required
equipments.
OXFAM - Panduan penggunaan dan perawatan MDHP
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