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Source:web.mit.edu/d-lab/DlabIII06/ofthepeople.pdf |
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Box items |
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Community Septic Tank System in Indonesia |
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In 1985, the tributaries of Brantas River in Malang city of Indonesia were flooded throwing up human waste and causing an immediate outbreak of diarrhoea which claimed five lives. Agus Gunarto, now 51, working with the city cleaning department, was moved and in his quest for finding a solution hit upon the idea of devising community septic tank system. He connected two septic tanks, each with a diameter of 1.5 m and a depth of 2.5 m and used concrete wall baffles to breakdown the solid wastes and also to prevent it from entering the settling tanks. The outflow from the septic tank passed through six settling tanks or precipitate pools (generally two are used) planted with water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms.). He connected this to a network of houses. The pipes were laid down along the slope so that the sewage water moved smoothly and backflow was automatically checked. He used six settling tanks instead of two to facilitate aerobic oxidation and partial sterilization. Water hyacinth used, is a notorious aquatic but found very effective in removing pollutants like suspended materials, organic matter, heavy metals and pathogens.
The innovation might not be considered a technological breakthrough but the way it changed the lives of the people of Malang, got him awards and recognition in the international arena. Agus, with no technical education could do it because he believed that he could bring a change instead of just becoming a passive recipient! Can we identify the tangential elements in such innovators which drive them to change things, break institutions while the larger sections still prefer to persist in their self-inflicted, yet uncomfortable inertia? |
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| Volume No. |
Honey Bee 20(1): 8, 2009 |
