Experts have called for recycling of wastewater as part of sustainable environment management strategies.

According to the Rwanda Environmental Management Authority (REMA), more than 75 percent of consumed water ends up as waste yet it could be recycled and reused to reduce pressure on the environment as well as cut down water bills.

Particularly, human waste, both solid and liquid wastes, can be treated and turned into usable water to ensure zero wastage and sustainable solutions for the environment.

According to Eng. Coletha Ruhamya, Rwanda Environment Management Authority Director General, lack of wastewater treatment can lead to environmental degradation, high costs and can cause some water related diseases among other effects.

According to Rwanda State of Environment and Outlook Report 2015 and the Rwanda National Water Resources Master Plan, the main water quality issues include high E. coli and coliform bacteria loads from untreated sewage and high organic loads.

Others include high Biological Oxygen Demands (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demands (COD) resulting in low concentrations of oxygen and very high sediment loads and turbidity.

"We expect the affluent coming from the original wastewater to be discharged into the environment in a clean manner. If we discharge wastewater as it is in the water resources, then it will cost us more to treat water and yet it will be affecting our environment and can also cause some water borne diseases,” Ruhamya said.

"My advice to those planning major constructions is to think during planning how they will manage wastewater because more than 75 percent of water we consume ends as waste. So how are we going to manage the waste”? she wondered.

Steven Mupende, an environment expert and Director of Effective Microorganism Rwanda Ltd, a firm that deals in organic farming and environmental protection, said the environment was everyone’s concern.

"If the wastewater is not treated, it destabilises the base of ecosystem and when the ecosystem is antagonised animals will not survive, crops will not survive. If organic materials are not treated, again it will cause environmental degradation, destabilise the ecosystem and at the same time lead to environmental deterioration, especially for global warming,” he said

"If organic matter is rotten, it will produce carbon dioxide and  conserves the temperature and when it goes into the air, it becomes dangerous, Methane gas is also produced and it is explosive if not controlled,” Mupende pointed out.

He said it is everyone’s responsibility to understand what the environment means and strive to safeguard it.

He said that the problem was that institutions do not know how much water is discharged but only know the water bills, unlike in other countries where discharged water is calculated.

Bigger projects in the pipeline

According to Aimé Muzola, the WASAC Director General, major institutions should have wastewater treatment systems.

He said the government had set aside $80million for construction of a water treatment facility in Kigali whose construction is expected to start in the next six months.

Josaphat Kanyeshuri, an environment lecturer at the Independent Institute of Lay Adventists of Kigali (INLAK), and one of the initiators of the institute’s water treatment plant said the water treatment for reuse was very important as it helps protect the environment as well as reusing wastewater.

"Our environment is now clean and there is no foul smell, our water has no turbidity. Besides, farmers around the university use treated water in irrigation while we use it in our garden and in the dry season we use it for sanitation purposes as we also have a rain water harvesting system,” he said, adding that the university can treat over 3000cubic meters annually.

According to World Water Day fact sheet, over 80 per cent of the wastewater generated by communities around the world flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused.

He suggested that institutions with a population of over 100,000, such as hospitals, public taxi parks should be well positioned to protect the environment and save more money spent in paying bills through water treatment.

Fr. Dr.Fabien Hagenimana, the Rector of INES Ruhengeri said that while they know the positive impact of water waste treatment on environment as well as on their campus, they still face financial challenges.

"We have no water treatment plants yet but we are planning to have one. The plan is not only the set period but also who will do that and financial means, it can be expensive for us given the nature of our land, instead our priority is to start with rain water harvesting,” he said.

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