Sanitation services for the informal settlements of

Sanitation coverage in the informal settlements of Cape Town is severely lagging behind. A recent inventory showed that the main barriers to the implementation of proper sanitation systems are unsuitability of the location of many settlements (more than 40% of the sites are located on private land, wetlands and flooding prone areas), high settlement densities (55%), the nonpermanent status of the informal settlements and the distance to existing sewerage networks. The technical feasibility of 14 different sanitation systems was related to these general constraints. The feasibility assessment showed that only chemical toilets and container toilets were systems that could be applied on a larger scale. Both toilet systems, however, have high service and maintenance costs. Based on the evaluation, an innovative pilot project consisting of a mobile sanitation unit (MobiSan1) is being developed and will be piloted.

The inventory of the actual state of services delivery in Cape Town shows that most of the informal settlements in this city are severely behind in sanitation coverage. The main barriers to the implementation of proper sanitation systems are the non-permanent status of the informal settlements, high service and maintenance costs, unsuitable location of the settlements (more than 40% of the sites) such as on private land, servitudes, wetlands and flooding prone areas, high settlement densities (55%) and distance to existing sewerage networks. The technical feasibility of 14 different sanitation systems was related to these general constraints. The assessment showed that only chemical toilets and container toilets were systems that could be applied on a larger scale. These systems, however, have high service and maintenance costs. Based on the evaluation an innovative pilot project consisting of a mobile sanitation unit (MobiSan1) is being piloted.