Appraisal of Sanitary Facilities in Public Areas

Appraisal of Sanitary Facilities in Public Areas

Chapter One

AIM

The aim of the research is to appraise the sanitary facilities in public areas of Garki District as a basis for identifying problems and making recommendations for improvement.

OBJECTIVES

The aim would be achieved through the following objectives.

1. To review the concept of sanitation and sanitary facilities and the planning requirements for their
2. To review distribution pattern of public sanitary facilities in Garki
3. Evaluation of available public sanitary facilities in Garki District,
4. To identify and recommend possible solutions to these

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

INTRODUCTION

This chapter focuses on explaining the concept of sanitation and sanitary facilities, the need for Sanitary facilities, the various design and management systems of public toilets, the importance of adoption of a proper operation and management system, and presenting various case studies from developing countries dealing with implementation of public toilets as well as demonstrating how a public toilet should be provided, operated and managed.

CONCEPT OF SANITATION AND SANITARY FACILITY

 Sanitation: An Overview

The term “sanitation” has been given various definitions by different authors and has been used regularly in various aid programs. Yet what exactly is sanitation? The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines sanitation as: “systems that protect people’s health, especially those that dispose efficiently of human waste”. Other dictionaries also mention prevention of transmission of diseases and insurance of public and private health.

In the developing world, the term sanitation gained a meaning of excreta disposal facilities (sanitary facilities) and for the purpose of this work, it will refer specifically to this denotation. Thus, sanitation refers to methods of hygiene that relate to safe collection, removal and disposal of human excreta and wastewater.

Sanitary facility therefore (in its simplest sense) means a room or a space used for sanitation purposes. It is a room containing a toilet, washbasin and ancillary equipment and includes a privy, shower or urinal. “It is a facility that performs multi-service function for urinating, defecating, washing and bathing among others” (Kariuki, M. 2003).

WHO and UNICEF (2000) stated that poor sanitation has serious consequences to health. It can be easily seen on the example of a simple illness like diarrhea that continues to be a major killer in the developing world due to the fact that a rather basic problem of how to deal with excreta still remains unresolved. According to the WHO (2004), 1.8 million people die every year from diarrheal diseases (including cholera); of which 90% are children under five, mostly in developing countries.

Importance of sanitation

Sanitation as a method of containment and sanitization of human excreta is of utmost importance as it prevents spread of diseases and protects both human and environmental health. In other words, sanitation systems form a barrier against the spread of diseases caused by pathogens and other organisms present in human excreta. Therefore, sanitation and human health are closely linked together. This fact has been known already for decades. A provision of the infrastructure, basic services, sanitation systems, which meet user’s requirements, and promotion of hygiene has proven to be one of the most effective ways of improving health and preventing diseases. Inadequate treatment or disposal of human excreta and other waste can lead to transmitting and spreading of diseases originating from excreta. Polluted water and inadequate sanitation cause 5.7% of all epidemics. There are many examples in history that are good pieces of evidence for it, example of which can be the 19th century England, where cities were undergoing rapid industrialization and urbanization, and major cities such as Birmingham, London and Manchester became centers of infectious disease.

“Sewage overflowed and leaked from the limited number of cesspools into neighborhoods of the poor and ultimately into rivers like the Thames, the source of drinking water”. In the late 1980s in Great Britain, the infant mortality was 160 deaths for every 1,000 live births, which is roughly the same as in Angola today. Back then in Great Britain children died mainly of diarrhea and dysentery, for the very same reason children still die in many developing countries – sewage was not separated from drinking water. Edwin Chadwick, an English social reformer, with his “Report on Sanitary Condition of the Laboring Population of Great Britain” provided an account of crisis, documenting in graphic detail the consequences of the water and sanitation problem. “The annual loss of life from filth and bad ventilation is greater than the loss from death or wounds from any war in which the country has been engaged in modern times”. His recommendations concluded a private tap and a latrine connected to a sewer for every household and municipal responsibility for providing clean water. The story from 19th century Great Britain has parallel to what is happening in the developing world nowadays, especially in relation to how water and sanitation constraints social progress.

Water is indispensable for all life, but at the same time it also represents a major threat to human health. The main reason for it is that everything in nature depends on water, which also attracts certain substances and bacteria that might be life-threatening. People are extremely vulnerable to diseases that are transferred through water due to the fact that their life is dependent on water. Together with the increasing global population there is more waste than the natural processes could handle. The vicious circle starts with waste getting into water sources, which become contaminated by bacteria. Water in a natural environment with a balanced lifecycle undergoes self-purification processes. However, if the environment looses its balance, water becomes polluted.

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CHAPTER THREE

RESARCH METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH APPROACH

The research shall involve a survey of the existing public sanitary facilities in the Garki District using both primary and secondary sources of data. It will as well review the management system of the facilities and also assess the user satisfaction of the facilities. Four major steps were adopted in this research. These are

1. Reconnaissance survey: Reconnaissance survey of all the existing public toilets facilities in the study area was carried out; this is with the view to assess the number, type, location as well as the cleanliness of the facilities in the study area.
2. Taking Inventory of existing facilities: Inventory of the result of the reconnaissance survey carried out was taken for furtherresearch
3. Review of management system: the management systems of the existing public conveniences in the study area were also reviewed basically through interviews. This was with the view to assess the management and policy decisions on the provisioning system of the facilities, the investment decision by private providers as well as the problems encountered etc.
4. User satisfaction survey: survey on user satisfaction was also carried out basically through the use of questionnaires to assess user’s conveniences of the facilities in terms of location, number, payment system and cost, cleanliness of the facilities

DATA COLLECTION INSTRUMENTS

Three sets of data collection instruments will be employed in the research, the first will be the administration of questionnaires while the remaining two will involve the use of both interview and field manuals.

 Use of questionnaire

Questionnaires were administered on the users of the public conveniences. This was with the view to determine the level of satisfaction of the facilities in terms of

1. How accessible the facilitiesare?
2. Frequency of use of thefacilities,

• Number of users of the facilities perday

1. Opinion on payment system or cost ofservices,
2. Cleanliness of the facilities

 Use of interview manual

A face-to-face interview will be conducted to some management staff of Federal Capital Development Authority FCDA. This will focus on determining the following.

1. Management system of the
2. Policy decision on the provisioning of systemand

• Control measures of the provision of thefacilities

 Use of field manual

Some observations were made in the field, most especially about the sanitary  conditions of the facilities, the condition of the structures etc. This is basically about the physical inventories in the activities areas.

DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE

  Questionnaire Application

Sample frame

Garki District been the case study of the research will be where the sample shall be drawn. With a total estimated population of about 1.14million people, a sample size of 228 questionnaires will be randomly administered on the users of the public toilets facilities in the study area. This means that each questionnaire represents a total of 5000 people in the study area. The sample frame for the research comprises of the management staff of the FCDA, the proprietors of the public conveniences, workers of the public conveniences and the user’s of the public conveniences. Each of these set of sampling frame has a chance of been selected at random.

CHAPTER FOUR

DATA ANALYSIS

 PATTERN OF DISTRIBUTION OF CONVENIENCES

A total of 109 public toilets were identified in various locations within the study area. All of the public sanitary facilities are located in public places such as shopping areas, markets, recreation centres, places of worship, etc. Table 4.1 shows the distribution pattern between markets, Motor Parks, Shopping complexes, Recreation Areas and Religious Places. The largest concentration of conveniences is in shopping areas accounting for 73.4 % of the total. The least serviced activity areas are the motor park with no public sanitary facilities and the market with only 4.6% of available facilities. About 9.2% of sanitary facilities are located in recreation areas while 12.8% are located in religious places.

CHAPTER FIVE

SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

SUMMARY

From the surveys carried out, the following summary of findings were established A total of 109 public conveniences were identified in various locations within the study area, all of the public conveniences are located in public places such as shopping areas, markets, recreation centers, places of worship etc. All the public conveniences in the study area are based on the water flushing system. Water is generally obtained from two major sources: the public pipe system and boreholes. The borehole was privately built to supplement the erratic public pipe system; overhead tanks and reservoirs are filled with the water pumps from the boreholes.

Most of the public conveniences available to the public operate below the acceptable standards in terms of the size of cubicle. This is in the context of maximizing of space to achieve more development. The measurement of floor–ceiling height indicates that the floor-ceiling heights of cubicles are generally in compliance with recommended standards of 3-4m. This is due to fact that their toilets are within the building and on each floor.

All the public conveniences are linked to a central sewer system as required by the municipal Authority and based on the provision of the master plan. Generally, conventional sanitary appliances are not installed and none of the 109 public conveniences have latrine and bathing facilities.

The hygienic level of the facilities is poor; the provision of sanitary materials that enhance hygienic condition of the facilities in most of the activity areas are not provided, i.e. soap, air-fresheners/ odour neutralizers, clean towels, toilet papers etc.

The relative distances users of conveniences cover are too large. It took users to wait long before locating the public sanitary facility within the district. The relative distances users of conveniences cover are too large. The charges for the toilet use are very low. The charges within the activity area are affordable.

The public conveniences are moderately safe; they are relatively moderate in terms of security especially that male and female conveniences in all the activity areas are separated.

RECOMMENDATIONS

 General Recommendation

1. Public toilet facilities should be located where it is required and in accordance with the demand. This is to ensure that high quality public sanitary are provided where a critical mass of people requires access to such facilities. The facilities should be located within the distance of 100mts. Dignified mobile toilet system to be adopted in informal and temporary locations. i.e. provision of 5,000 lites to 1,000 litres
2. All sanitary facilities should be provided with the reliable and dependable source of water i.e. water board and
3. A public toilet should be built with cubicles size ranging between 2.0-2.5 sqm. This is a recommended standard for size or cubicles as it gives and provide good circulation, movement, alignment and
4. public toilets were to be made available to users at an appointed time. This is peculiar with markets, shopping areas, and Religious places as mostly have specific time of opening and closing. Toilets should be made  available to users between 7am and 6pm. This gives caretakers enough time for proper
5. Public sanitary facilities should be built and managed in accordance with sustainable design principles. Sustainable design sanitation facilities aim to lessen their impact on the environment through energy and resource efficiency. Besides, they will improve the sanitary conditions of the environment.
6. Consideration should always be given to the inclusion of the following objectives in the design stage of any public toilets in the studyarea:
   1. Minimising of water and non-renewable resource

Effective design eliminates water waste, protection against abuse and opportunities to consider re-use of water. Stormed water may be considered where practical.

1. Promoting health and hygiene, through the
2. Surfaces that are easy toclean
3. Absence of areas where dirt, rubbish, might accumulate such as ledges, matched surfaces, easily replaceable damaged
4. Limited areas for insect, birds, rodents to inhabitant.
5. Resistance to
6. Ease of use of effective methods such as high pressure

• Reducing initial investment cost without spoiling functionality by incorporating features which reduce operation cost such asutilities, maintenance, and replacement of consumables, cleaning, surveillance, opening and closing.

1. Meeting the demand of intended
2. Enhancing of durability of materials and
3. Easy to extend, upgrade and

• Safe disposal of waste products with focus on possible re-use
• Reducing of environmental

1. Providing options to re-use waste
2. Meeting minimal space
3. Materials used should be durable and resistant to vandalism an

Examples of good materials:

1. Floor: Non-slip ceramic tiles, natural stone, homogeneous tiles, terrazzo, terrafloor
2. Wall: Ceramic tiles, natural stone, homogeneous tiles, glass blocks, aluminium panels, phenolic

• Doors: wood,steel

This is because carefully selected, durable materials minimise maintenance and prevent misuse. Painted finishes should be avoided, together with any materials, which are affected by moisture or corrosion.

Generally preference should be given to materials that are recycled, recyclable and renewable. Local and/or locally produced materials shall be used to the greatest extend.

1. Public toilets should be located to ensure easy access and affordable for
2. An adequate number of toilet facilities should be provided in the marketareas, motor parks and all major commercial
3. All public toilet facilities should be fittedwith:
4. Toilet
5. Paper

• Soap for hand

1. Waste bins inside each male toilet cubicle, sanitary disposal bins in each female toilet cubicle and additional waste bins directly below or in close proximity to the washbasin in each section as well as in the toilet for disabled (if available) as well as in the lobby and outside the sanitation facility.
2. Suitable air fresheners to promote a fragrant, pleasing

• Small buckets to carry water for anal

SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATION

 Shopping Areas

In shopping areas the following are recommended in order to facilitate or enhance the function of sanitary uses in the areas. This include:

Construction of Bore holes with reservoirs or overhead tanks to aid the pipe bone water supply in the shopping area. This is critically needed in the large shopping areas of Area 1 and 2, The Murg plaza , in Zumba Plaza at Area 10 and Efab and Garki shopping mall at Garki II.

Sanitary materials to be provides in the facilities, by the operators or owners of the malls or charges generated through the use of the facility.

Cubicle to be built with acceptable standard size recommended between 2.0 – 2.5sqm. All shopping malls within the District are operating within the recommended cubicle size; this can be easily achieved through enforcement by the development control department through building plan approvals and during execution at site.

Motor Parks

Public sanitary facility to be located in all motor parks within the district i.e. the major motor parks within the district e.g. Area 1 and Area 3 and other motor parks have no single sanitary facility. Thus large no of mobile toilet should be provided in order to control and accommodate the large no of inflow of users.

Adequate public facilities should be made available to users for 24 hours in  both area 3 and area 1 motor parks as these park are function all day and night.

Bore holes to be constructed with reservoirs and over head tanks to support pipe bone water especially the area 1 and area 3 motor parks.

Sanitary materials to be provided especially in the two major motor parks or Area 1 and Area 3. This can be possible through money generated as a result or use of the facility.

Market Places

Public Sanitary facilities to be provided in all market places of Garki 1 and Garki II and its commercial areas and especially Garki village market.

Bore holes to be built/constructed to complement pipe bore water supply.

Reservoirs and overhead tanks to be constructed to store water.

Sanitary materials to be provided in the facilities as fund are generated before an intending user is allowed to use the facility

 Recreational Areas

Public Sanitary facilities to be located in all recreational areas or the district. This will help bridge the problem or distance covered by the user there by guaranteeing accessibility. Garki district have several recreational areas ranging from neighbourhood Garden, amusement parks, regional and local parks  spreads around the two cadastral zones of the District (Garki 1, Garki II).

Boreholes to be constructed to support pipe borne water supply and tanks and reservoirs to be used to store water.

Sanitary materials to be provided by the operators of the recreational facility through funds mostly generated by the visitors or users of the facility.

Religious Places

Borehole to be constructed in the religious places of Garki district. Garki District housed two major religious institutions i.e. the catholic church Area 3 and the central mosque at area 1 due to the large gathering of people at these locations an alternative source of water has to be provided by including boreholes, tanks and reservoirs to store water for the populace visitors and worshippers trooping in day and night.

Sanitary materials to be provided in all the religious institutions within the district. Funds can be generated by the visitors and worshippers at such centres.

CONCLUSION

Sanitation as a method of containment and sanitization of human excreta serves an important role of preventing the spread of diseases and protecting both human and environmental health. Thus, the provision of sanitation facilities in the Garki District of the FCC should be one of the focuses in ensuring a healthy environment. This research has confirmed that there is a shortfall in the provisioning of public toilets in the FCC.

There is generally a poor attitude towards maintenance in the Public Conveniences, particularly regular cleaning and use of disinfectants. The practice of using bathroom floor as the urinal in most of the Public Conveniences is highly inappropriate and unhygienic.

The provision of public toilets in the Garki District of the FCC will go a long way in enhancing sanitary habits. Therefore, authorities should ensure the provision and sustainability of sound sanitary practices through the provision of adequate public toilet facilities in the Garki District at the appropriate locations.

REFERENCES

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