Sludge Watch ==> Cape Town South Africa sludge- plague of flies on homes, food, lawns

[Maureen Reilly]

Sludge fertiliser blamed for flies

    March 17 2008 at 09:26AM

By Anel Powell

The disposal of human waste, or sludge, on farmland in Philadelphia in the 
Western Cape, near the N7, is an "undeniable" source of fly-breeding and may 
soon be stopped, said the City of Cape Town.

But the city said it did not have the storage space for the sludge that is 
produced at several waste water treatment works, if it is not used to 
fertilise crops.

Residents of Philadelphia said the fly problem had worsened in the last 
three years.

'Unstabilised sludge is not applied'
One restaurant owner said business was being affected because customers were 
being put off by the cups and food that were covered in flies.

Residents blamed the sludge for the "plague of flies" that occurred daily. 
The stench from the sludge, that is sprayed on fields, is overwhelming.



A resident said sometimes there were so many flies it appeared the lawns 
were moving.

In spite of the summer heat, residents have to keep their windows shut to 
ward off the flies.

Farmworkers also said their children were getting sick because of the flies.

'All alternatives would have to be investigated'
The city's waste and sanitation department insists the sludge has undergone 
"a level of treatment and stabilisation" so that it can be applied to 
agricultural land.

"Unstabilised sludge is not applied to land," said city waste manager Kevin 
Samson.

Executive director for city health Ivan Toms said inspectors who visited 
Philadelphia confirmed the sludge contributed to the fly problem in the 
area. He said the only way to reduce the flies would be to discontinue using 
land sludge.

The city's health inspectors have also recommended that the practice be 
stopped.

But Toms said this option may not be feasible as the city did not have the 
the storage space for the sludge. "All alternatives would have to be 
investigated" before the city stopped the spraying.

The city's water and sanitation department has more faith in the "sludge to 
land" programme, started in 2003.

Samson said crop yields had improved and the city had saved over 500 000 
cubic metres in landfill space.

Interventions being considered include moving the sludge disposal to another 
area, dosing the sludge with a fly deterrent, or covering the sludge once it 
had been sprayed.


http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=14&art_id=vn20080317081433207C325566