PLUMTREE town clerk Davies Dumezweni Luthe says his council is working on a biogas energy project from sewer discharge in a bid to relieve the border town of incessant power cuts.
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Luthe told a media tour that the council recently rehabilitated the town’s sewer systems that had become a health hazard with raw sewage flowing in the streets due to burst pipes.
“Now that we have upgraded the sewer system, we are working on introducing biogas energy,” he said. “We want to add value to human waste by turning it into energy for our robots and our town to counter power cuts.”
He said Plumtree had identified partners for the project that was set to commence next year.
The sewer system could no longer meet the demands of the Plumtree population and repairs were done after the Environmental Management Agency (EMA) had condemned it.
Through a partnership with Unicef, the local authority managed to rehabilitate a 2,5km pipeline and sewer ponds at a cost of $36 000.
Luthe said they were also using the waste for gardening while some was being disposed in the bushes to enhance pastures for livestock.
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EMA provincial spokesperson Sithembokuhle Moyo said Plumtree had been put in the red zone as its waste disposal system did not meet the required standards, but they were now pleased with the latest developments.
“The town was instructed to upgrade its system as it was not meeting the standards which were set by the agency and we are relieved that the council has made a lot of progress in that regard,” he said. “It has moved from the red zone.”
Gwanda town remains in the red zone with raw sewage being discharged into Manzamnyama River.