Skip to main content

Main menu

  • About the Journal
    • Aims & Scope
    • Editorial Board
    • Browse Archive
    • Abstracting - Indexing
    • About IWA Publishing
  • Subscribe
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • User Licences
    • IP Registration
    • IWA Member Subscriptions
  • Open Access
  • For Authors
    • Online Submission
    • Publish with Us
    • Instructions for Authors
    • Open Access
    • How to review a paper
    • Rights & Permissions
    • Article Promotion
  • For Librarians
    • Usage Statistics
    • Subscriber Services
    • Sample Issue
    • Terms and Conditions
  • For Readers
    • Recommend to Your Library
    • Rights & Permissions
    • How to Subscribe
  • Collections
  • Help
    • FAQ
    • Contact Us
  • Other Publications
    • IWAP Online
    • Journal of Hydroinformatics
    • Journal of Water and Health
    • Journal of Water and Climate Change
    • Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination
    • Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-AQUA
    • H2Open Journal
    • Hydrology Research
    • Water Practice and Technology
    • Water Research
    • Water Policy
    • Water Quality Research Journal
    • Water Science and Technology
    • Water Science and Technology: Water Supply
    • Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
    • Water Intelligence Online
    • Ingeniería del agua
    • IWA Publishing

User menu

  • Log-in
  • Sign-up for alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
  • Other Publications
    • IWAP Online
    • Journal of Hydroinformatics
    • Journal of Water and Health
    • Journal of Water and Climate Change
    • Journal of Water Reuse and Desalination
    • Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-AQUA
    • H2Open Journal
    • Hydrology Research
    • Water Practice and Technology
    • Water Research
    • Water Policy
    • Water Quality Research Journal
    • Water Science and Technology
    • Water Science and Technology: Water Supply
    • Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
    • Water Intelligence Online
    • Ingeniería del agua
    • IWA Publishing

Log-in

Sign-up for alerts   

  • My Cart
Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
Browse Archive
Advanced Search
  • About the Journal
    • Aims & Scope
    • Editorial Board
    • Browse Archive
    • Abstracting - Indexing
    • About IWA Publishing
  • Subscribe
    • Institutional Subscriptions
    • User Licences
    • IP Registration
    • IWA Member Subscriptions
  • Open Access
  • For Authors
    • Online Submission
    • Publish with Us
    • Instructions for Authors
    • Open Access
    • How to review a paper
    • Rights & Permissions
    • Article Promotion
  • For Librarians
    • Usage Statistics
    • Subscriber Services
    • Sample Issue
    • Terms and Conditions
  • For Readers
    • Recommend to Your Library
    • Rights & Permissions
    • How to Subscribe
  • Collections
  • Help
    • FAQ
    • Contact Us

You are here

  • Home
  • Archive
  • Volume 5, Issue 1

Modelling the fill rate of pit latrines in Ifakara, Tanzania

Lindsay C. Todman, Miriam H. A. van Eekert, Michael R. Templeton, Marie Hardy (née Kelly), Walter T. Gibson, Belen Torondel, Faraji Abdelahi, Jeroen H. J. Ensink
Published March 2015, 5 (1) 100-106; DOI: 10.2166/washdev.2014.082
Lindsay C. Todman
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK E-mail: lindsay.todman@rothamsted.ac.uk
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Miriam H. A. van Eekert
LeAF, Bornse Weilanden 9, 6708 WG Wageningen, The Netherlands
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Michael R. Templeton
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK E-mail: lindsay.todman@rothamsted.ac.uk
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Marie Hardy (née Kelly)
Environmental Health Group, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Walter T. Gibson
Bear Valley Ventures Ltd, Braeside, Utkinton Lane, Cotebrook, Tarporley, Cheshire CW6 0JH, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Belen Torondel
Environmental Health Group, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Faraji Abdelahi
Ifakara Health Institute, Ifakara, Morogoro District, Tanzania
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Jeroen H. J. Ensink
Environmental Health Group, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Keppel Street, London WC1E 7HT, UK
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
  • Supplementary data
  • Data
Loading

Abstract

A model of the rate at which pit latrines fill was developed and compared with actual fill rates measured in latrines in Ifakara, Tanzania. Model parameters were derived primarily from data collected during the field study in Tanzania, with one fitted parameter. Although the model did not accurately simulate the fill rate of individual pits, it provided a good simulation of the average fill rate of the pits and aided the identification of pits that were performing poorly. Laboratory experiments conducted on samples of sludge from the pits were used to identify the average hydrolysis constant for biodegradation of the organic material. The average hydrolysis constant (0.046 day−1) was higher than that identified in another modelling study (0.0015 day−1), conducted in South Africa. The higher hydrolysis constant provided a simulation of the profile of volatile solids with lower root mean square error in 17/24 of the pits, however, for the other pits a lower hydrolysis constant was more appropriate. A sensitivity study of the model indicated that the pit fill rates were particularly sensitive to the parameter that quantified water accumulation in the pit, as such quantifying water flow through the pit is a priority for future research.

  • biodegradation
  • fill rate
  • pit latrine
  • First received 5 May 2014.
  • Accepted in revised form 23 August 2014.
  • © IWA Publishing 2015
View Full Text

Log in using your username and password

Forgot your user name or password?

Purchase access

User Login Menu

  • Create a new account
  • Forgot username/password?
  • Can't get past this page?
  • Help with Cookies
  • Need to Activate?
Previous ArticleNext Article
Back to top

SELECTED ISSUE

Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development: 8 (1)
  Volume 5, Issue 1

  Table of Contents
  Uncorrected Proofs
  Browse Archive

Actions

Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Modelling the fill rate of pit latrines in Ifakara, Tanzania
(Your Name) has sent you a message from Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development web site.
Share
Modelling the fill rate of pit latrines in Ifakara, Tanzania
Lindsay C. Todman, Miriam H. A. van Eekert, Michael R. Templeton, Marie Hardy (née Kelly), Walter T. Gibson, Belen Torondel, Faraji Abdelahi, Jeroen H. J. Ensink
Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development Mar 2015, 5 (1) 100-106; DOI: 10.2166/washdev.2014.082
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Connotea logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Modelling the fill rate of pit latrines in Ifakara, Tanzania
Lindsay C. Todman, Miriam H. A. van Eekert, Michael R. Templeton, Marie Hardy (née Kelly), Walter T. Gibson, Belen Torondel, Faraji Abdelahi, Jeroen H. J. Ensink
Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development Mar 2015, 5 (1) 100-106; DOI: 10.2166/washdev.2014.082

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
View Full PDF
Download Powerpoint
Save to my folders
Alerts

Please log in to add an alert for this article.

Print
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like

Jump to

  • Article
    • Abstract
    • INTRODUCTION
    • EXPERIMENTAL METHODS
    • NUMERICAL MODEL
    • MODEL INPUTS AND PARAMETERS
    • RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
    • CONCLUSIONS
    • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
    • REFERENCES
  • Data
  • Info & Metrics
  • Supplementary data
  • PDF

Related Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Passive evaporation of source-separated urine from dry toilets: prototype design and field testing using municipal water
  • Development of cost functions for water supply and sanitation technologies: case study of Bahir Dar and Arba Minch, Ethiopia
  • Effect of temperature and shear stress on the viability of Ascaris suum
Show more Research Articles

Similar Articles

Keywords

biodegradation
fill rate
pit latrine
  • Current Issue
  • Uncorrected Proofs
  • Archives
  • Feedback
  • Online Submission
  • Subscribe
  • Contents Alerts
  • About the Journal
  • Open Access
  • Rights & Permissions

IWA Publishing
Alliance House
12, Caxton Street
London SW1H 0QS, UK

Tel: +44 (0)20 7654 5500
Fax: +44 (0)20 7654 5555
Remove (0) if calling from outside the UK
iwapublishing.com
Company registered in England no. 3690822

© IWA Publishing | Cookies | Terms & Conditions | Privacy | Site Map | ISSN Print: 2043-9083 | ISSN Online: 2408-9362