UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI

DESIGN OF LANDLESS SEWERAGE SYSTEM

(THIKA SUB-COUNTY)

NJUTHI WYCLIFF KAMAU, F16/36555/2010

DEPARTMENT OF CIVIL AND CONSTRUCTION

ENGINEERING
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of a degree leading
to

BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN CIVIL AND CONSTRUCTION

APRIL, 2015

SUPERVISOR

PROF E. NYANGERI NYANCHAGA

1
Abstract
Sanitation works have been existent since ancient times. Romans were among the first people to
develop sewer systems to get rid of waste that was excreted. This involved construction of
channels and building of pit latrines. The channels were regularly flushed with water.

When water is used in homes, schools, farms, industries and hospital, there is waste water
generated in this areas. If not properly handled, it leads to health hazards such as typhoid, and
cholera and related diseases such as malaria as it forms breeding grounds for mosquitoes. Thus
there is need to develop proper treatment systems for this waste water. This can be achieved
through soak pit tanks, sewer networks and treatment of the waste water.

Thika town has a big population that is growing rapidly and for this, it is important to consider
waste water disposal and treatment. The sewage system developed in the 1970s has had no major
reconstruction or additional of any new network. People fully developed these areas with sewer
networks and as population was increasing there was need of creating new estates in the
uninhabited areas. This led to new estates in the Eastern and Western regions of Thika, as the
residential areas and many slums in different sections in Thika. Recently emerged residential
areas include Landless with estates such Happy Valley, Gatundu, Riverside and Acacia,
Ngoingwa, Nanasi and Maua. The old estates consists of rented apartments while the new estates
are mainly private residential houses. The old sewer network involved pumping of sewage which
has high operational cost due to high population and rising fuel prices. The pumping generators
are expensive to maintain and replacement of the worn out machinery is expensive.

Since the establishment of Landless Estate in 2000, the residents of Landless have been
disposing waste water and sewage into septic tanks. The septic tanks have a short life span and
are expensive to construct, maintain and exhaust the sewage.

This has led to consideration of the redesign of the old sewer to minimize the pumping costs and
accommodate new estates in the network. There is also a proposed new waste water treatment
plant near Landless where the old and new sewerage system is to flow under gravity near River
Chania, up to the treatment plant. This project presents proposed simplified sewer system for
Landless Residents.

2
Dedication
I would like to dedicate this report to my family. My dad, Isaac Ng’ang’a and mum Grace Njeri
who have been in consistent with their constant prayers, moral support and financial support
throughout my years in school. My three brothers namely Harrison, Samuel and Jefferson for
their sacrifice and encouragement. My two sisters namely, Ruth and Esther for their financial
aid. May God bless you.

3
Acknowledgment
First of all, I would like to thank the Almighty God for his provision and sustenance throughout
my five year course.
I wish to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Prof Nyangeri Ezekiel, lecture in the
department of Civil Engineering, University of Nairobi. Through his guidance and advice I have
been able to produce this report.
I would also like to acknowledge the following people for the assistance offered during
preparation of my report.
Eng. Njeri Mburu Gatabaki, Transport, Road & Public Works, Kiambu County Government
Eng. Perter Kamau and Mr. Ngare of Thika Water and Sewerage Company, from the sewage
section, for provision of relevant data and materials.
Finally, I would like to thank all my friends, classmates who assisted me directly and indirectly
during compilation of this project.
Thank you
NJUTHI W.K

4
Contents
Abstract ................................................................................................................................................. 2
Dedication ............................................................................................................................................. 3
Acknowledgment .................................................................................................................................. 4
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations .................................................................................................. 8
List of figures ........................................................................................................................................ 9
List of tables ........................................................................................................................................ 10
1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 11
1.1 Background and context ........................................................................................................... 11
1.2 Problem statement .................................................................................................................... 12
1.3 Objectives.................................................................................................................................. 13
1.4 Scope ......................................................................................................................................... 14
1.5 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 15
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................ 16
2.1 Sewerage and sewage ............................................................................................................... 16
2.1.1 Types of sewages ............................................................................................................... 16
2.1.2 Characteristics of sewage .................................................................................................. 17
2.2.1 Waste water quantities....................................................................................................... 21
2.3 Design period ........................................................................................................................ 22
2.4 Population forecasting methods/projection: ........................................................................ 23
2.4.1 Arithmetic Increase Method.............................................................................................. 23
2.4.2 Geometric Increase Method .............................................................................................. 23
2.4.3 Incremental Increase Method ............................................................................................ 24
2.4.5 Simple Graphical Method ................................................................................................. 25
2.4.6 Comparative Graphical Method........................................................................................ 25
2.4.7 Ratio Method...................................................................................................................... 25
2.4.8 Logistic Curve Method ...................................................................................................... 25
2.5 Sewerage systems ..................................................................................................................... 26
2.5.1 Combined sewerage systems ............................................................................................ 26
2.5.2 Separate sewerage systems ............................................................................................... 27
2.5.3 Simplified systems ............................................................................................................. 28
2.5.4 Solid free sewers ................................................................................................................ 28

5
 2.5.5 Pressurized sewers ............................................................................................................. 29
2.5.6 Vacuum sewer .................................................................................................................... 29
2.5.7 Open channels and drains .................................................................................................. 31
2.6 Sewerage systems network ...................................................................................................... 32
2.6.1 Building sewers.................................................................................................................. 32
2.6.2 Lateral & branch sewers .................................................................................................... 32
2.6.3 Main sewers ....................................................................................................................... 32
2.6.4 Trunk sewers ...................................................................................................................... 32
2.6.5 Interceptor sewers .............................................................................................................. 32
2.6.6 Lift or pump stations.......................................................................................................... 32
2.7 Wastewater flows and Sewage flow variation ........................................................................ 33
2.8 Wastewater quantities............................................................................................................... 40
2.9 Sewer Design ............................................................................................................................ 41
2.10 Sewer appurtenances .............................................................................................................. 42
3.0 METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 52
3.1 Area of study ............................................................................................................................. 52
3.2 Economic activities .................................................................................................................. 52
3.3 Climate ...................................................................................................................................... 53
3.4 Existing sanitary arrangement ................................................................................................. 53
4.0 RESULTS, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ........................................................................... 56
4.1 Results and Analysis ................................................................................................................ 56
4.2 Discussion ................................................................................................................................. 59
5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION ......................................................................... 60
5.1 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 60
5.1 Recommendations .................................................................................................................... 61
6.0 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 62
APPENDICES .................................................................................................................................... 63
Appendix 4.1: Water Consumption (MWI, 2005) ........................................................................ 63
Appendix 4.2: Population census data (KNBS, 2009) ................................................................. 64
Appendix 4.3: Population Distribution by Sex in urban Centres and Status of Centre.............. 64
Appendix 4.4: Kenya’s population from 1969 to 2009 ................................................................ 65
Appendix 4.5: Projected Kenyan Population 1950-2100 ............................................................. 65

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Appendix 4.6: Main schools .......................................................................................................... 66
Appendix 4.7: Design life for various Sewage Installations ........................................................ 66
Appendix 4.8: PVC pipes ............................................................................................................... 67
Appendix 4.9: Class of precast concrete pipes to be used............................................................ 68
Appendix 4.10: moody diagrams ................................................................................................... 69
Appendix 4.11: Calculations .......................................................................................................... 71

7
List of Acronyms and Abbreviations
TKN-Total Kjeldahi Nitrogen

TOC-Total Organic Carbon

COD-Chemical Oxygen Demand

BOD-Biochemical Oxygen Demand

THIWASCO- Thika Water and Sewerage Company

DWF- Dry Weather Flow

MWI-Ministry of Water and irrigation

KNBS- Kenya National Bureau of Statistics

UNEP-United Nations Environmental Programme

WHO- world Health Organization

NEMA- National Environmental Management Authority

PSCs -Property Service Connections

ASCE - American Society of Civil Engineers

WPCF - Water Pollution Control Federation

8
List of figures
Figure 2.1: Average water Use per Person per Day ........................................................................ 34
Figure 2.2: .Hydraulic (Moody’s diagram) ...................................................................................... 37
Figure 2.3: A curb Inlet ..................................................................................................................... 43
Figure 2.4: The two types of catch basin ......................................................................................... 44
Figure 2.5: Clean outs ....................................................................................................................... 44
Figure 2.6: Normal manhole ............................................................................................................. 46
Figure 2.8: Drop manholes ................................................................................................................. 47
Figure 2.9: A lamp hole ..................................................................................................................... 48
Figure 2.10: Inverted siphon .............................................................................................................. 49
Figure 2.11: Automatic flushing system .......................................................................................... 50
Figure 2.12: Grease and Oil Traps..................................................................................................... 51
Figure 3.1: Google Map of Landless Estate ...................................................................................... 52

9
List of tables
Table 2.1: Typical Composition of Untreated Domestic Wastewater…………………………...20

Table 2.3:Wastewater Factors as a percentage of water consumption ........................................... 40

Table 2.2: Size and type of Sewer .................................................................................................... 34

Table 2.3: Minimum recommended slopes of sanity sewers .......................................................... 38

Table 2.4: Recommended spacing of manholes ............................................................................... 45

Table 2.5: Internal dimension of manholes as recommended by Indian Standards 1742-1960 .... 46

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background and context

Waste water has become a real problem especially due to the rising population in the urban
setting. This is due to the ancient design of waste water transport facilities by the municipalities
that had not projected the rapid rise in population and settlement in areas that had little or no
settlement. As a result there are health hazards in this areas associated with the waste water.
Proper waste management is essential in this areas and can only be achieved by proper design,
construction and maintenance of sewer collection facilities, and the waste water treatment plants.
This minimizes the spread of water borne diseases such as typhoid, cholera dysentery,
amoebiatic diseases

Proper sanitation is not a modern innovation. This has been proved to have existed in the ancient
times. For example, the Romans had a complex system of sewers covered by stones, much like
modern sewers. Waste flushed from the latrines flowed through a central channel into the main
sewage system and thence into a nearby river or stream. However, it was not uncommon for
Romans to throw waste out of windows into the streets, at least according to Roman satirists.
Despite this, Roman waste management is admired for its innovation. It is estimated that the first
sewers of ancient Rome were built between 800 and 735 BC. Drainage systems evolved slowly,
and began primarily as a means to drain marshes and storm runoff. The sewers were mainly for
the removal of surface drainage and underground water. The sewage system as a whole did not
really take off until the arrival of the Cloaca Maxima, an open channel that was later covered,
and one of the best-known sanitation artifacts of the ancient world. There has been improvement
and better design of sewerage since then that are both effective and efficient.

11
1.2 Problem statement

The current design of sewerage in most urban areas was implemented in the 20 th century after
independence and has been in used since then with no major improvements. As a result of
urbanization and industrialization in existing towns there has been over utilization/usage of such
facilities that lead to strain and congestion. This can be seen evidently on cities such as Nairobi
and Nakuru, and Towns such as Ruiru and Thika. Thika town has grown into a big urban town
especially due to industrialization and this has led to a large population and hence big settlement
in the area. Vast areas of land that initially had no settlement have been occupied and buildings
erected which have no sewerage systems apart from septic tanks that regularly get full and have
to be drained out. Some septic tanks when full drain wastewater in drainage systems that find
their way into the existing nearby river hence polluting the water. In some parts some people
even use this water to water their crops and some pastoralists find this as the only free available
water that’s near to feed their livestock. As a result this exposes residents to health hazards. It is
also expensive to maintain and drain such septic tanks. Thika town has reserved drainage area
and wastewater treatment facility that have not been constructed nor designed

Sewerage systems are built to provide the services of collection, channeling, treatment and
disposal of sewage and reuse of treated waste water. Design of sewerage comprises of hydraulic
design of sewer lines that minimize blockage and minimal erosion of sewer channels under flow
of gravity. Pumped sewerage is discouraged as the cost of pumping sewer is high. The sewer
should be designed in such a way they can achieve self-cleansing velocity on a daily basis with a
maximum of 3.0m/s to avoid the erosion of sewer walls and channel.it should also have access
holes (manholes) at the specific distances for servicing of the sewer lines in case there are
blockages.

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1.3 Objectives

The objective of the project is to design a sewer system for residents of Landless Thika Sub
County, Easter region.

13
1.4 Scope

This is a project for the design of the sewerage system. It involves data collection from relevant
authority, analysis of data for the actual design of the sewerage system. The design was carried
out in reference to the World Health Organization (WHO), National Environmental Management
Authority (NEMA) of waste Management and Regulation 2006.The design of the sewer was
presented.

14
1.5 Limitations

The area was relatively flat thus achieving the desired gradient was for the sewer slope difficult.
Sewer pipes that could not achieve the self-cleansing speed have to be flushed regularly to
reduce the probability of them blocking.

The available map used for the design was outdated hence one could not rely on the contour lines
used on the map for elevation of the proposed manholes. Some data from the map was obsolete
and had one to visit the area and uses Google Earth to digitize the maps.

15
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Sewerage and sewage
Sewerage is a term that is used to refer to the infrastructure that conveys or allows passage of
sewage in a confinement, tunnel or channel. Sewerage may include components such as
receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and screening chambers of the
combined sewer or sanitary sewer. Sewerage ends at the entry to a sewage/wastewater treatment
plant or at the point of discharge into the environment (Duggall, 2008).

2.1.1 Types of sewages

They may be categorized into three categories namely domestic, industrial and storm sewages.

Domestic sewage
This is the kind of sewage gotten from used water from houses and apartments, mostly coming
from the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry sources. Sources include dishwashing, the garbage
disposal, and of course baths and showers. This kind of sewage contains more than just water. It
contains anything that might go down the drains, soaps, bits of food, hair, and anything else that
might get flushed down. It’s filled with organic materials and plant nutrients that tend to rot
along the way. The various soaps and powders that we use to clean our house and laundry can
sometimes contain harmful chemicals. These chemicals, when added into the sewage supply can
affect the health of all forms of life in the water. When sewage enters a lake or stream,
microorganisms begin to decompose the organic materials. (Punmia, 2005)

When small amounts of sewage are discharged into a flowing body of water, a natural process of
stream self-purification occurs. Instead of discharging sewage directly into a nearby body of
water, it’s better to let it pass through a combination of physical, biological, and chemical
processes that remove some or most of the pollutants – this takes place in sewage treatment
plants and of course personal septic systems (Duggall, 2008).

Sewage treatment plants and septic tanks neutralize and deactivate the chemicals found in
wastewater. They work by relying on bacteria that will eat away the nitrates and organic matter
that is found in the wastewater. Restoration of wetlands in certain areas can also help both the
environment as well as treating domestic sewage before it pollutes the natural waterways
(Duggall, 2008).

16
Industrial Sewage

This is the type of liquid or solid refuse from any industry warehouse or manufacturing premises
(Duggall, 2008).

Storm sewage

Storm water usually the runoff from precipitation that is collected in a system of pipes or open
channels (Duggall, 2008).

2.1.2 Characteristics of sewage

Characterization of wastes is essential for an effective and economical waste management

programme. It helps in the choice of treatment methods deciding the extent of treatment,
assessing the beneficial uses of wastes and utilizing the waste purification capacity of natural
bodies of water in a planned and controlled manner. While analysis of waste in each particular
case is advisable and the data from other cities may be utilized during initial stage of planning
(Albert, 1993).

Temperature

The observations of temperature of sewage are useful in indicating solubility of oxygen, which
affects transfer capacity of aeration equipment in aerobic systems, and rate of biological activity.
Extremely low temperature affects adversely on the efficiency of biological treatment systems
and on efficiency of sedimentation (Duggall, 2008).

pH

The hydrogen ion concentration expressed as pH, is a valuable parameter in the operation of
biological units. The pH of the fresh sewage is slightly more than the water supplied to the
community. However, decomposition of organic matter may lower the pH, while the presence of
industrial wastewater may produce extreme fluctuations. Generally the pH of raw sewage is in
the range 5.5 to 8.0 (Walski, 2004).

Colour

Fresh domestic sewage has a slightly soapy and cloudy appearance depending upon its
concentration. As time passes the sewage becomes stale, darkening in colour with a pronounced
smell due to microbial activity (Punmia, 2005).

17
Odour
Grease and oil prevent bacteria from acting on decomposable matter due to no dissolving of
oxygen to be used in aerobic respiration. As a result a foul smell can be smelt from sewer lines
and waste water treatment (Thorkild, 2013).
Solids

Though sewage contains only about 0.1 percent solids, the rest being water, still the nuisance
caused by the solids cannot be overlooked, as these solids are highly putrescible and therefore need
proper disposal. The sewage solids may be classified into dissolved solids, suspended solids and
volatile suspended solids. Knowledge of the volatile or organic fraction of solid, which
decomposes, becomes necessary, as this constitutes the load on biological treatment units or
oxygen resources of a stream when sewage is disposed of by dilution. The estimation of suspended
solids, both organic and inorganic, gives a general picture of the load on sedimentation and grit
removal system during sewage treatment. Dissolved inorganic fraction is to be considered when
sewage is used for land irrigation or any other reuse is planned (Punmia, 2005).

Nitrogen

The principal nitrogen compounds in domestic sewage are proteins, amines, amino acids, and urea.
Ammonia nitrogen in sewage results from the bacterial decomposition of these organic
constituents. Nitrogen being an essential component of biological protoplasm, its concentration is
important for proper functioning of biological treatment systems and disposal on land. Generally,
the domestic sewage contains sufficient nitrogen, to take care of the needs of the biological
treatment. For industrial wastewater if sufficient nitrogen is not present it is required to be added
externally. Generally nitrogen content in the untreated sewage is observed to be in the range of 20
to 50 mg/L measured as TKN (Punmia, 2005).

Phosphorus

Phosphorus is contributing to domestic sewage from food residues containing phosphorus and their
breakdown products. The use of increased quantities of synthetic detergents adds substantially to
the phosphorus content of sewage. Phosphorus is also an essential nutrient for the biological
processes. The concentration of phosphorus in domestic sewage is generally adequate to support
aerobic biological wastewater treatment. However, it will be matter of concerned when the treated
effluent is to be reused. The concentration of 𝑃𝑂4 in raw sewage is generally observed in the
range of 5 to 10 mg/L (Duggall, 2008).

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Chlorides

Concentration of chlorides in sewage is greater than the normal chloride content of water supply.
The chloride concentration in excess than the water supplied can be used as an index of the strength
of the sewage. The daily contribution of chlorides averages to about 8 gm per person. Based on
an average sewage flow of 150 LPCD, this would result in the chloride content of sewage being
50 mg/L higher than that of the water supplied. Any abnormal increase should indicate discharge
of chloride bearing wastes or saline ground water infiltration, the latter adding to the sulphates,
which may lead to excessive generation of hydrogen sulphide (Paul, 2007).

Organic Material

Organic compound present in sewage are of particular interest for sanitary engineering. A large
variety of microorganisms (that may be present in the sewage or in the receiving water body)
interact with the organic material by using it as an energy or material source. The utilization of
the organic material by microorganisms is called metabolism. The conversion of organic material
by microorganism to obtain energy is called catabolism and the incorporation of organic material
in the cellular material is called anabolism. When describing the metabolism of organic material,
it is necessary to characterize quantitatively its concentration. In view of the enormous variety of
organic compounds in sewage it is totally unpractical (if not possible) to determine these
individually. Thus a parameter must be used that characterizes a property that all these have in
common. In practice two properties of almost all organic compounds can be used: organic
compound can be oxidized and organic compounds contain organic carbon (Paul, 2007).

In sanitary engineering there are two standard tests based on the oxidation of organic material: 1)
the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and 2) the Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) tests. In
both tests, the organic material concentration is measured during the test. The essential differences
between the COD and the BOD tests are in the oxidant utilized and the operational conditions
imposed during the test such as biochemical oxidation and chemical oxidation. The other method
for measuring organic material is the development of the Total Organic Carbon (TOC) test as an
alternative to quantify the concentration of the organic material (Punmia, 2005).

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD)

The BOD of the sewage is the amount of oxygen required for the biochemical decomposition of
biodegradable organic matter under aerobic conditions. The oxygen consumed in the process is
related to the amount of decomposable organic matter. The general range of BOD observed for
raw sewage is 100 to 400 mg/L (Duggall, 2008).

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Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)

The COD gives the measure of the oxygen required for chemical oxidation. It does not
differentiate between biological ox disable and non-oxidisable material. However, the ratio of the
COD to BOD does not change significantly for particular waste and hence this test could be used
conveniently for interpreting performance efficiencies of the treatment units. In general, the COD
of raw sewage at various places is reported to be in the range 200 to 700 mg/L (Paul, 2007).

In COD test, the oxidation of organic matter is essentially complete within two hours, whereas,
biochemical oxidation of organic matter takes several weeks. In case of wastewaters with a large
range of organic compounds, an extra difficulty in using BOD as a quantitative parameter is that
the rate of oxidation of organic compounds depends on the nature and size of its molecules. Small
molecules are readily available for use by bacteria, but large molecules, colloidal and suspended
matter can only be metabolized after preparatory steps of hydrolysis. It is therefore not possible to
establish a general relationship between the experimental five-day BOD and the ultimate BOD of
a sample, i.e., the oxygen consumption after several weeks. For sewage (with k=0.23 d-1 at 20 0𝐶 )
the BOD5 is 0.68 times ultimate BOD, and ultimate BOD is 87% of the COD. Hence, the COD
/BOD ratio for the sewage is around 1.7 (Duggall, 2008).

Toxic Metals and Compounds

Some heavy metals and compounds such as chromium, copper, cyanide, which are toxic may find
their way into municipal/county sewage through industrial discharges. The concentration of these
compounds is important if the sewage is to treat by biological treatment methods or disposed in
stream or on land. In general these compounds are within toxic limits in sanitary sewage however,
with receipt of industrial discharges they may cross the limits in municipal wastewaters (Punmia,
2005).

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Table 2.1: Typical Composition of Untreated Domestic Wastewater

2.2.1 Waste water quantities

Wastewater quantities of a sewer in a given area is usually depend on the water supply of that
area. The water supply depends on the water demands of the existing population. Thus the
population and the water demand of an area is essential in the design of the sewer and the water
treatment plant. Domestic wastewater produced is gotten by multiplying the domestic water
supply with a factor/constant that cater s loses due to usage and wastage. Wastewater flow in a
sewer is never constant as there are fluctuation (percentage ratio of maximum daily to average
daily and maximum hourly values per capital figure). Fluctuation of the sewer is important as it
can be used to compare record of different communities and the future needs of a growing
community which can thereby be used in design of sewer that can serve systems for a given
period of years (Paul, 2007).

For an effective sewer an engineer has to put into consideration the period of design and service
of the design, the existing population to benefit from the proposed sewer and the forecast of the
population, the expansion of the sewer service and the rates of water supply and sewer flow of
both the domestic and industrial usage. For the combined and storm sewerage the engineer has to
consider allowance for the rainfall and surface run off (Punmia, 2005).

21
2.3 Design period

Design should be worked out with due provision for the estimated requirements of the future.
The future period for which a provision is made in the water supply scheme is known as the
design period. It is suggested that the construction of sewage treatment plant may be carried out
in phases with an initial design period of 40 years excluding the construction period (Geoffrey,
2004).

Design period is estimated based on the following (Punmia, 2005):

 Useful life of the component, considering obsolescence, wear and tear.

 Expandability aspect. The ease and difficult in expansion of the sewerage
 Anticipated rate of growth of population, including industrial, commercial developments
& migration-immigration.
 Available resources.
 Performance of the system during initial period.

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2.4 Population forecasting methods/projection:
Population of a given area can be obtained from the National Census Data found in the central
Bureau of Statistics. Additional information can also be obtained from state enumerations
usually authorized by the state or from special surveys made by public authority or private
agencies for government, social or commercial purposes. With such data the population growth
rate or projection are obtained. Population are increased by new settlement in an area or new
births and decreased by deaths and migration of people out of the area. To have a high growth
rate, the birth rate and migration in an area must exceed the death rate and migration out of the
area. This can be attributed to better health care, social amenities, employment, good government
policy and hence and better living standards (Albert, 1993).

The various methods adopted for estimating future populations are given below. The particular
method to be adopted for a particular case or for a particular city depends largely on the factors
discussed in the methods, and the selection is left to the discretion and intelligence of the
designer (Halli, 1992).

2.4.1 Arithmetic Increase Method

Assumption made are that the growth rate is constant i.e. population increases at a constant rate.
This can be expressed in the below equation (Albert, 1993);

𝑑𝑃
Change in population = = 𝐶𝑂𝑁𝑆𝑇𝐴𝑁𝑇 = 𝐾
𝑑𝑇

With the value of k determined future projections of population can be obtained through

Pt= P0+kt

Where Pt = population in future

Po= present population

t = period of projection

This method is most applicable to large and established cities.

2.4.2 Geometric Increase Method

The method is based on the assumption that percentage growth rate is constant i.e. (Duggall,
2008).

𝑑𝑃
= 𝑘𝑃
𝑑𝑇

lnP = lnP0+kt.

23
The method must be used with caution, for when applied it may produce too large results for
rapidly grown cities in comparatively short time. This would apply to cities with unlimited scope
of expansion. As cities grow large, there is a tendency to decrease in the rate of growth (Halli,
1992).

2.4.3 Incremental Increase Method

Growth rate is assumed to be progressively increasing or decreasing, depending upon whether the
average of the incremental increases in the past is positive or negative. The population for a future
decade is worked out by adding the mean arithmetic increase to the last known population as in
the arithmetic increase method, and to this is added the average of incremental increases, once for
first decade, twice for second and so on. (Albert, 1993)

2.4.4 Decreasing Rate of Growth Method /Declining growth method

In this method, the average decrease in the percentage increase is worked out, and is then
subtracted from the latest percentage increase to get the percentage increase of next decade (Albert,
1993).

Assumes that a certain area under consideration has some limiting saturation population and the
rate is a function of its population deficit.ie

𝑑𝑝
= 𝑘"(𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑃)
𝑑𝑡
−1 𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡−𝑃
K” is determined 𝑘" = 𝐼𝑛( )
𝑛 𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡−𝑝𝑜

Where p and po are the population of years n reported.

𝑛
𝑝 = 𝑃𝑜 + (𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑃𝑜)(1 − 𝑒 𝑘 ∆𝑡)

24
2.4.5 Simple Graphical Method

A graph is plotted from the available data, between time and population. The curve is then
smoothly extended up to the desired year. This method gives very approximate results and should
be used along with other forecasting methods (Albert, 1993).

2.4.6 Comparative Graphical Method

In this method, the cities having conditions and characteristics similar to the city whose future
population is to be estimated are selected. It is then assumed that the city under consideration will
develop, as the selected similar cities have developed in the past (Albert, 1993).

2.4.7 Ratio Method

In this method, the local population and the country's population for the last four to five decades
is obtained from the census records. The ratios of the local population to national population are
then worked out for these decades. A graph is then plotted between time and these ratios, and
extended upto the design period to extrapolate the ratio corresponding to future design year. This
ratio is then multiplied by the expected national population at the end of the design period, so as
to obtain the required city's future population (Albert, 1993).

Drawbacks

1. Depends on accuracy of national population estimate.

2. Does not consider the abnormal or special conditions which can lead to population shifts from
one city to another.

2.4.8 Logistic Curve Method

The three factors responsible for changes in population are (Albert, 1993):
(i) Births,

(ii) Deaths

(iii) Migrations.
Logistic curve method is based on the hypothesis that when these varying influences do not
produce extraordinary changes, the population would probably follow the growth curve
characteristics of living things within limited space and with limited economic opportunity. The
curve is S-shaped and is known as logistic curve (Albert, 1993).

25
2.5 Sewerage systems
Sewerage systems refers to the infrastructure that conveys sewage. It encompasses components
such as receiving drains, manholes, pumping stations, storm overflows, and screening chambers
of the combined sewer or sanitary sewer. Sewerage ends at the entry to a sewage treatment plant
or at the point of discharge into the environment. The terms "sewerage" and "sewage" are
sometimes used interchangeably to mean the same thing. They can be categorized into different
categories namely (Lameshow, 2013);

 Combined sewerage systems

 Separate sewerage systems
 Simplified systems
 Solid free systems
 Pressurized systems
 Vacuum systems
 Open channel drains

2.5.1 Combined sewerage systems

They consist of large networks of underground pipes that convey domestic sewage, industrial
wastewater and storm water runoff in the same pipe to a centralized treatment facility. They mostly
found in urban areas of which they do not require on-site pre-treatment or storage of the
wastewater. All waste water are transported to a waste water treatment plant where it is treated and
discharged to a water body (Lameshow, 2013).

Advantages (Walski, 2004)

 They usually very convenient as there is minimal intervention by users

 There’s no nuisance that is usually caused by smells, mosquitoes and flies
 Storm water and waste water can be managed at the same time
 There’s no problem associated to discharging industrial waste as it is treated
 Moderate operational cost and maintenance cost

26
Disadvantages (Walski, 2004)

 High capital cost required during design and construction

 Need a reliable supply of piped water
 Difficult to construct in high density areas especially where there’s interference on peoples
land
 Difficult and costly in maintenance.
 Recycling of nutrients and energy becomes difficult
 Unsuitable for self-help as it requires skilled engineers and operators
 There are problems associated with blockages and breakdown of pumping machinery
 Adequate treatment and disposal required

2.5.2 Separate sewerage systems

Separate sewer systems are designed to convey wastewater and storm water in separate pipes.
Sanitary sewer systems collect and transport waste water. Storm sewer systems collect and
transport storm water runoff. Sanitary sewer systems may also collect wet weather flow via illicit
connections from house drains or storm sewers, as well as through defects in the pipes and
manholes (Lameshow, 2013).

Advantages (Walski, 2004)

 Surface run-off, grey water and black water can be managed separately
 Limited or no risk of sewage overflow
 Convenient as there is minimal intervention by users
 There’s low health risk
 No nuisance caused by sewage smell nor mosquitoes nor flies presence
 Minimal problems related to discharging industrial waste water
 Moderate operational costs
 Surface run-off and rain water can be reused in landscaping or agriculture

Disadvantages (Walski, 2004)

 A reliable supply of water in needed for efficient flow of waste water.

 Difficult to construct in high density areas.
 Difficult and costly in maintenance of the system.
 Require skilled personnel such as operators and engineers in construction and maintenance.
 Need for pumping in flat area
 Problems associated with blockages and breakdowns of pumping equipment
 Adequate treatment and disposal required for large point source discharge

27
2.5.3 Simplified systems

A sewer system that is constructed using smaller diameter pipes laid at a shallower depth and at a
flatter gradient than conventional sewers. These allows for a more flexible design associated with
lower costs and a higher number of connected households.
These type operate as conventional sewers but with a number of modifications (Walski, 2004):
 The minimum diameter and the minimum cover are reduced
 Expensive manholes are replaced with simple inspection chambers or flushing points
 Sewers are laid within the property boundaries and sidewalks, rather than beneath the
central road
 The slope is determined by using the tractive force concept rather than the minimum
velocity concept,
 Sewers should be designed to take into account the extra flow that may result from
stormwater infiltration.
Advantages (Walski, 2004)
 Can be built and repaired with locally available materials
 Capital cost is between 50 -80% convectional sewers
 Low operation cost
 Its flexible as it can be extended as a community changes and grows
Disadvantages (Walski, 2004)
 Requires enough water for flushing.
 Requires expert design and construction supervision.
 Requires frequent repairs and removals of blockage.
 Suitable only in area that have interceptor tanks, septic tanks or other on site pretreatment
systems.

2.5.4 Solid free sewers

These are similar to conventional sewer systems, except that the wastewater is pre- settled and
solids removed before entering the system As solids are removed, sewer diameter can be much
smaller and they can be constructed using less conservative design criteria (lower gradients, fewer
pumps, less pipe depth, etc.) resulting in significantly lower investment costs . Due to the
simplified design, solids-free sewers can be built cheaper (Walski, 2004).

28
2.5.5 Pressurized sewers

Pressurized sewers systems differ from conventional gravity collection systems, because they use
pumps instead of gravity to transport wastewater The primary effluent is delivered to the collection
tank by gravity where it is grinded (pressed) before being transported into the pressurized system
by pumps The system can be built with only shallow trenches and relatively small-diameter pipes
(Walski, 2004).
Advantages (Walski, 2004)
 Effective wastewater transportation at minimum depth, minimizing excavation for piping
system
 Independent from land topography
 Less costs compared to a convectional gravity sewer during construction
 Requires little water for transporting the excreta

Disadvantages (Walski, 2004)

 Needs expert design.

 Requires skilled engineers and operator.
 Needs permanent energy source.

2.5.6 Vacuum sewer

Vacuum sewer systems use a central vacuum source to convey sewage from individual households
to a central collection station Vacuum sewers use differential air pressure (negative pressure) to
move the sewage A central source of power to operate vacuum pumps is required to maintain
vacuum (negative pressure) on the collection system (Bruce, 2010).
Advantages (Geoffrey, 2004)
 Requires less water to transport the excreta
 Considerable saving in construction cost, and much shorter construction period
 Pipelines laid in shallow and narrow trenches, small diameter pipelines, flexible pipeline
construction
 Sewers and water mains can be laid in a common trench
 Closed systems with no leakage or smell
 No manholes along the vacuum sewers

29
Disadvantages (Geoffrey, 2004)
 Needs expert design
 Needs energy to create permanent vacuum
 High capital cost
 Recycling of nutrients and energy becomes difficult
 Unsuitability for self-help as it requires skilled engineer operator

30
2.5.7 Open channels and drains

An open channel is a conveyance in which water flows with a free surface. Although closed
conduits such as culverts and storm drains are open channels when flowing partially full, the term
is generally applied to natural and improved watercourses, gutters, ditches, and channels.
An open channel or drain system generally consists of a secondary drainage system, with a network
of small drains attached. These small drains bring the water to a primary drainage system,
composed of main drains (also called interceptor drains), which serve large areas. The main drains
are generally connected with natural drainage channels such as rivers or streams. In steep terrain,
erosion could damage the drain and flow retarding structures may be necessary. This include
baffles, steps and check walls. In flat low-lying areas the limited slope may results in channel with
a composite (Geoffrey, 2004).
Advantages (Walski, 2004)
 Less expensive
 Simple to construct
 Construction materials are often readily available
Disadvantages (Walski, 2004)
 High health risk due to illegal discharge of waste water and solid waste.
 Breeding ground for insects and pest.
 Regular cleaning service required to remove solids and blockages which usually cause spill
over and flooding.

31
2.6 Sewerage systems network
A sewerage system consist of a network of sewer pipes laid in order to carry the sewer from
buildings to wastewater treatment plant. They include:

2.6.1 Building sewers

These connect a building's internal wastewater collection system to the municipal sewer system.
PSCs can connect to a lateral, main or trunk sewer line (Thorkild, 2013).

2.6.2 Lateral & branch sewers

These are the upper ends of the municipal sewer system. Laterals dead-end at their upstream end
with branch sewers collecting the wastewater from several lateral sewer lines (Thorkild, 2013).

2.6.3 Main sewers

These are collectors for numerous lateral and branch sewers from an area of several hundred acres
or a specific neighborhood or housing development. They convey the wastewater to larger trunk
sewer lines, to lift stations. Or to a neighborhood package water quality treatment center (Thorkild,
2013).

2.6.4 Trunk sewers

These serve as the main arteries of the wastewater collection system. They collect and convey
the wastewater from numerous main sewer lines either to a water quality treatment center or to a
interceptor sewer (Thorkild, 2013).

2.6.5 Interceptor sewers

These receive the wastewater numerous from trunk sewers and convey it to a water quality
treatment center. These are the largest diameter lines in the sewer system and the furthest
downstream in the system (Thorkild, 2013).

2.6.6 Lift or pump stations

They are utilized in gravity sewer systems to lift (pump) wastewater to a higher elevation when
the route followed by a gravity sewer would require the sewer to be laid at an insufficient slope or
at an impractical depth. Lift stations vary in size and type depending upon the quantity of
wastewater to be handled and the height it must be lifted (Thorkild, 2013).

32
2.7 Wastewater flows and Sewage flow variation
Wastewater flows vary with time and place. This makes them complicated to accurately measure.
The basic unit for flow is volume of wastewater (𝑚 3 ) per unit of time (day). The design flow for
different units in a wastewater treatment plant varies. For units with short hydraulic retention time
like screen and grit chamber, the design flow is represented by m3/s, while for settling tanks the
design flow is usually expressed by 𝑚 3 /h (Henze, 1992).

Dry weather flow DWF refers to the wastewater flow in a sewer system during periods of dry
weather with minimum infiltration. The consequences of the lower flow apply to both combined
sewer systems and to separate sanitary sewer systems. Insufficient flow velocities during dry
weather flow can increase retention time if pipes and channels are not designed correctly. This
would result in undesirable sedimentation of solid particles and undesirable biological and
chemical reactions. It’s calculated suing the population density by area served by sewer multiplied
by the capital flow. It’s good to include various peak factors in the DWF (Henze, 1992)

Formulae for getting the DWF (Dry Weather Flow) is as shown below (Henze, 1992)

DWF = P G + I + E,
Where:

P = Population served
G = Water consumption / head / day (typically 150 litres)

E = Trade Effluent Flow (litres)

I = Infiltration*
*Infiltration should be measured where possible using measured night time flows at the sewage
works. For smaller catchments infiltration may have to be estimate.
Per Capita Water Consumption /water consumption per head per day varies with the housing
classes and the region this classes fall.

33
Figure 2.1: Average water Use per Person per Day (UNEP, 2006)
Table 2.2: Commercial and Institutional Usage (WHO, 1973)

Per person(bed) per day Liters per day

Administration offices 25
Hospitals low class 100
Hospitals medium class 200
Hospitals high class 400
Dispensaries 50
Day school 20
High class hotels 600
Medium class hotels 300

In Kenya the ratio between daily peak and average flow rate of domestic sewage is in the order
1
2 . However because of time lag in the flow of sewage to the large sewers, smaller peak factors
2
are used for larger sewer. This approach requires that the sewer diameter is assumed before peak
flow can be computed
Table 2.3: Size and type of Sewer (Ndiba, 2015)

Size and type of sewer Peak factor

A 300mm diameter or less(property sewer lines and smaller laterals) 1
2
2
B 300-600mm diameter sewers(branch sewers ) 2
C More than 600mm diameter (trunk sewer) 1
1
2

34
Generally sewers are normally designed for peal domestic sewage which is known as the actual
flow running half full. If the sewer is designed to take only the domestic sewer then its full capacity
should be (Ndiba, 2015):
2 × 𝑝𝑒𝑎𝑘 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 × 𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤

If it’s partially separate systems the capacity should be the sum of the following factors
 Maximum domestic sewage
 Maximum industrial and commercial flow expected
 Maximum rate of storm water given by following formulae 𝑄 = 𝐶𝐴𝐼 where
Q = Discharge of drainage water of an area
C = coefficient of discharge
A = area of the runoff water
I =intensity of rainfall
 Maximum rate of inflow of groundwater (through cracks and defective mortar points)

Pipe flow Formula

i. Manning’s Equation (Bruce, 2010)

2 1
1
𝑉 = 𝑅3 𝑆 2 OR
𝑛

kn
V= R2/3 S1/2 …………i
𝐧

Where,

v = cross-sectional mean velocity (m/s)

kn = 1.486 for English units and kn = 1.0 for SI units

n = Manning coefficient of roughness

R = hydraulic radius (m)

S = slope of pipe (m/m)

35
Hydraulic radius can be expressed as (Bruce, 2010)

R=A/P …………………ii

Where:

A = cross sectional area of flow (m 2)

P = wetted perimeter (m)

The volume flow in the channel can be calculated as (Michael L. , 2012)

q = A v = A kn / n R2/3 S1/2 ………….iii

Where:

q = volume flow (m3/s)

A = cross-sectional area of flow in m2

ii. Colebrook -White Equation (Paul, 2007)

1 𝐾𝑆 2.51
= −2 log { + }
√𝐹 3.7𝐷 𝑅𝑒√𝐹

Where

F= Darcy-Weisbach friction coefficient

Re = Reynolds Number

𝐾𝑆 = roughness of duct, pipe or tube surface (m)

D= hydraulic diameter in m

36
Below chart is used in the above equations.

Figure 2.2: Hydraulic (Moody’s diagram) (Bruce, 2010)

37
Limitations of sewer design
i. Self-cleansing velocity
.Solids tend to settle along the sewer lines if the gravity of flow is to. This can be prevented by
proper design of sewerage system. Sewers are thus designed with a minimum velocity of 0.75m/s
or a certain self-cleansing velocity i.e. 0.6m/s for new sewers to prevent settling of such solids.
The velocity should be achieved at list once in a day (Syed, 1998).
ii. Minimum size of sewer
To reduce the risk if blockage and simply maintenance , it is recommended that all branch and
trunk sewers be either 100mm or 150mm in diameter depending upon which flow they will
carry (Ndiba, 2015).
iii. Minimum slope
Flat sewer slopes encourage deposition and production of hydrogen sulfide and methane.
Hydrogen sulfide gas is odorous and causes pipe corrosion, Methane gas can cause explosion
when produced hence this become dangerous for the sewer. Most states specify minimum slope
for the sanity sewers. The minimum sewers are such that velocity of 0.6m/sis reached when
flowing full and n=0.013. If sewer slope of less than the recommended value are provided the
state agencies may require depth and velocity computation at minimum, average and peak flow
conditions. Minimum sewer slopes for different diameter lines are summarized in table 2.4;
Table 2.4: Minimum recommended slopes of sanity sewers (Syed, 1998)

DIAMETER
IN Mm SLOPE(m/mm)
6 150 0.0060
8 200 0.0040
10 250 0.0028
12 310 0.0022
14 360 0.0017
15 380 0.0015
16 410 0.0014
18 460 0.0012
21 530 0.0010
24 610 0.0008
27 690 0.00067
30 760 0.00058
36 910 0.00046
42 1050 0.00038
48 1200 0.00032
54 1370 0.00026

38
 iv. Pipe type
Approved materials for pipe construction of storm sewer mains are non-reinforced concrete pipe,
and reinforced concrete pipe. Some limited use of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) pipe is also permitted
on a case-by-case basis (Syed, 1998).

v. Pipe size/diameter
Minimum diameter for public sewer is 150mm.the recommended practice is to provide a 250mm
sewer pipe (Bruce, 2010).

39
2.8 Wastewater quantities
Wastewater is generated after water consumption during water supply. However not all water
supplied becomes wastewater/sewage. This is attributed to usage such as drinking, washing,
watering and garden use, and from losses that arise from evaporation, seepage and pipe leakages
(Bruce, 2010).
Table 2.5: Wastewater Factors as a percentage of water consumption (WHO, 1973)

Household type Percentage

High class housing 75
Average urban housing 80
Low cost housing 85
Communal ablution 85
Day schools, shops and offices 85

40
2.9 Sewer Design
The average daily domestic waste water generation is estimated by several procedures depending
on the code of practice in use (e.g. W.H.O, Ministry of Water-Sewage Design Manuals, Nairobi
City Water and Sewerage). It should be based on the land carrying capacity so as to cater for the
full development (Ndiba, 2015).
Water consumption determination (Ndiba, 2015)
1. Water consumption basis
For urban area domestic wastewater is approximately 80% of water consumed
2. Fixture basis(American Practice)
Type of fixtures checked in a house are showers, bath tabs, water basins, water closet,
urinal, washing machine
3. Actual measurement of existing area with sewerage similar to proposed development
area

41
2.10 Sewer appurtenances

Sewer appurtenances are the various accessories/structures on the sewerage system and are
necessary for the efficient operation of the system. They are usually constructed at various intervals
and other location along the sewer line to assist in the efficient operation and maintenance of the
system. Examples of appurtenances include (Punmia, 2005);

i. Inlets
ii. Catch basins
iii. Clean outs
iv. Manholes
v. Drop manholes
vi. Lamp holes
vii. Flushing tanks
viii. Grease and oil traps
ix. Inverted siphons
x. Storm regulators

Inlets

Inlets are devices meant to admit or allow passage of storm water and surface wash and convey it
into a storm water or combined sewer. Inlets are not essential in separate sewers. They include
curb inlets/vertical inlets, gutter/ horizontal inlets and combination inlets each being flushed
according to the elevation with respect to pavement surface. Maximum spacing of inlets would
depend upon conditions of the road surface, size and type inlet and rainfall. A maximum of 30
meters is recommended on straight roads (Punmia, 2005).

42
Figure 2.3: A curb Inlet (Paul, 2007)

Catch basins

A catch basin or catchpits are special type of inlet OF small settling chambers of diameter 60 - 90
cm and 60 - 75 cm deep, which are constructed below the street inlets. They interrupt the velocity
of storm water entering through the inlets and allow grit, sand and debris flowing in with storm
water to settle down. The outlet is usually trapped to prevent escape of outdoors from sewer and
retain floating matter which is taken out during maintenance (Punmia, 2005).

43
The two types of catch basin

Figure 2.4: The two types of catch basin (Punmia, 2005)

Clean outs

This are inclined pipes with one end connected to an underground sewer line and other end on the
outer surface (Ground surface) with a proper cover on the top. They are generally provided at
upper sewers to replace manholes and function is cleaning the lateral sewer (Punmia, 2005).

Figure 2.5: Clean outs (Punmia, 2005)

44
Manholes

Man holes are the masonry or RCC chambers/ openings of either circular or rectangular in shape
constructed on the alignment of a sewer line to enable a person to enter the sewer for inspection,
cleaning and flushing. They serve as ventilators for sewers, by the provisions of perforated man-
hole covers. Also they facilitate the laying of sewer lines in convenient length. Man-holes are
provided at all junctions of two or more sewers, whenever diameter of sewer changes, whenever
direction of sewer line changes and when sewers of different elevations join together (Geoffrey,
2004).

Provide a manhole at (Punmia, 2005):

i. all junctions, changes in horizontal alignment, changes in gradient, and temporary or

permanent terminus of public sewer;
ii. every 400 feet of developed length (8-inch through 16-inch diameter) and every 500 feet
of developed length (greater than 16-inch diameter);
iii. changes in pipe diameter;
iv. Lateral connections for laterals 8-inch diameter and larger.

The greater the diameter of the sewer line the greater the spacing between manholes.

The table 2.6 shows recommended spacing of sewer precast pipes.

Table 2.6: Recommended spacing of manholes

Manholes can be classified as shallow, normal and deep manholes. Shallow manholes (inspection
chambers) are about 0.75m to 0.9m deep and are usually constructed at the start of branch sewer.
Normal manholes are about 1.5m deep and are contracted with dimesnsions1m by 1m or o.85m
by 1.2m. Deep manhole are those manholes which are more than 1.5m in depth. They are usually
bigger in diameter at the bottom and narrow upwards (Punmia, 2005).

45
Table 2.7: Internal dimension of manholes as recommended by Indian Standards 1742-
1960

Figure 2.6: Normal manhole (Punmia, 2005)

Deep manhole Consist of the following components: Access shaft, working chamber,
Bottom/invert, Side walls, Step or ladder and the top cover (Punmia, 2005).

46
Drop man-hole

When the difference in elevation of the invert levels of the incoming and outgoing sewers of the
man-hole is more than 60 cm, the interception is made by dropping the incoming sewer vertically
outside and then it is jointed to the man-hole chamber (Punmia, 2005).

Figure 2.7: Drop manholes (Punmia, 2005)

Lamp-holes

Lamp holes are the openings constructed on the straight sewer lines between two man-holes which
are far apart and permit the insertion of a lamp into the sewer to find out obstructions if any inside
the sewers from the next man-hole. Its uses include flushing of the sewer line, inspection site for
sewer maintenance and sewer ventilation (Punmia, 2005).

47
Figure 2.8: A lamp hole (Punmia, 2005)

Street inlets: Street inlets are the openings through which storm water is admitted and conveyed
to the storm sewer or combined sewer. The inlets are located by the sides of pavement with
maximum spacing of 30m (Punmia, 2005).

Inverted siphons

These are depressed portions of sewers, which flow full under pressure more than the atmospheric
pressure due to flow line being below the hydraulic grade line. They are constructed when a sewer
crosses a stream or deep cut or road or railway line. To clean the siphon pipe sluice valve is opened,
thus increasing the head causing flow. Due to increased velocity deposits of siphon pipe are washed
into the sump, from where they are removed (Michael L. , 2013).

48
Figure 2.9: Inverted siphon

Flushing tanks
This is a tank that holds water and then throws it into the sewer for flushing. It can be operated
manually or automatically. Common in sewer laid in flat area to produce self-cleansing velocity
and prevent blockage (Michael L. , 2013).

49
Figure 2.10: Automatic flushing system (Michael L. , 2013)

Grease and oil traps

Grease and oil traps are specially built chambers on the sewers to exclude grease and oil from
sewage before they enter the sewage. They are mostly situated in areas where there are factories
and car garages to prevent entry of oil to the sewer.
Reasons as to why it is important to prevent entry of oil and grease to the sewer line are (Michael
L. , 2013);
i. Grease and oil stick to the sewer line interior surface and become hard causing obstruction
to flow
ii. Increase chances of explosion in the sewer line
iii. Increases chances of floating matter to stick to the sides
iv. Prevent penetration of oxygen on waste water surface hence no aerobic respiration leading
to no decomposition of matter
v. Causes difficulties in waste water treatment

50
Figure 2.11: Grease and Oil Traps. (Walski, 2004)

51
3.0 METHODOLOGY

3.1 Area of study

Thika is an industrial town in Kiambu County, Kenya lying 10 02′ 09" South of the Equator and
370 05′50"East of the Greenwich Meridian. It has a population of about 165,342 people which is
rapidly growing due to good infrastructure and it’s near proximity to Nairobi. Its elevation is
approximately 1,631 metres above sea level, having most of its areas relatively flat. It has the
following wards: Township, Kamenu, Hospital, Gatuanyaga and Ngoliba Wards. Landless is in
Gatuanyanga ward. It compromises of Happy Valley and Riverside Estates (www.kiambu.go.ke/).

Figure 3.1: Google Map of Landless

3.2 Economic activities

Thika is externally serviced by an eight-lane superhighway, a highway to Garissa and the rest of
north-east Kenya, a highway to the central highlands and a railway line (with plans to add a
passenger light rail to Nairobi). Internally, the town has a well-maintained road network.
The main economic activities include agricultural processing, particularly in horticulture and
pineapple (exported mainly to Europe), coffee (exports mainly to the United States and Europe),
cooking oils (to the rest of Kenya and eastern Africa) and animal feed processing. Other industries
include textile (cotton), macadamia nuts, wheat, tannery, motor vehicle assemblies, cigarette
manufacturing, bakeries, packaging and industrial chemicals. About 100 small-scale industries and
about 20 major factories exist in and around the town. The service sector is well represented with

52
the establishment and growth of a number of educational and financial institutions. Thika is home
or close to three universities, tens of middle level colleges, hundreds of secondary and primary
schools and dozens of financial institutions.
Thika has a bustling nightlife, modern recreation centres and significant retail trading operations.
The growth of the greater Nairobi region and improved infrastructure and services has led to new
residential estates.

3.3 Climate
The climate is moderate tropical with sunshine most of the year round and typical average
temperatures of 25°C during the day, with the hottest period in January and February leading to
the long rains and the coldest in July. The "long rains" season lasts from March/April to May/June.
The "short rains" season is from October to November/December (www.meteo.go.ke).

3.4 Existing sanitary arrangement

Currently the big growing estate is served by septic tanks as it was not originally included in the
early design of the existing sewer network. An example of such a septic tank is shown in the plate
4.the septic are locally designed and owned by individual land owners. When full, owners/
residents hire exhausters both private and THIWASCO exhausters that take the waste to Kang’oki,
Thika’s wastewater treatment plant. Sometime when the septic tanks get full, they start licking in
nearby drainage systems as shown in plate 2. Some of the residents who practice small farming
use this water as shown in plate 3 and this exposes them to health hazards. There are also school
children who are exposed to such health hazards. The existing sewer network cannot be extended
to such areas because the land generally slopes towards such area hence high capital cost due to
pumping of sewer. Already THIWASCO is on a plan to redesign the sewer network and there is
proposed water treatment plant along the Thika River to make it easier for discharge and take
advantage of the slope and incorporate new estates not in the sewer system. The current sewer
system serves a quarter of the population hence the rest do not have access to such system. It’s
also proving to be a challenge as THIWASCO spends a big portion of their revenue on pumping
the sewer (Thiwasco, 2010).

53
Areas included in the design of the sewer include;

Residential areas
Landless, Thika is a fast growing residential area with four estates Maua, Acacia, Happy Valley,
Riverside, Salama and Gatundu Estates, mainly as result of urbanization and good access roads
such as the superhighway in Thika thus more settlement by people who work in nearby towns such
as Nairobi. Most land parcels are a quarter acre with a less wealthy population owning half an acre.
Population per quarter acre is approximately 6 family members. The water design manual 2005
was used to determine the water consumption in the area. It was divided into high class, moderate
class and low class as shown in appendix 4.1.

Educational facilities
The major schools in the estate are Glorious Fountain School, Height Academy, St. Martins
Academy and Mountain View Academy

Table 3.1: Schools in Landless

Schools Capacity
Height Academy(secondary and Primary) 460
Thika Barracks Pri. School 540
Glorious Fountain 460
Mountain View Academy 340
St. Martins Academy 310
Population Data
Thika’s Population from the 2009 census, was determined as 139,853 people as estimated to
have grown to 165,342 in 2015 (KNBS, 2009).
Kenya’s population from the 2009 census was 38.6 million people as shown in the appendix 4.4.
The Kenya’s projected population 2015 and 2050 were 50 million and 100 million respectively
as shown in appendix 4.5 and hence through the ratio population forecast method the population
in Thika was determined. The estimate population in Thika 2050 will be 330,000 (UN world
Population Prospects).
The population data for estimation of the total population in Thika was from the National census
1999 and 2009 as summarized in appendices 4.2 and 4.3.

54
The following are procedures that were used in the design of the sewer line in Landless.
1. The population of the town was determined using ratio method as shown in the graph and
future projections estimated with the following formulae with assumption
 past trends will continue
 no major national/county legislative or tax will change expected,
2. A contour map of the area to be served by the sewer was drawn and digitized and suitable
lines drawn on the map to represent sewer trunks. The drawn lines were drawn on major
roads/streets and ensured they didn’t pass through parcels of owners land. The Contours used
in the map was restricted to a 20metre difference in sea level and thus the elevation of important
zones was determined courtesy of Google Earth. Manholes were located and numbered in the
map in every:
 change of direction,
 change of slope
 Changes in diameter.
 And at suitable intervals depending on type of sewer line
3. The daily peak rate for waste water was determined and characterized according to the sewer
line size
4. The average water consumption in a quarter acre of land was determined using the table 1 and
the discharge computed. The area was subdivide into suitable accessible zones from which the
population was estimated and total discharge calculated. Schools in this zones were also
considered in the effective discharge.
5. The discharge in the sewer pipes was considered to flow half full and ratio of the diameter
determined .The expected discharge and velocity ratio could then be computed.
Discharge/velocity ratio enable us find the discharge/velocity of the sewer line when full.
6. Distances between proposed main manholes was measured and the elevation of the manholes
determined, courtesy of Google Earth. The slope was calculated and the discharge when full
against the slope determined in a Moody chart diagram. The velocity and pipe diameter could
then be computed from the Moody Chart diagram.
7. To avoid blockage in new sewer pipes the actual velocities was determined and all sewer
velocities lesser than 6m/s redesigned with suitable slopes.

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4.0 RESULTS, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
4.1 Results and Analysis
The sewer has a design life of 40 years before any major changes/redesign can be made as shown
in appendix 4.10.
Calculation for the discharge and velocity used in the design of sewer, type of slope used/adapted
and the recommended diameters of the sewer line are in appendix 3,
All sewer lines with diameters below 0.3m were classified as property sewers and PVC pipes was
recommended for use during construction. The different type of PVC pipes to be used are shown
in appendix 4.8. Sewer lines with 0.3m to 0.6m and over 0.6m were classified as branch sewers
and trunk sewers respectively. Precast concrete pipes were to be used during the actual
construction of the sewer line as classified in appendix 4.9.
The tables 4.1 and 4.2 below are summary of sewer flow and diameters.

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 Table 4.1: Summary of flow in various manholes
From to manhole population increase in total cumulative Type of
manhole flow l/s flow l/s flow l/s sewer line
2.10.2 2.10 270 0.468 0.468 0.468 Property
2.9.2 2.9 300 1.042 1.042 1.510 property
2.8.7 2.8.4 1500 2.610 2.610 property
2.8.4 2.8 1800 3.125 5.735 7.245 Property
2.7.2 2.7 348 1.0 1.0 property
2.6.0.1 2.6 288 1.000 1.000 property
2.6.10 2.6.7 600 1.042 1.042 branch
2.6.7.2 2.6.7 480 0.830 0.830 property
2.6.7 2.6 310 3.23 3.23 property
2.6.0.2 2.6 790 4.55 4.55 property
2.11 2.6 6000 17.060 33.940 33.940 branch
2.5.2 2.5 360 1.25 1.25 property
2.4.2 2.4 120 0.86 0.86 property
2.6 2.4 36.198 36.198 branch
2.3.2 2.3 600 2.083 2.083 property
2.4 2 38.282 38.282 branch
4.4.8 4.4 1620 3.75 3.75 3.75 branch
4.5.2 4.5 300 1.736 1.736 property
4.4.6 4.4 200 0.833 0.833 property
4.3.3 4.3 480 1.67 1.67 branch
4.4. 4 7.989 7.989 property
14 1 330000 40.271 687.5 727.771 trunk

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Table 4.2: Summary of slope and pipe/branch/trunk diameters

from to manhole slope used in diameter Velocity Velocity remarks

manhole percentage (m) when half of flow
(1m/100m) full (m/s) (m/s)
2.10.2 2.10 3 0.045 0.70 0.56 Flushing
2.9.2 2.9 0.174 0.120 0.28 0.22 Flushing
2.8.7 2.8.4 1 0.095 0.85 0.67
2.8.4 2.8 1 0.140 1.00 0.80
2.7.2 2.7 0.067 0.150 0.22 0.18 Flushing
2.6.1 2.6 1 0.120 0.28 0.22 Flushing
2.6.10 2.6.7 3 0.070 0.85 0.68
2.6.7.2 2.6.7 1 0.045 0.82 0.66
2.6.7 2.6 1 0.120 0.95 0.76
2.6.0.2 2.6 2 0.040 0.87 0.70
2.11 2.6 0.5 0.330 0.95 0.76
2.5.2 2.5 1 0.060 0.78 0.62
2.4.2 2.4 0.3 0.100 0.45 0.36 Flushing
2.6 2.4 3 0.350 0.96 0.78
2.3.2 2.3 1 0.800 0.90 0.72
2.4 2 0.5 0.350 1.00 0.80
4.4.5 4.4 0.67 0.200 0.94 0.72
4.5.1 4.5 1 0.080 0.78 0.62
4.6 4.4 2 0.550 0.80 0.64
4.3.3 4.3 1 0.090 0.78 0.62
4.4 4 2.82 0.150 1.40 1.12
14 1 0.079 1.200 1.40 1.12

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4.2 Discussion
From the ratio method of population progression the estimated Kenya’s population in 2050 is 100
million. Currently the population is about 50million. Statistical date from Kenya National Bureau
of Statistics indicate Kenya’s population as of 2009 was 38.6 million people. This was essential as
it helped determine the population in Thika in 2050. The sewer network has a design life of 35
years. During the design of the sewer in Thika, it was observed that the land was generally flat in
most of the areas and very steep in areas near the Chania River. This was courtesy of Google Earth
that has coordinates and elevation of points in areas of interest as indicated in the map. Sewers are
designed to flow under gravity with sewer half full in order to attain self-cleansing velocity and
with a velocity of below 3m/s to avoid scouring of the concrete pipes. As a result the slope of the
land in flat areas (approximately 0.05 to 0.1m per 100m) was not considered during the design and
suitable hydraulic gradient that would enable for the flow of the sewer were computed. In areas
with a dig drop in elevation, drop manholes were used ranging from 0.5m to 1m in elevation to
minimize the cost of construction. Drop man holes were also used where property sewers joined
branch sewers and branch sewers joined trunk sewers. Normal manholes were used in relatively
flat areas to minimize construction cost and maintain a steady hydraulic gradient. In property sewer
lines, automatic flushing systems were to be used to reduce chances of blockage. Manholes were
generally used where there was change in direction, slope and at regular intervals of respective
sewer pipe type and size.

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5.0 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
5.1 Conclusion
The design of the sewer might have changes during the actual implementation due to inaccuracy
of the data used such as contours, elevation and distance. It is thus essential to determine the soil
profile by digging actual trial pits at regular intervals and finding true coordinates and
elevation/levels using relevant survey equipment.

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5.1 Recommendations
The following recommendations are made from sewer design for Thika main trunk and Landless
estate sewer.

1. The proposed sewer was based on contour levels and hence for actual design, it may be
rectified by use of actual ground levels at suitable interchanges.
2. After construction it is expected that the waste water flow may not achieve the self-
cleansing velocity because not all people will connect to the sewer at once hence it should
be flushed regularly through access manholes. This will prevent the blockage of sewer and
corrosion of the sewer walls due to generation of hydrogen sulphide.
3. For efficient and better performance of the proposed sewer, flushing should be carried out
in specified areas where there is low gravity flow to prevent blockage. Once they is
blockage in the pipes, there should be immediate unblocking by the Thiwasco.

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6.0 REFERENCES

Albert, A. (1993). The Arithematic of Groth: Methods of Calculation, First Edition . Ramapo
Publishers.
Bruce, E. (2010). Hydraulics of Pipeline, Second Edition. CRC Press.
Duggall, S. (2008). Elements of Environmental Engineering, Second Edition. S. Chand
Publishing.
Geoffrey, R. (2004). Sewers: Replacement and New Construction, First Edition. Elsevier
Butterworth.
Halli, S. (1992). Advanced Technique of Population Analysis, Second Edition. Springer.
Henze, M. (1992). Characterization of waste water Modelling of Activated sludge, First
Edition. IWA Publishing.
KNBS. (2009). Kenya Census Data. GoK.
Lameshow, S. (2013). Sampling of Population, First Edition. Wiley.
Michael, L. (2012). Mechanical Engineering References Manual, Thirteenth Edition.
Proffesional Publications, Inc.
Michael, L. (2013). Engineering Design Manual. Professional Publications.
MWI. (2005). Water Design Manual. GoK.
Ndiba, P. (2015). FCE 581: PUBLIC HEALTH ENGINEERING. Journal.
Paul, B. (2007). Gravity Sanitary Sewer Design and Construction, Second Edition. American
Society of Civil Engineers.
Punmia, B. (2005). Wastewater Engineering. Delhi: Laxmi Publications (P) LTD.
Syed, R. (1998). Wastewater Treatment, Planing, Design and Operation, Second Edition.
CRC Press.
Thiwasco. (2010). Proposed Sewage expansion.
Thorkild, H. (2013). Sewer Processes, Second Edition. CBC Press.
UNEP. (2006). Human Development Report. UN.
Walski, T. (2004). Wastewater Collection system, Modelling and Design, First Edition.
Bentley Institute Press.
WHO. (1973). WHO Report NO. 9.

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APPENDICES
Appendix 4.1: Water Consumption (MWI, 2005)

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Appendix 4.2: Population census data (KNBS, 2009)

Appendix 4.3: Population Distribution by Sex in urban Centres and Status of Centre

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Appendix 4.4: Kenya’s population from 1969 to 2009

Appendix 4.5: Projected Kenyan Population 1950-2100

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Appendix 4.6: Main schools
Schools Capacity
Height Academy(secondary and Primary) 897
Bell House Academy 600
Approved School 200
Glorious Fountain 460
Mountain View Academy 340
St. Martins Academy 310

Appendix 4.7: Design life for various Sewage Installations

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Appendix 4.8: PVC pipes

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Appendix 4.9: Class of precast concrete pipes to be used

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Appendix 4.10: moody diagrams

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Appendix 4.11: Calculations

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Appendix 4.11: Field picture templates

Template 1: Discharge of over flowing wastewater from kitchen after the septic tank is full

Template 2: Excess domestic waste water is released into the drainage system and channeled
to the nearby river

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Template 3: Open drain of domestic waste water nearby a farm.

Template 4: Wastwater from domestic uses in a house

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Template 5: Septic tank

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