In order to secure human lives, the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA), Aba Zone, has warned residents across the state to stop manually evacuating septic and sewage tanks.
This warning followed a tragic incident where two men died after falling into an underground sewage pit while attempting manual clearing with buckets and a ladder at a residential building in Aba.
Addressing newsmen at the Aba ASEPA conference hall, the deputy General Manager of the environmental protection agency, Elder Okezie Ezengwa, said that his agency had sealed the three-storey building pending a full investigation into unsafe environmental practices.
He lamented that two young workers, identified as Mr. Bassey from Akwa Ibom and Mr Thompson from Enugu State, were contracted by tenants to scoop sewage from an underground tank using manual tools when their ladder broke, causing them to fall in and lost their lives.
Ezengwa condemned the act as dangerous and illegal, reminding the public that professional and approved waste-disposal vendors were available to carry out safe wastewater management.
He declared: “The Agency warns residents to desist from manual evacuation of sewage, which is illegal and risky to both the evacuees and the residents.
ASEPA is also urging the media to warn manual sewage evacuees to desist immediately from the practice to avoid further loss of lives.
He warned that henceforth, any building that engaged manual sewage evacuators will be sealed.
He noted that manual sewage evacuation was dangerous, as underground septic pits accumulate lethal, suffocating gases that can kill a person within seconds.
He observed that scooping raw sewage manually often leads to indiscriminate dumping and contamination of public stormwater drains.
Ezengwa advised residents to use certified and approved liquid waste management vendors equipped with proper mechanical extractors and safety gear rather than informal labourers.
He urged property owners and tenants to prioritize safety over cheap or fast manual alternatives.
He said further: “Residents are also charged to desist from channelling and emptying their Septic tanks into the public drains and roads.
“This is a grave offence and constitutes a major threat to public health. Offenders will be arrested and prosecuted.
“Residents and businesses are advised to get their waste buckets from approved vendors without delay and to use them to manage their waste lawfully and avoid littering and illegal dumping of refuse.
“There are approved vendors all over. Anyone who fails to own a waste bucket will be prosecuted in accordance with the relevant laws.
“The waste buckets must also be used for the purpose for which they were acquired – waste collection, and not for decoration.”
“Residents and property owners are urged to use approved sewage evacuation services and avoid putting lives at risk,” he added.
He stressed the importance of maintaining a clean environment, saying, “Your cleanliness is not just for you but for your loved ones.”
He warned: “Henceforth, the manual evacuation of waste will no longer be tolerated here in Abia, particularly in Aba.
We value the lives of residents and Abians and can’t just watch people die carelessly”
When asked whether the government would provide alternative means of disposal because of the perceived high cost of using modern methods in the evacuation, Elder Ezengwa stated: “The cost of disposal is very affordable.
“This is because it’s not done regularly. In some cases, it takes up to two years for septic tanks to fill.”
“On average, it doesn’t cost up to N100,000, and it’s important to note that it’s a shared cost. For instance, a building that has up to six to ten flats to share N100,000 over an interval of two years; how much is it per flat in two years?
“What about the health implications? So, it’s not expensive. What we need is attitudinal change,” he added.
