A Dedicated Faecal Sludge and Wastewater Testing Unit was formally inaugurated amidst a formal program on 23 December 2022 at ENPHO head office, Thapagaun. An inauguration program was organized for the formal operation of the new services.
ENPHO Laboratory was established in 1990 and has been providing analytical services on water, air, soil, compost, and food since then. ENPHO Laboratory has extended its services to the analysis of faecal sludge and wastewater with the addition of this unit. The extended unit is well equipped with the latest instruments and handled by experienced human resources.
The unit has been established with financial support from BMGF and with the technical support of Naturally Acceptable and Technological Sustainable (NATS) lab under Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand.
The services of testing various parameters in fecal sludge and wastewater would now be available at the ENPHO lab. Different parameters that would be tested include:
PHYSIO-CHEMICALS
- pH
- Alkalinity
- Dissolved Oxygen (DO)
- Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)
- Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD)
- Total Kjehldahl Nitrogen (TKN)
- Ammonia (NH3)
- Total Phosphorous (TP)
- Chloride (Cl)
SOLIDS
- Total Solid (TS)
- Total Volatile Solids (TVS)
- Total Suspended Solids (TSS)
- Volatile Suspended Solids (VSS)
- Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
- Sludge Volume Index (SVI)
MICROBIOLOGY
- Total Coliform
- Fecal Coliform
- Escherichia Coli
- Helminth egg
During the event, a brief history of the existing ENPHO lab was shared by Mr. Amresh Karmacharya, Senior Technical Advisor, ENPHO. Moreover, the current scenario and need for testing fecal sludge and wastewater was also shared by Ms. Nabina K.C., lab in-charge, ENPHO Lab.
The event commenced under the chairmanship of Mr. Rajiv Joshi, Chairperson, ENPHO. The Chief guest for the event Ms. Jyoti Joshi Bhatta, Deputy Director General, Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology, inaugurated the lab expansion services.
All the other guests representing different governmental and non-governmental organizations, development agencies and journalist also visited the ENPHO lab and its extended services during the program.
During the special remarks, Mr. Dev Raj Joshi, Associate Professor at TU said, “I am very pleased to be a part of this program. ENPHO and TU had together worked in identifying the COVID virus in wastewater during the COVID pandemic. We look forward to sending our students to ENPHO lab for research work. We are also excited to work together in the days to come”.
“ENPHO is a very popular name when it comes to drinking water quality testing. We have been using Piyush (which is one of ENPHO’s products) whenever we travel to remote areas where quality drinking water might not be available. Now as it has extended its services to testing wastewater and fecal sludge, we hope the same quality is assured. I would like to wish ENPHO lab a very best for their new initiation”, remarked Jyoti Joshi Bhatta, Deputy Director General, Nepal Bureau of Standards and Metrology.
A total of 34 guests representing different governmental and non-governmental organizations and development agencies were present during the event.
