Public Notice 

Construction of 11 Septic systems with Septic Fields for the APOCEB Project– Public Comments Invited 

October 30th, 2023 – Global Affairs Canada must determine whether the construction of 11 septic fields (leach fields) that will be carried out in the proposed project Adaptation of Coastal Populations and Blue Economy (Adaptation des populations côtières et économie Bleue (APOCEB), is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects. 

To help inform this determination, Global Affairs Canada is inviting comments from the public respecting that determination. All comments received will be considered public and may be posted online.  

Written comments must be submitted by December 8th, 2023 to: 

Global Affairs Canada - Partnerships for Development Innovation Branch 
125 Sussex Dr, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2 
KFM.ENVIRONNEMENT-ENVIRONMENT@international.gc.ca 

 

The Proposed Project 

Project Title: Adaptation of Coastal Populations and Blue Economy (French Acronym: APOCEB) 

Project Summary: The "Adaptation of Coastal Populations and Blue Economy" (APOCEB) project targets the coastal communities of the Cacheu Park in Guinea-Bissau, the Tristao Islands in the Republic of Guinea, the Niumi National Park in the Gambia and the Petits Kassa Islands in Senegal. The project aims to improve the economic, social and environmental development of these communities in a sustainable manner. It also intends to improve the living, working and health conditions of its inhabitants and the resilience of populations most vulnerable to climate change.  

CGI and its local partners are planning the construction of 11 septic tanks with leaching fields. The toilets and changing rooms for the processing units will be connected to an autonomous treatment system consisting of a collector manhole, a first separation tank (decanter), an aerobic digester, a shellfish filtration tank (pre-filter) and a leaching field (infiltration by spreading). 

The sizing was carried out by the company Ultraplast, which specializes in this type of installation, and the installation will be carried out by a specialized technician. For each processing unit, two leach fields will be built in parallel. Their capacity will be 3000 liters and the volume of wastewater will be between 500 and 1000 L at peak use. 

The water transferred to the digester remains there long enough to allow the aerobic digestion and sedimentation of organic matter. The supernatant is then pre-filtered to remove any remaining suspended solids and the water is conveyed to the land application field for final treatment. 

Partners: Cégep de la Gaspésie et des Îles (CGI) in collaboration with the Department of Parks and Wildlife Management in The Gambia, the Institute of Biodiversity and Protected Areas (IBAP) in Guinea-Bissau, the National Centre for Fisheries Sciences in Boussoura (CNSHB), The Gambia, and the University Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (IUPA) in Dakar, in Senegal. 

Locations?:  

Sites (Countries)	GPS Points X	GPS Points Y
Coubampor manjaco (Guinee-Bissau)	12.36471	- 16.121622
Etimbato (Guinee-Bissau)	11.265458	-15.859625
Eticoga (Guinee-Bissau)	11.160061	-16.141053
Mbankam (Gambia)	13.54634	-16.50585
Djinack kajata (Gambia)	13.57778	-16.524281
Hitou (Casamance)	12.62121	-16.69607
Haère (Casamance)	12.6765	-16.6979
Kadignet (République de Guinee)	10.91276	-15.03025
Katfoura (République de Guinee)	10.79974	-15.02395
Kabot (République de Guinee)	10.79506	-14.951198
Kapkein (République de Guinee)	10.84436	-14.88468