(Seychelles News Agency) - The Public Utilities Corporation (PUC) plans to connect every household and businesses to a sewage system to better manage wastewater that can be used for industrial and irrigation purposes, said a top official.

The general manager of sewage, Mervyn Benoiton, said that the plan is to connect all structures on the three most populated islands -- Mahe, Praslin and La Digue -- to a sewage system, action that would help protect the environment.

"We have, as part of our sanitation master plan, 10 catchments on Mahe, two on Praslin and one on La Digue. Each of those catchments will have their own wastewater treatment plant," said Benoiton.

The Seychelles Integrated and Comprehensive Sanitation Master Plan is also taking into consideration the principles of the Integrated Urban Water Management and will provide the linkages with other sectors such as water, electricity, waste, and drainage to a feasible level

In the Environmental Performance Index 2020 put out in June by the Yale Centre for Environmental Law and Policy in the United States, Seychelles got a low ranking in wastewater management.

Benoiton said that the low ranking is probably due to two reasons: the limited reuse of water from the treatment plant and low level of coverage of the sewer system.  

According to PUC, there are currently four treatment plants in Seychelles and almost 6,000 households and businesses are connected.

Benoiton said that there is more work to be done in terms of wastewater management in Seychelles to achieve a better ranking.

"We need to increase coverage area, improve the level of the treatment so that the effluent can be used for industrial, irrigation and other purposes," said the general manager.

He said a good wastewater treatment system protects the environment for the people of Seychelles and ensures better use of land space currently occupied by septic tanks.

Seychelles, a group of 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean, is in the process of constructing a wastewater treatment plant and sewer network on La Digue.

The plant, which will cover 95 percent of domestic wastewater generation on La Digue, is being financed by the European Investment Bank, Agence Française de Développement and the Public Utilities Corporation at a cost $16 million.