Governance Arrangements for the Scaling Up of Small-Scale Waste Water Treatment and Reuse Systems

TARGET GROUP: PUBLIC

OBJECTIVES

·        To understand the governance arrangements necessary for the successful scaling up of decentralized sanitation systems, and how to fulfill the potential of alternative solutions for sustainable urban water management.

SUMMARY

Small-scale sanitation (SSS, also termed “decentralized” or “distributed” sanitation), here defined as wastewater treatment systems serving from 10 to 1,000 households, have proven to be a viable alternative to conventional systems for contexts such as large residential buildings, compounds, peri-urban areas, communities and small rural settlements. They are a key component of citywide inclusive sanitation, complementing conventional centralized sewered systems and fecal sludge management (i.e., the management of the sludge from onsite sanitation systems). While they are already widespread in rural areas in western countries, they still remain an innovative approach in most of the world. Countries like India and China are notable exceptions, first because small-scale wastewater treatment systems scaled up to thousands of units, but also because it predominantly happened in urban areas. While a key rationale for small-scale wastewater treatment in rural areas is to avoid transporting wastewater at high cost over long distances, in urban areas it is a solution to rapid urban growth and the increasing need for local water reuse.

REFERENCE

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2020.00072/full