Sustainability Assessment for Wastewater Treatment Systems in Developing Countries

Markus Starkl,Anju Singh,Norbert Brunner,Sukanya Das

doi:10.3390/w14020241

Abstract

As the assessment of the economic, environmental, institutional, and social sustainability of wastewater treatment systems may have several conceivable goals and intended recipients, there are numerous different approaches. This paper surveys certain aspects of sustainability assessment that may be of interest to the planners of wastewater treatment systems. Here, the key criteria assess the system’s costs and financing, including its affordability for the users, the environmental impact, the benefits for health and hygiene, the cultural acceptance of the system and its recycled products, the technical functioning, and the administrative, political, and legal framework for its construction and operation. A multi-criteria approach may then be used to analyze possible trade-offs and identify the most suitable system for a certain location.

Highlights

Massive upscaling of wastewater treatment systems (WWTS) is required to cope with the increasing global sanitation crises [1]
To ensure that investments in WWTS will have a long-lasting impact, it is crucial to consider their sustainability during planning, construction, and during operation to learn from these experiences for future projects
We present various criteria for sustainability assessment and discuss possible opportunities and limitations in their application

Summary

Introduction

Massive upscaling of wastewater treatment systems (WWTS) is required to cope with the increasing global sanitation crises [1]. The sustainability of investments in WWTS is a major concern, and many examples exist which show that, without considering key sustainability aspects, WWTS may fail during the operational phase [2,3]. To ensure that investments in WWTS will have a long-lasting impact, it is crucial to consider their sustainability during planning, construction, and during operation to learn from these experiences for future projects. There is much research about sustainability criteria and sustainability assessments. We present various criteria for sustainability assessment and discuss possible opportunities and limitations in their application. Our conclusions pertain to the application of sustainability assessment to planning

Methods

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion