Wastewater management in Kunming, China: a stakeholder perspective on measures at the source

Abstract

Large sewer systems with central wastewater treatment plants were long considered a successful model that could be exported to practically any city of the world. This centralized, highly water-consuming system has, however, shown its limits in some developing and transition countries, especially in fast-growing cities with limited water resources. This study from around Lake Dianchi in Yunnan, China, investigated the feasibility of introducing measures at the source for the different urban wastewater contributions in the city of Kunming, and the stakeholder perspectives on this approach. In addition, the stakeholders evaluated the potential of two different sanitation alternatives that allowed the separation and re-use of human excreta as fertilizer. Most of those interviewed approved of measures at the source, especially for industrial wastewater and toilet waste. There was a prevailing optimism with respect to the potential of technical developments and the likelihood of increased environmental awareness within a relatively short time span of 20 years. The findings suggest that China will prove to be one of the most interesting and productive “laboratories” for the development of decentralized wastewater treatment alternatives.